STATE YOUR CASE: What is the most significant football game in the Andersen era?
State Your Case: What is the most significant football game in the Andersen era?
Mark Hopkins, staff writer:
In a matter of days, our beloved Aggie football team will take the field in Ruston, La., against No. 20 Louisiana Tech with a ninth win and conference title on the line.
Utah State hasn’t had an outright conference championship since 1979. They haven’t won nine games since 1961, a year after my grandpa left for dental school.
And the last time they won ten games? The last time BYU was cool – aka, never.
Those stats are only the beginning of the totem pole, which is what makes the Nov. 17 matchup the biggest single game in the Gary Andersen era to this point.
National prominence? Warm-weather bowls? The Andersen Dynasty? That all begins with this crucial game.
Say what you want about the Hawaiian Miracle last year or the Utah field rush this year, but claiming those as the “biggest” Andersen-era victories puts us in company with the Justice Party – celebrating mere relevance. While exhilarating at the time, those games were for different reasons.
In the past, one game kept us from the cliff of embarrassment. Now, one game separates us from completely changing the landscape of Aggie football. This is the game to escape our past and start expecting to win, finishing off a season to remember and entering the Mountain West Conference as a full-blown contender.
So get behind the team, stay behind the team and let the nation know that we’re here to stay.
And did anyone notice we’re seven points away from busting the BCS? Maybe next year?
– m.hop@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @legendarymhops
Jordan Dahl, staff writer
There are more than a few significant USU football games in the Andersen era. There’s the BYU game from two years ago, the unexpectedly-close Auburn game, the emotional Nevada game where USU became bowl eligible for the first time since 1997 and even the Utah game from this year, pitting Coach Andersen against his former team.
While these were all pretty important for a variety of reasons, the game at Hawaii last season showed all of us that these Aggies have heart and the ability to overcome adversity and ultimately changed the direction of the football program.
Going into the game, the team was 2-5, and stacked against the odds of enduring another losing season. The Aggies trailed Hawaii 28-7 in the first half, and then Chuckie got hurt. I remember going to bed that night after checking the score. I was bummed. But when I woke up the next morning, to my surprise the Aggies had come back and won the game behind Kennedy. I knew right then that we couldn’t write them off just yet.
What followed was a five-game winning streak, a winning season, a bowl game and a whole new sense of optimism and excitement for Aggie football, which has carried over into this season and propelled USU to the best record in the state. Andersen is being talked about for big-time jobs around the country, but considering what he means to this school and valley, I sure hope he stays.
– j.dahl@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @jdahl3