Aggies are not who we thought they were
You know what? Maybe we were all just dead wrong about everything this season. New Mexico just posted back-to-back wins against Boise and Utah State, Air Force is undefeated at home, and Utah State may as well stay home from their road contests.
The Mountain West is a whirlwind of surprises and disappointments, and to be honest it’s a whole lot of fun. I love when nothing is as it seems in sports. It makes each game that much more thrilling. That being said, what a frustrating year for the Aggies.
Still not Bowl eligible
Who saw this coming? It’s mid-November and USU sits at just five wins, with just one lone road win to speak of. It’s worth noting that Air Force had Saturday’s throw-down circled on its calendar since Mountain West media days this past summer, and is undefeated at home this year, but still. The Aggies are a bad road team, and not just against the Falcons.
Utah State head coach Matt Wells gets a lot of flack at this university purely for not being Gary Anderson, and that’s not fair. Despite some hardcore fans’ unwillingness to give it, Wells has by all accounts earned a lot of trust when it comes to what he’s doing behind the scenes to guide this team.
Now that I’ve established that Wells is in fact a solid coach, can we talk about our road record real quick? USU is 1-3 outside of friendly Maverik Stadium this year, and not performing on the road is sort of becoming a trend for Utah State in recent years. Now, some of that has to do with playing tough non-conference road teams like Tennessee and Utah, but there’s still some reason for serious concern.
This team has lacked mental preparation all season, and it’s already cost the Aggies a shot at a conference title. It remains to be seen whether or not it costs them bowl eligibility.
Remember when we were a defensive juggernaut?
Earlier this season, Aggies fans watched losses to Utah and Washington and fell back on how solid the defense looked despite the offense’s inability to show up. Now the roles have flipped rather violently, with Utah State giving up 580 yards of offense to a run-first Air Force team.
Objectively, there’s really no shame in dropping a game to Air Force this year — the Falcons are on top of the Mountain Division of the MW with a 5-1 record. But giving up 271 yards passing to a team that runs the triple option is unacceptable, no matter who you’re playing.
That’s not the only disappointing defensive stat I took away from Saturday — how about giving up nine third-down conversions? That’s nine opportunities to get the ball in Myers’ hands and make something good happen that USU failed to capitalized on.
Speaking of Myers, kid’s a stud
It’s a shame Myers’ play isn’t translating to wins. Utah State has just one victory in the past month of football, and it was a home beatdown of a defunct Wyoming team in the midst of a lost season. Outside of that game, there hasn’t been much to cheer about in Aggie country — Myers is the exception.
Myers and Hunter Sharp are an incredible combination, connecting for three touchdowns Saturday on some truly spectacular plays. Myers tossed four total touchdowns for the game, which just makes the lackluster intensity on defense all the more frustrating. You can’t tell your quarterback, “Hey kid, we’re going to lose this game unless you throw for five touchdowns.” That’s just absurd.
The offense, though at times suffering from some baffling play-calling — Heupel is close to earning his own column soon — seemed to be clicking well for stretches against the Falcons. With 439 yards of total offense and 193 coming from the Myers-Sharp connection alone, I’m having a hard time blaming the offense or Heupel for this particular loss. Myers has proven he can make big-time plays with the ball in his hands and at least get the Aggies in a position to win.
If anything, it’s the lack of ex-defensive coordinator Todd Orlando’s fire on defense that have the Aggies on a two-game losing skid.
— Logan Jones is a junior majoring in journalism, because “being a hater” isn’t a major currently offered at Utah State. Contact him at Logantjones@aggiemail.usu.edu or on Twitter @Logantj.