COLUMN: Aggies face real test this week
Two weeks into the football season, things are starting to become clearer. That is, at least for the Aggies. Around much of the rest of the country, there are plenty of questions left unanswered.
Is Virginia Tech really that good if they’re getting knocked off at home by James Madison? And if Virginia Tech isn’t all that good, what does that say about Boise State after they needed some major late-game heroics to pull out the victory over the Hokies in week one? My bet is on them still being the powerhouse that everyone anticipated them to be, but there’s at least a tiny bit of doubt on that now.
Then, there’s Oklahoma, who mercilessly demolished Florida State a week after USU nearly beat the Sooners in their own house. There are reports from Oklahoma fans online that a fan in OU’s student section hoisted a sign in the second half of the Sooners’ win over the Seminoles that read, “Utah State was better.”
Score one for us.
Speaking of the Aggies, they put together another solid performance Saturday against Idaho State, beating the Bengals 38-17 in a game where the final score wasn’t totally indicative of how well USU played.
After allowing a 47-yard kickoff return to set the Bengals up at midfield for their opening drive, USU gave up 31 yards to Idaho State, eventually allowing a field goal on the drive. That was about where the fun ended for Idaho State, as the Aggies controlled the remainder of the game, going up 38-3 before yanking a handful of the starters prior to the start of the fourth quarter.
While ISU gained a total of 285 yards on the game, just 158 of those came in the first three quarters while the Aggies had their starters out on the field. And even though giving up 14 points and 127 yards of offense in the fourth quarter might not put a smile on head coach Gary Andersen’s face, it gave those second and third-string guys a taste of action, and the coaching staff some film of those players to work with in correcting mistakes for the future.
Now things get really interesting. Week one was a match-up where the Aggies were supposed to get blown out, and while they impressed the hell out of everyone, they still came up short. Week two was a match-up where the Aggies were supposed to be the ones responsible for orchestrating a blowout, and they did just that.
Week three against Fresno State is the first game with high stakes for the outcome of the rest of the season, as neither team will be a heavy favorite over the other. Not only that, but it’s Utah State’s first chance at vengeance against the WAC-stabbers of 2010, giving everybody associated with Utah State that much more gasoline to throw onto the fire.
Last week was one of the most impressive student turnouts at Romney Stadium that I’ve seen in my college years, which are great in number by this point. Typically, those turnouts have steadily declined as the season rolls on in past years, but then again, the team hasn’t been this good in probably at least a decade.
Just as the team has seen a drastic change in attitude compared to past years, the fans need to show the same at this point and ramp up their intensity at games rather than trickle down in numbers as the season rolls on.
After all, this Saturday will be Romney Stadium’s final tune-up before the ESPN cameras show up on Oct. 1, giving us a chance to show off just how big time USU football has become, both on the field and in the stands.
Matt Sonnenberg is a senior majoring in print journalism. Matt is an avid fan of Aggie athletics and can also be reached at matt.sonn@aggiemail.usu.edu.