COLUMN: Gary Andersen and the past and future of Aggie football

Conference championships are really fun, and Utah State hasn’t known that euphoria very often. USU has only 12 conference titles in program history, and only one in past two decades.

That lone title came in 2012. Under new/old head coach Gary Andersen.

I was still a student at USU then (which speaks to how old I am), which is how I know the fun of a conference championship. It’s rare to storm the field after a nonchalant 45-9 win over Idaho, but with the WAC title firmly secured, the student section emptied onto the field to celebrate with Andersen and the team. I was front row at that game and one of the first to jump the rails onto the field. The Aggies had anguished for nine years under two coaches to go 28-75 before Andersen arrived to Logan. As improbable as any rebuilding project in all of college football, Andersen built Utah State into a winning program.

It’s not hyperbole to hypothesize if Andersen saved the Utah State football program in his first stint as coach. In the midst of major conference realignment, USU was in grave danger of being left behind. Football runs realignment, and until Andersen’s reign, there was little reason to value USU football. Just look at some of USU’s counterparts from those WAC days: New Mexico State is struggling in independence with an uncertain future, and Idaho has already stepped down to the FCS level but still struggled to a 4-7 record this season. The Aggies narrowly escaped a similar fate, with the success under Andersen elevating USU to the Mountain West conference. Aggie fans owe a lot to Andersen.

So why am I nervous about this hire? I want to be at the front of the welcoming party for Andersen. This is the return of the prodigal son, and I want to fully jump on board with it.

But I can’t. At least not all the way.

2012 was a long time ago, and a different era for Utah State. To say the least, the WAC is not the Mountain West. That 2012 season didn’t feature Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State or even Nevada. An undefeated run through conference play is far less impressive considering two of conference’s seven teams were in their first year at the FBS level. Were it not for an overtime victory at home over Utah, we might view that 2012 team exactly the same as some of Matt Wells’ teams: really good, but couldn’t win the big games.

Andersen has also changed since 2012. Those six years have featured Andersen leaving two different programs in less-than-amicable fashion, leaving Wisconsin before the team’s bowl game in 2014 and resigning from Oregon State midseason in 2017 (sidenote: for a fan base that’s been outraged at players and coaches alike for “quitting on their team,” it’s weird that no one apparently has an issue with Andersen’s record of doing so numerous times, including at the conclusion of his first stretch at Utah State). If you were to only judge Andersen based on his post-USU career, this is a questionable hire at best.

Reports surfaced that a great amount of interest existed for the Utah State job. Rumors of big names like Rich Rodriguez and Mark Helfrich swirled alongside smaller, high-potential coaches like Weber State’s Jay Hill. Utah State reportedly spurned many of them in favor of their ex. One only needs to turn on one of the many Lifetime Channel Christmas movies playing this entire month to learn why that’s not always a good idea.

Can Andersen succeed again at Utah State? Certainly. Most of the roster remains intact for next season, including a veteran quarterback and several game-changing defenders. The schedule lines up for Andersen to lead USU to another spectacularly magical year, with the Aggies scheduled to play at LSU and Wake Forest while later hosting Boise State and BYU at Maverik Stadium.

I want that magical season. I want Utah State to contend for the MW title and win it. I want the Aggies competing for the Group of 5’s bid to a New Year’s Six bowl game. I want USU to become a powerhouse in the MW. I want opponents to fear having to play in Logan.

Is Andersen the man to lead the Aggies to those heights? Perhaps, but this does seem like praying that lightning strikes the same place twice. Andersen was the right coach in 2012, but 2012 has zero bearing on if he’s the right coach for 2019 and beyond. Given the other options reported to be in the mix, it’ll be easy to imagine “what if” should this second stint not live up to the standards of the first.

Utah State is betting big on the past. Only the future will tell if it brings the same joy.