COLUMN: More sports to come
It’s getting colder outside.
This usually means that the those of the student body who care about athletics are enjoying watching the Aggie soccer or volleyball teams have successful seasons.
While the soccer team is on an eight-game winning streak, there is also some excitement buzzing in the crisp autumn air about Aggie football — something most of us are not accustomed to seeing.
Although they weren’t playing against a powerhouse program, the Aggie football team brought enough excitement to fill Romney Stadium to within roughly 7,000 seats short of a sell-out crowd on Saturday, against Weber State.
There are so many reasons to get excited about Aggie athletics. If you have opted to waste your student body fee, which allows you to attend games without needing to buy a ticket, you need to rearrange your priorities for a day and go to a sporting event.
Did you know the Aggie soccer program still hasn’t lost a game this season? If you haven’t seen one of their many victories over the past week, you missed out on your chance to see them in action this month, because they don’t play in Logan again until Oct. 7, when they host New Mexico State.
Did you miss out on you’re chance to scream at Brigham Young University Tuesday in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, when the Aggies and Cougars squared off in volleyball? The volleyball team won’t be back in the Spectrum until Homecoming Week.
Aggie football is off until Sept. 24, when it faces Colorado State.
What I’m trying to say is if you slacked off the first two weeks of class, you have a week to re-evaluate and get out and cheer on Utah State athletics.
Let me give you even more reasons to attend the next home football or soccer game.
Aggie football has been on the brink of being good since head coach Gary Andersen took over three seasons ago.
Many people thought last season would be the one when USU finally made it to a bowl game. But injuries swept through the roster and took out almost all of the key players on the team, which left the Aggies in a difficult situation. The season didn’t go as well as planned and left everyone waiting for Aggie basketball.
This year the football team is in full health and better than ever.
The team displayed the ability to make solid tackles on defense, which made a clear statement that teams can no longer run all over us as they did last year. Auburn, the defending BCS champions, only rushed for 78 yards against USU. The Tigers amassed 235 yards on the ground against, then No. 16, Mississippi State, Saturday.
Weber State only managed 46 rushing yards against the Aggies, after racking up 227 yards on the ground against Wyoming.
But what about the offense?
The Aggies amassed 440 yards on the ground against Weber State and ended with 635 total yards. After two weeks, the Aggies are ranked fourth in the FBS in rushing, and 14th in scoring.
If that doesn’t give you a reason to be at Romney Stadium when the Aggies take on Colorado State, Sept. 24, I don’t know what will.
When the Aggie soccer team makes it way back to Chuck and Gloria Bell Field in October, you might want to check out the team who hasn’t lost a game this season and has outscored its opponents 17-4. Senior forward Shantel Flanary has eight goals during the streak and is one of the most exciting athletes to watch at USU.
Go take a break and watch some Aggie athletics the next time there is a home match or game.
– Tyler Huskinson is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. He is also a sports writer for The Herald Journal. You can follow him on Twitter @TDHuskiSports or send comments to ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu.