COLUMN: The good, the bad and the ugly: A tribute to Dave Baldwin

I suspect Baldwin will be remembered in Logan for his accused inability to call plays other than the notorious bubble screen, but it seems wrong to send him off with anything less than respect. After all, he helped Utah State break a number of offensive records and end up ranked No. 6 in the nation in rushing yards.

In his honor, I’d like to explore the best and worst of Baldwin during the 2011 season.

Sept. 10, 2011. Aggies roll over Weber State

Granted, Weber State is a Football Championship Subdivision team — but still. The Wildcats held a Mountain West Conference team that later went to a bowl game to a tight contest and lost by only a field goal. He even let freshman quarterback Chuckie Keeton throw his first two touchdown passes.

All right, all right. FCS trumps any play calling. Unless you’re from Appalachian State.

Sept. 3, 2011. Auburn escapes Utah State

Baldwin’s offensive play calling gave the Aggies a shot to win and had the Tigers licking their wounds, down by 10 with just over 3 minutes to go, even if it didn’t end up happening. Chuckie played like anything but the freshman he was and completed 21 of 30 passes for 213 yards and no interceptions. The Aggie offense allowed only one sack and converted 10 of 17 third downs.

If that doesn’t say pretty dang good offensive coordination, I don’t know what does. OK, a touchdown pass or two would have been nice.

Sept. 24, 2011. Homecoming tragedy

How Colorado State was even in the game to begin with is a real question mark. How did the team that nearly upset the defending national champions three weeks before let an awful CSU team even be competitive? Whatever the reason, the situation is the same. Utah State just scored a touchdown in the second half of the second overtime and went for two and the win. Baldwin called the go-to pass play, Keeton threw the ball to the other side, the pass interference is called and the Aggies get a second chance from one-and-a-half yards out.

Let me introduce you to my man Robert Turbin. You may have heard of him. He wears number six and is as big as The Incredible Hulk. When you have this guy on your team and you need less than two yards, you cram the ball up the middle in your jumbo set.

What did Baldwin call? A running back sweep to the left side where Turbin was gobbled up by the Ram linebackers and stopped short. Game over.

Sept. 30, 2011. Y?

I’m not 100 percent sure on who calls fake field goals, but even i
f it’s special teams coach Bill Busch, people in Logan still blame Baldwin for every bad play call.

The situation is 4 and 8 on the BYU 30-yard line with a 4-point lead and just under eight minutes on the clock. The 43-ish-yard field goal is stretching the range of Aggie kicker Josh Thompson, and if there’s one thing a coach shouldn’t trust more than Thompson’s leg, it’s his arm. Everyone in the stadium — or at least the press box — knew when Utah State lined up for a field goal it was going to be a fake. If you’re going to go for it from that range, put on wide receiver Stanley Morrison to make a play.

Long story short, Aggies can’t get some insurance points, BYU comes back in miraculous fashion to steal a “rivalry” win from their little brothers.

Jan. 4. So long, Dave.

Thanks for the memories coach Baldwin. May you have success when you don’t play against Utah State. Hopefully your style of play calling will fit in with the amount of touchdowns your new head coach Jim McElwain didn’t score while he coordinated a nearly touchdown-less offense in the 2012 Bowl Championship Series National Championship.