COLUMN: USU needs big road win

And just like that, the series between the Aggies and Utes is done for the foreseeable future. After last week’s game, it’s understandable that Utah would want nothing to do with coming here to play the Aggies, but really nobody does.

    And once again, just as when he hit a game-winning layup in Utah’s last visit to the Spectrum, Tai Wesley had the last word against Utah as he buried a 3-pointer, his second of the game, as time expired to add one final grain of salt in the wound.

    It is sad to see the series end, especially as abruptly as it did, and especially during a week when a team nearly came into the Spectrum and took down the Aggies.

    Wednesday’s Utah team came to Logan already afraid. You could see it on the faces of their players and coaches from the very beginning. Ute head coach Jim Boylen wanted nothing to do with that game. He wanted to go through the motions, tuning the crowd around him, and get out of there one last time only to never look back.

    I’ll never understand how or why somebody in the coaching world, with the typical competitive nature that most coaches have, would turn and run from a challenge as great as something like winning on the road in Logan, but that appears to be the route Boylen has chosen.

    If only Boylen and his team would have taken notes, or at least possessed the kind of mentality that the Huskies of Northeastern brought to the Spectrum Saturday, things might not have ended so badly.

    Northeastern was the exact opposite of Utah. The Huskies came to the Spectrum inspired, motivated, cohesive and most of all, fearless. The end result was the Aggies needing some serious late-game heroics to avoid loss No. 14 at home in the Stew Morrill era.

    The last team that seemed to have the mentality that Northeastern had Saturday were the Gaels of Saint Mary’s last year, the team that ended USU’s 37-game winning streak at home.

    Sure, the Aggies stunk it up from the field, especially from behind the 3-point line, but plenty of credit still goes to the Huskies for nearly pulling the shocker Saturday. They were a team that had some serious swagger, and Aggie fans had best hope that swagger sticks around all season, because Northeastern will turn out to be one of USU’s best non-conference victories this season if the Huskies play like that all season.

    Now though, it’s USU’s turn to be the fearless team from far away traveling to a big-time environment to face the Hoyas of Georgetown this Saturday.

    Everyone knows Wesley is a big-time player, and Brockeith Pane has shown flashes of the ability to take control of a game. If Nate Bendall can shake some of the rust from finally getting back into game action this past week and if Brady Jardine can keep up the same level of play that earned him Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors, the Aggies could very well propel themselves into the top 25 with a win at Georgetown.

    Each of the past two seasons has seen some kind of major defining victory for USU on the road. Two years ago it was the team’s first victory against New Mexico State in Las Cruces since joining the WAC. Last year it was the overtime thriller at Nevada that put the bulk of the momentum behind what would become a 17-game win streak.

    Georgetown would top them all. Georgetown could put the Aggies in prime position for a high-seed should USU make the NCAA Tournament this March. Georgetown could put USU right on the fringe, if not in the top-25 for possibly the rest of the season.

    Now is where we really see what this team is made of.

Matt Sonnenberg is a senior majoring in print journalism. Matt can be found on the front row of every home football and basketball game. He can also be reached at matt.sonn@aggiemail.usu.edu