Kicking woes
There’s only one explanation for the Utah State football team’s loss at Wisconsin Saturday – special teams.
Not Josh Thompson or any other individual player, but the unit as a whole. The defense performed excellently. The offense struggled, but still put up points. It was the special teams that cost the Aggies a win.
It’s an issue that has plagued the Aggies in a multitude of situations over the past few years. In each of the past four seasons, USU has come within a touchdown or less of beating a Bowl Championship Series team.
And the past two seasons, it’s been the special teams that have cost the Aggies a signature win against those top-tier teams.
Against Texas A&M in 2009, the Aggies nearly erased a 21-point deficit before giving the ball away on a fumble with less than 25 seconds left while driving to tie the game. In 2010 it was then No. 7 Oklahoma sealing the deal with an interception to escape the upset bug.
Neither of those games stung as badly as the past two seasons have, perhaps because the Aggies trailed the entire game and didn’t have the expectations for the football team which are now present.
But the past two seasons have been tough to swallow for the football program and for Aggie nation as a whole.
Last season Utah State jumped on top of defending National Champion Auburn and held a 38-28 lead with fewer than four minutes remaining. After the Tigers pulled within three, the Aggie special teams were unable to seal the deal and failed to secure the ensuing onside kick.
The Tigers took advantage, driving for another touchdown to solidify the victory. Last week against Utah, the USU special teams missed an extra point, a field goal and muffed a punt.
Saturday against Wisconsin, the special teams were abysmal in every category from punt yardage average to coverage on kick returns, with a punt return for a touchdown proving to be the game-winner. Not to mention poor execution on Utah State’s field goals and extra points, such as the missed 37-yarder as time expired.
Despite the less-than-pleasing performance from the special teams, the football program continues to progress and gain respect and attention on the national stage.
But for head coach Gary Andersen, the special teams remain a chink in the armor that needs to be repaired if the Aggies are going to break through and get that signature win the program and fans are hungry for.
This season the NCAA changed the rules so that kickoffs take place from the 35-yard-line instead of the 30 and touchbacks are moved up five yards and placed at the 25.
Against Wisconsin, the kickoff return team averaged 15 yards per return, compared to nearly 20 for the Badgers. This means the Aggies are starting inside their own 20 and losing the battle of field position.
Such was the case Saturday as the kicking team failed to record a touchback and gave up 19.7 yards per return to the Badgers.
The punt team was even worse. Two punters had a combined 11 kicks with an average punt of 37.5 yards, including a 19 yard punt that started the Badgers at USU’s 42-yard-line and eventually led to Wisconsin’s lone off
ensive touchdown.
Not exactly what Andersen was hoping for.
On the flip side, the special teams have shown moments of excellence this season. The squad blocked a Wisconsin extra point that allowed the team a shot at a game-winning field goal. Despite the mostly-poor punting, the Aggies pinned the Badgers inside their own 20 on four occasions.
Against Utah, Tyler Bennett averaged 45.3 yards per punt – including a 59-yarder – and stuck the Utes inside their own 20 four times.
The coverage team opened the scoring against Utah with their first blocked punt returned for a touchdown in 10 years. It also held the Utes to 17 yards per kickoff return, which helped win the field position battle.
The special teams unit isn’t hopeless, it just needs to be tweaked. And when it’s patched up, the Aggies already promising season will look even brighter.
– curtis.lundstrom@gmail.com
Twitter: @curtislundstrom