No luck in three losses
Utah State head coach Gary Andersen does not believe in luck. Some have called the three close losses the Aggies have suffered this season bad luck, but Andersen said he doesn’t buy into it.
He does buy into “playmakers” making plays in key situations, and said he believes it will be needed more than ever in the remaining games of the season.
“It is not luck,” Andersen said. “I’m not a real believer in luck on either way, bad luck or good luck, I just don’t believe in it. I don’t think our kids believe in it. Like I said before, it is not a curse, it is not a secret graveyard out there that is causing us to have problems, or whatever.
“I have heard it all, I have got all the email, I have got all the information on all that stuff, and I don’t believe any of it. That is where I sit. We need to find a way to be able to create. If you want to call it luck, then we have got to create luck. We have got to make a play to make that happen, and at that point you have obviously prepared for that situation, and that doesn’t make it lucky.”
Andersen said he will be re-evaluating every aspect of the program to evaluate if there is any way to improve the team.
“What you do is you have to look at yourself — see if there is something you can do to make it better,” Andersen said. “You have got to look at the kids and see if there is something you can help them do better, and you have got to look at your coaches and see if there is something they can do better. We will tweak a few things.”
Several of the Aggies’ losses have come down to the last play and resulted in their inability to move the ball. A first down in the final minutes against BYU could have guaranteed a win, and a converted two-point attempt against Colorado State could have guaranteed a win there as well.
Despite the disheartening losses, Andersen said his team remains positive and confident.
“The one thing I would say is they understand now, and I believe this, that they believe they can play with anybody from a physicality standpoint. I think they believe they can play with anybody in any stadium,” Andersen said. “Is that satisfaction? I can’t say that is the ultimate satisfaction, but it does help them go prepare for the next game — them understanding we can beat anybody we play, if we take care of our business.”
The players are taking the schedule one game at a time and know their goals are still within reach — especially the goal of reaching a bowl game.
“We set those goals, and they are still within reach,” said senior tight end Tarren Lloyd. “The only way I can really relate it is to Rocky, he kept getting knocked down round after round, and Coach always relates us to boxing and how we need to go into every round ready to fight. That is kind of the way I have been looking at it. Rocky got knocked down, but he came back again. Obviously, everyone knows what happens when you watch those Rocky movies.”
USU’s schedule does not get any easier, with games against Wyoming, Fresno State and Hawaii coming up, and finishing will be even more of a focus. USU has only trailed for a combined 12 minutes and 45 seconds, in games it has lost.
“It is not real easy, it hasn’t been easy to this point, and it is not going to be real easy,” Andersen said. “We have got our work cut out for us so we have got to find a way to finish, because we are not going to walk into games and say this thing is over in the third quarter, and away we go. They are going to be dog fights all the way through for a long period of time coming at us.”
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu