Aggies Heading into WAC Play

October 5, 2009 | Posted by AggieNoise

With the out of conference (OOC) games out of the way, a brutal schedule that left the Aggies with an unimpressive and slightly deceiving 1-3, Utah State football coach, Gary Andersen, now faces a tough Western Athletic Conference (WAC) schedule. There have been clear indications that the WAC’s bottom teams have improved, and #5 Boise State shows that the top is still strong. Throw out Boise State and there seems to be a lot of parity in the WAC this year. The question being, where does USU fit into all of this?

Teams

Boise State- overall record (5-0), WAC record (1-0). Their one WAC win was against the Bulldogs of Fresno State. The Broncos most impressive win of the season came against Oregon in their first game. This game included the highly controversial punch in the face delivered by Oregon’s LeGarrette Blount and received by Boise’s Byron Hout. Boise is poised to go undefeted again in the regular season and should win the WAC title this year.

Idaho- overall record (4-1), WAC record (1-0). This has been the surprise of the season. The Vandals have a new head coach in Rob Akey who is quickly earning the trust and support of the fans in Moscow. The Vandals got their one WAC win against the New Mexico State Aggies who look to be at the bottom of the league again this year.

Louisiana Tech- overall record (2-2), WAC record (1-0). A tough first two games this season leaves the Bulldogs sitting at .500. They beat Hawaii in their only WAC game up to this point. They showed that even with a disappointing OOC record they are going to be strong in WAC play.

Nevada- overall record (1-3), WAC record (0-0). Another tough OOC schedule leaves the Wolfpack with a frustrating 1-3 record. They were highly touted coming into this season with a lot of experience and good talent. Many feel they underacheived to start the season when they could have done a lot to help the reputation of the WAC. Their last game was an all out emberrassment of UNLV winning the intra-state rivalry game 63-28.

San Jose State- overall record (1-3), WAC record (0-0). San Jose State prides themselves on their defense but they won’t win many games if they can’t score over 20 points in a game, something they’ve yet to do. They had arguably the toughest schedule to date, so there are a lot of questions about this team still.

Utah State- overall record (1-3), WAC record (0-0). Utah State has a new head coach in Gary Andersen. He has changed the attitude of the team and is set on turning this program around. So far the Aggies have looked improved, and have shown that they can score points. The defense is the big question mark, which is also Andersen’s forte. With one of the tougher schedules to date, the Aggies have show the ability to play with teams that used to blow them out.

Hawai’i- overall record ( 2-2), WAC record (0-1). Hawai’i had the nations most potent offense until they lost starting quarterback Greg Alexander last week against La. Tech. Even up until that point the Hawaii offense struggled to do much and the defense was pourous at best. This team has the potential to finish towards the top of the league but might end up closer to the bottom.

New Mexico State- overall record (2-3), WAC record (0-1). New head coach Dewane Walker was left with little to work with but has already secured two victories. The NMSU Aggies are hoping this is a sign of good things to come. For now, they will likely bring up the rear in the WAC.

Fresno State- overall record (1-3), WAC record (0-1). The Bulldogs have done everything to show their ability but not enough to win some heartbreakers this OOC. They have a premier running back in Ryan Matthews who made Boise State’s defense look slow as he raced to three 60+ yard TD’s. They have the tools and a good coach. They should finish top 3 in the WAC.

And now for the noise:

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

USU football: Aggies must go a step beyond being competitive

Categories: Utah State Football | Tags: Aggie, Aggies, Gary Andersen, USU, Utah State Football, WAC, Western Athletic Conference | No Comments »