2011 Preview: Utah State Aggies

2010 was somewhat of a roller coaster for Utah State. The Aggies traveled to Norman in Week 1, a place where Oklahoma is 61-2 in the past decade, and had the ball with a chance to tie it with four minutes left in the game. A few games later, Utah State laid wood to in-state rival BYU with a dominating 31-16 win, a team the Aggies hadn’t beaten in 17 years. Despite battling the eventual Fiesta Bowl champions and finally beating BYU, there were plenty of low times to show growth was still needed (like losing to Idaho by three touchdowns at home).

With upstart coach Gary Andersen beginning his third campaign in Logan, Aggie fans are hoping the team is ready to get to a bowl game. The Aggies need to replace quarterback Diondre Borel, who has been the offensive leader for the past few seasons. Three quarterbacks are competing to be Borel’s replacement. Junior Adam Kennedy and freshman Alex Hart are in a battle that Andersen has said will end in about a week, as he hopes to name a starter then. Hart is said to be well ahead of expectations in both the weight room and on the field and may be poised to grab the job.

Robert Turbin needs to duplicate
his breakout 2009 season

Whoever handles the snaps for Utah State will be happy for the return of junior Robert Turbin. After rushing for 1,296 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore (as well as adding 481 yards and five more touchdowns receiving), Turbin missed the entire 2010 season after suffering a knee injury in fall camp.

The defense should improve this season, adding both size and depth to the front seven. The Aggies surrendered 180 rushing yards per game last season and Andersen, who made his name as a defensive coordinator at the University of Utah, has made fixing that a priority this offseason.

The schedule looks pretty promising for the Aggies. The home slate of should give Utah State just enough to break into a bowl game this season.

SCHEDULE & PREDICTIONS

Date/Time	TV	Opponent	Zach	Brett
Sat. 09/03/11 10:00 a.m. MT	---	at Auburn	L	L
Sat. 09/10/11 6:00 p.m. MT	---	WEBER STATE	W	W
Sat. 09/24/11 6:00 p.m. MT	---	COLORADO STATE	L*	L
Fri. 09/30/11 6:00 p.m. MT	ESPN	at BYU	L	L
Sat. 10/08/11 6:00 p.m. MT	---	WYOMING	W*	W
Sat. 10/15/11 8:00 p.m. MT	---	at Fresno State	L	L
Sat. 10/22/11 1:00 p.m. MT	---	LOUISIANA TECH	W	L
Sat. 11/05/11 10:00 p.m. MT	---	at Hawaii	L	L
Sat. 11/12/11 1:00 p.m. MT	---	SAN JOSE STATE	W	W
Sat. 11/19/11 3:00 p.m. MT		at Idaho	W	W
Sat. 11/26/11 1:00 p.m. MT	WSN	NEVADA	W*	W
Sat. 12/03/11 6:00 p.m. MT	---	at New Mexico State	W	W
			7-5	6-6

(schedule courtesy FBSchedules.com)