Game 1: Southern Utah University 3-34 victory for the Aggies (1-0)
This game was expected to be the blowout that it was. A top-ranked quarterback in Brad Sorenson looked like an old man out there. He was overcome by the tenacious defense of Utah State which brings me to my main point...
After Bobby Wagner was drafted to the Seattle Seahawks this year, I didn't think the USU defense would be anything near to what it was with Wagner. Where would we find a linebacker? Who would get all the sacks and tackles and turnovers that Wagner helped provide? What I saw in the USU defense that night was scary good. The defense is not so much about one player anymore, but a literal team effort. And, dare I say it, the defense is better this year than last year. Led by Bojay Filimoeatu at linebacker (who had a nationally recognized week against UofU), the Aggies truly are together. I saw unity. I saw hard work ethic. I saw some bad mamma jammas who wont take no crap from nobody!! (Cool Runnings quote). Anyway, it was a solid outing from the Aggies.
In stating that about the past NFL draft, Robert Turbin also got drafted to Seattle, leaving the ground game to Kerwynn Williams and Joe Hill. I had not idea who Joe Hill was until I saw his tackle-breaking strength and his freaky fast speed! Hill had 11 carries for 116 yards and 3 TDs!! That was a big boost to my confidence as a Utah State fan. I think we all have big hopes for the Aggies this year in pursuit of a major bowl bid and a major bowl win!
Game 2: University of Utah 20-27 victory for the Aggies in OT (2-0)
As a college football fan, you drool at the opportunity to see your team take out a powerhouse. The Utes have been a very successful program. Moving to the Pac-12 conference this year, the team was looking to have a run at the conference championship. The Aggies exploited many of the Ute's weaknesses. All week leading up to the game, sports analysts and experts were saying that the Utes' defense was a top defense. That USU would have a difficult time getting much offense going. Regardless, Chuckie Keeton managed to throw for 216 yards and 2 touchdown passes. And Kerwynn Williams ran for 95 yards on 16 carries and added a TD to his tally thus far.
OK, so lets put aside the fact that we had a VERY impressive offense game against the seemingly indestructible Ute defense. Forget about how everyone called UofU winning this game, even some USU students were saying we had NO chance to win the match up. Nevermind that everyone blamed the refs for calling the game in our favor. And all of you who think that the Utes simply weren't playing up to par to have "pity" on us, please spare me the effort it takes to explain the competitive heart found in each and every college football player. They all have worked their hardest to be where they are at and want to win EVERY game. The fact is, USU won. We were underdogs and we rose to the surface. In the rivalry of "the Brothers", the little brother is coming into his own. Coach Gary Anderson and his winning ways are becoming evident in each and every game.
Game 3: University of Wisconsin 16-14 loss for the Aggies, 1st loss of the season (2-1)
Here, the Aggies had the opportunity to get another big win against a Big 10 conference school. Wisconsin has one of the top running backs in the country in Montee Ball. Wisconsin's offensive line had alot of confusion because of the coach change they had and USU had a VERY good chance at taking down one of the countries top college football programs. Every year, Utah State has gone to play big schools at the beginning of their season. That exclusive list includes, Auburn, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Oregon to name a few. It has been a GREAT strategy because we have been able to hang with most of these teams, excluding Oregon. And now we add Wisconsin to that list. Now, I could go on about how close we were to winning each game or focusing on the key elements that USU has been developing, but in all reality, we haven't won a big game. We receive somewhat of recognition from respecting major sports analysts, but after everything is said and done, Utah State has simply come up short. I'm no trying to take anything away from our win over University of Utah. That was a BIG win and gives me hope for this young season.
If there was something we could blame this loss on, we would blame it on our special teams. If you are an Aggie fan, every time the ball is punted or kicked off for our receiving team, you lose your breath and experience vertigo as your stomach turns in knots, hoping that the kick isn't muffed or that the punt isn't fumbled. Our offense is good enough to score from within our own territory 7 times out of 10. But because of our woes on special teams, we lose extra opportunities to win. Such is the case in this game, when the punter, Tyler Bennett, kicked a line drive punt, giving our defense no time to get down field to make a tackle. Meaning that the punt returner was able to run the punt back for a TD, putting Wisconsin up 16-14. And our offense was able to complete a strong final drive, giving our kicker Josh Thompson missed a 37 yard FG try as time expired. Game over. Our efforts to keep our record perfect was ruined.
Rest assured AggieNation, these men are fighters. Don't give up on them yet, I know I haven't. We are just getting started and I am VERY optimistic.
