After another losing season, the Aggies have brought in new head coach, Gary Anderson, to try and turn the program around. Utah State has not witnessed a winning record since 1996. The Aggies did show signs of promise last ear as they beat Hawaii, New Mexico State and Idaho.
Their playmaker on offense returns at quarterback, Diondre Borel. He is a dual threat who led the team in passing and rushing last season. He added 11 passing touchdowns and rushed for five. When the ball is not in Borel’s hands, sophomore running back, Robert Turbin, will be getting a lot of the carries.
Utah State loses their leading receiver from last season, so Nmandi Gwacham and Stanley Morrison will need to step up and give Borel some targets to throw to. The line has to step up as well. They need to be better on protecting the quarterback and open up holes for Borel and Turbin to get through.
Expect the defense to show significant improvement this season. Coach Anderson is a defensive guy and that should translate into better statistics put up by the defense. They finished last season ninth in total defense, allowing just over 410 yards per game. That will change this season.
Although the secondary is talented, they still might have some problems with their size. The corners are tiny and to be able to compete with big receivers, they must be able to be physical. The frontline needs to get more pressure upfront as well. This will take some pressure off of the corners and possibly get some more sacks, as the Aggies finished seventh in the conference averaging only 1.5 sacks per game last season.
With a lot of starters returning on offense and a new coach whose presence alone should improve the defense, the Aggies should make progress towards earning their first winning season in over a decade, but it will not be this season.
Prediction: 4-8