Lights Out at our White Out

Not so much the white shirts that are beautiful, but more so the packed house!

A whole lot of Saturday's game seemed to be very up and down. And by that I really just mean that USU sucked in the first and third quarters, while dominating in the second and fourth.

Sloppy and frustrating as it may have been though, I'd much rather have us playing great in the fourth quarter instead of letting the games get uncomfortably close and choking it away in the final minutes.

This may sound cocky, but I really do feel like tonight was another one of those "we got this" kinds of games where we are good enough to bail ourselves out of any situation and didn't really open up the playbook much. We have a huge in-state game next week and don't want to show too much, and I don't think we did.

Football: Highs, Lows and I Don't Knows - 9/25

We all know that the past few decades of Aggie football had been some dark times until Gary Andersen arrived.

Just how bad were they though? Let's use three wins as a measuring stick, since that was often as good as it got for USU football since the turn of the century before Andersen came around. And even since GA has arrived, the third win has taken its sweet time to get here. Below is the date in which Utah State finally got its third win of the season for each year over the last 12 years...

2000: Oct. 21
2001: Nov. 10
2002: Nov. 9
2003: Nov. 1
2004: Nov. 20
2005: Nov. 26
2006: 3rd win?
2007: Seriously, what 3rd win?
2008: Nov. 29
2009: Nov. 14
2010: Nov. 6
2011: Nov. 5
2012: Sep. 22

This marks the first time since 2000 that the team's third win has come prior to the month of November. And if you want to know when the last time USU won its third game in September prior to last weekend, you have to go all the way back to 1978.

The Fighting White shall see the light

I USED TO BE ANTI-WHITE OUT LIKE YOU...
I never thought I would see the day that Utah State would be doing something like a white-out. Hell, I have actively fought against the idea for years now. There have been probably around a dozen e-mails or Facebook messages that have come my way over the past few years with people saying that Utah State should do a white out for a game.

I never agreed with this. For one, I'm all about wearing blue on game day. But more importantly, the brilliant ideas for these white outs usually came from someone wanting to sell t-shirts for their SEED program project. As if those projects weren't already annoying enough getting shoved down the throats of everyone on campus, the last thing we wanted was their annoying asses influencing the games that they probably hardly went to anyway.

Mine and plenty of others' philosophy was to just wear blue, all the time, no questions asked.

BUT THEN I TOOK AN ARROW IN THE KNEE
Everything kind of changed once Gary Andersen declared that a white out will be happening for the homecoming game this Saturday. And what Gary says, Gary gets!!!

Sloppy but surely... Aggies win 31-19 at CSU

Oh how far we've come...

Not long ago, a game played as sloppy as that one by the Aggies would have resulted in a double-digit loss, all sorts of regret and lingering thoughts that we might not even win three games that season.

Here we are now though where we mostly played poorly, finished -3 in turnovers, made a handful of other mistakes, yet are still coming away with a double-digit victory on the road. Oh, and we're 3-1.

Things didn't start out all too bad for USU though. The defense was absolutely dominant in the first half and the offense got off to a nice start with a touchdown on its first drive. Colorado State only managed 10 yards of total offense in the first quarter while the Aggies jumped out to a 10-0 lead.

The Rams got one big run for 27 yards that accounted for nearly half of their first half offense, while USU was doing things like busting out a 19-play, 85-yard scoring drive. The Aggies nearly capped off another scoring drive too that would have put them up 24-0 going into halftime, but Matt Austin got a little careless carrying the football and the Rams poked it loose just short of the goal line.

Injuries starting to take their blows

All things considered, Utah State has been pretty fortunate when it comes to battling the injury bug so far this football season. That honeymoon seems to be officially over now though. And even basketball might have some bad news of its own. Let's run down the blows that injuries have had so far...

ADAM KENNEDY
We all saw the injury in the Southern Utah game, and at the time it looked to be something at least mildly serious. Then AFK kinda shocked us by being back in action already against Utah and again against Wisconsin. Seemed like everything was fine and dandy, right?

Apparently that was wrong. Kennedy's hurt, bad enough that the injury could be season-ending as Tony Jones reported. In his place, Devonta Glover-Wright is apparently going to be the backup quarterback moving forward. He played it at the junior college level and the coaches apparently believe he can get the job done. Hopefully he never needs to though. That Keeton kid ain't bad.

Needing To Have A Talk With Bill Busch

Dear Bill,

I didn't want things to have to come to this, because I really do think you're good for this coaching staff... But we need to talk.

SAFETIES
Before I say anything else, let me just say that I think you've done a phenomenal job with the safeties at USU since you've been here. Whether it was in those two years as defensive coordinator or in the last season and a quarter as the safeties coach, that part of the secondary has been killin it!

Both of the starting safeties from your first year here made it to NFL training camp rosters when their time here was done, and we didn't seem to miss a beat losing either of them. Both Alfred Bowden and Walter McClenton turned into solid players back there for you, and it looks like McKade Brady and Brian Suite are going to be a superstar duo this season.

That track record isn't just good, it's great!!

So close... Again...

It’s almost like every Utah State fan knew deep down that if the Aggies were going to win that game, they couldn’t let it come down to kicking. None of the kickers on the roster have shown any consistency, or really even capability to make kicks from anywhere outside of a PAT, and even that is never a guarantee.

As amazing as this team’s defense has been so far this season, and as good as the offense has managed to be despite playing back-to-back games against teams who could very well end up playing each other in the Rose Bowl, we’re one solid special teams performance away from being 3-0

Before I go on though, let’s get one thing clear: DO NOT be the kind of asshole that goes and harasses Josh Thompson at wherever he lives, or dishes out hate on Facebook or Twitter. Yeah, he hasn't been very good at kicker, we’re all well aware of that by now, and to talk about that among company online or whatever is totally ok. He can’t be loving life right now as is, and having some overly-reactive stranger who goes out of their way to tell him he sucks won’t do him or the team any good. Plus, it just kinda makes you look like an asshat if you’re that guy. Just respect the guy’s space. He's still a member of this team, and who knows, maybe he'll come through with some kind of epic heroics later this season (a winning field goal at BYU would suffice Josh). 

Another Day, Another Monumental Challenge

Saturday's game against Wisconsin up in Madison might have the biggest potential positive impact for any single game in Utah State history since, well... last Friday.

Really though, it's one thing to win big games on national TV versus the perennial best team in the State of Utah. That said a whole lot and definitely grabbed a lot of people's attention. If you go into the heart of Big Ten country though, in a madhouse like Madison has, against a program like Wisconsin and pull off a win, it's a whole different level. At that point, not only would Utah State have the nation's attention, but they'd all be hanging on the Aggies' every word.

And the intriguing thing about this is that a win looks like a very real possibility, if not just a straight-up good chance of happening. I'm not about to call it a lock like Eddie George did, because it's not. Also thanks to the O.G. Madden Curse for saying that and probably getting the Wisconsin guys all pissed off at a former Buckeye dissing them. Obviously at this point if USU loses, my blame is landing squarely on George's shoulders.

Let's Talk About Some More Football - Part 2

Can this much really be said about Friday's game? Given that it is basically the defining victory of this new era of Utah State football, I'm saying all that I feel needs to be said. And really, a lot of it is more dealing with the early part of this season so far rather than just Friday's win.

As monumental as the BYU win in 2010 was, and as good as it felt to beat a team we all hate with such passion, that was only one of four wins that season. The momentum of the program is rolling a lot stronger now, and this 2012 Utah team is leaps and bounds better than that 2010 BYU team. We didn't come into the Utah game knowing we should win like we did for the big one in 2010. Beating the Utes was nothing short of a mountain to climb, and the Aggies battled all the way to the summit!

So let's talk a little bit more about some Utah State football.

Let's Talk About Some More Football - Part 1

LET'S TALK ABOUT THE AFTERMATH
A funny thing about big wins like Friday's is the aftermath of it all. We spend so much time building up to a game or event and let all this excitement build underneath thoughts and dreams of, "What if we pull this off?!" In some cases, your team loses. Opportunity missed, heart broken, and nothing left but to wonder what could have been. That's what we've been far too familiar with prior to the last few years as Utah State football fans.

But then there's those times where the team pulls it off. And in the case of last night, it turned out to be an overall epic gameday experience from start to finish. The Aggies pulled off the upset, and in the case of almost all of us, it was the biggest win for USU we've ever been a part of.

What's funny is the trip home from that. Those amazing moments happen, and the excitement and memory of them remain, but life as we knew it before, still goes on. The thrill of the Utah game still lingered, but Saturday went on with a lazy day on the couch watching college football just as it would have regardless of Friday's outcome.

The Andersen Legend Grows... Aggies 27, Utes 20

Where to even begin...

There's so damn much to say about this game, and the overall college football experience that it was, that this postgame will only touch the surface. A little side-story will be in order for Saturday or Sunday to wrap things up even more. For now though, I'll try to summarize it as best as I can.

ATMOSPHERE
"Instant classic" appropriately summarizes Friday night at Romney Stadium. And not just in the sense of a football game.

For the first time in a long, we knew this was going to be a game between the Utes and the Aggies. Add the excitement surrounding USU that permeates the air since Gary Andersen arrived in Logan, bringing a solid tailgate scene all afternoon. Fans wearing both blue and red were mingling, having a good time, and really just kind of treating things like a family affair for a "Battle of the Brothers". It started off with everything like a friendly rivalry should be. The line at the gates as a crowded as I've ever seen it with people hungry to get in and get the best seats, and it wasn't long after those gates opened that the entire lower bowl of student section and general admission was full.

The atmosphere was out of control from there. Easily the craziest I've ever seen Romney Stadium, but that's getting its own separate article tomorrow.

Friday though was what college football should be, in almost every way. And it was a collaborative effort by both Aggies and Utes that made it happen.

The Brothers Are Growing Up In This Sibling Rivalry

HISTORY
You've read all the basics about the series between the Utes and the Aggies. Friday's the 110th meeting, the Utes lead 77-28-4, 99 players from the Beehive State between the two teams, yada yada yada...

In the bigger picture of things though, this series (or rivalry if you indeed want to call it that) really does its title of "The Battle of the Brothers". Call me crazy, but as a die-hard Aggie fan, I've never felt the kind of passionate hate toward Utah like I have toward the likes of New Mexico State or BYU. Like brothers do in real life, the Aggies and Utes fight once in a while and we might piss each other off a little bit sometimes, but we get over it and can shake hands afterward.

If nothing else, we can bond back together as brothers to go throw rocks at the assholes that nobody likes who live a little bit further down south on our street. Really much of the same can be said for Weber State and Southern Utah. For the most part, my mingling with fans of theirs leaves me thinking, "You guys are freakin alright!"

The best examples I can give were back in 2007 and 2009 as visiting fans wearing Aggie blue down at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Before the game, meandering through the U of U tailgate lot where their hardest of hardcore fans pregame, we could barely walk through there because people wanted us to stop, hang out, chat, offer us food, beers, or whatever. Everyone was cool as hell in there, and more than once. Sure, you might find a douchebag or two while visiting another stadium, but you'll get that anywhere, including USU. That welcoming vibe from the Ute fans speaks a lot, hence, me not having much bad to say about them.

Football: Highs, Lows and I Don't Knows - 9/4

Week one is in the books, with week two being a big one coming up. I'm of the belief that the USU coaches kept things pretty simple as to not show too much on the game film for Utah to scout. The Utes undoubtedly did the same thing too, so Friday should be full of surprises.

But even despite keeping things simple, let's still try and break things down a little bit.


THE HIGHS

Chuckie Keeton, Matt Austin and Joe Hill - Chances are that any time you get a quarterback throwing for 300+ yards, a receiver with 100+ yards, running back rushing for 100+ yards, all with a good defense backing them up, you'll probably win. This trio was awesome all game, and two of them are only sophomores. We knew Keeton and Austin would tear it up this year, but with Hill's performance, and even Kerwynn Williams still having a decent game of his own, the running game might be better than we'd thought.

The rush defense - Sure, it was only SUU, and they don't exactly have a good running game, but holding a team to just 2.1 yards per carry is impressive, especially going into this week's game against Utah. John White isn't a power back, but he's fast, shifty and great at finding holes, so stopping him will be no easy task. Still, White needed 24 carries to rack up 119 yards against Northern Colorado. If USU can slow him up, scoring points won't come easy for Utah.

Pass defense - A possible NFL quarterback was 12-of-31 for only 153 yards. That's not too shabby for the defensive backfield. Terrence Alston had a team-high five tackles to go with a tackle for loss and a sack to bolster the resume of Saturday's performance by the DBs. 


THE LOWS

Pass defense - Yep, they're both on the highs and lows! The pass interference penalties, disagree with some of them as I may, are how football is officiated these days. Receivers are given all sorts of freedom to initiate contact and gain separation. Defensive backs can't get away with that, and the sooner they learn that it's life's not fair out there and adjust the amount of contact they make, the sooner they'll see a lot fewer yellow flags thrown their way. The DBs did great at sticking with their guys, but they've got to perfect how to do so without getting flagged for it.

Special teams - A blown extra point, a muffed punt and really just overall unimpressive play didn't offer anything to be encouraged about. Chuck Jacobs had one punt return for 30 yards, which is better than most punt returns we've seen around here for a while. Still, lots of work left to be done here.


THE I DON'T KNOWS

Defensive line - Great at stopping the run, left some to be desired in pass pressure. I'm trying to tell myself that they did what the offense did with keeping things mostly under wraps, but I'm less optimistic here. Still, I think they'll continue to improve as the year goes on, and the run stopping was great on Thursday. So far I'd say they did good, not great.

Turnovers - Kinda was hoping for more of them. Still trying to tell myself that it's because the blitzing packages weren't let loose. Getting pressure on Jordan Wynn can be a game-changer on Friday. His arm isn't strong as it is, so if he's forcing throws on the run or under pressure in the pocket, that could create a couple possible turnover opportunities, which the Aggies will need to capitalize on.