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.

Preseason Previews and Vibes, Part 2: Offense

Part 2 of 4: Offense

Moving on with the preview, you may notice that this preview has changed from a three-part series to four. That's because there's more to making a great football team than just offense, defense and special teams. What is that fourth aspect? Well, if you don't know already, you'll find out by Wednesday at the latest. For now though, let's preview the offense.

QUARTERBACKS
It took Brent Guy 34 games before he got to five wins at USU... Adam Kennedy pretty much started out 5-0, and he's going to be the backup this season. Got your head wrapped around that?

Chuckie Keeton showed how good he was throughout plenty of the first half of last season before getting injured, where Kennedy stepped in and kept things going as strong as ever. Now, with a full offseason of work and a new offensive coordinator who looks like he's open to actually throwing downfield, Keeton looks ready to dominate. Really both guys look like they could be all-WAC quarterbacks this year, but Keeton has the edge, and if you're beating out a potential all-WAC guy for a starting job, you're probably doing something right.

Preseason vibe: Stoked as hell, with maybe a sprinkle of all-time great status about to happen

10 crucial Aggies: No. 7 - left side of the offensive line

The trio of Tyler Larsen, Eric Schultz and Oscar Molina-Sanchez are entering their third season as starters together on the offensive line. But as strong and experienced as those three guys are, plenty of the offense hangs on the players who win the position battles on the left side of the line.


Between blazing trails for Kerwynn Williams and protecting the quarterbacks in the pocket, the pressure is on pretty heavily for two guys who really are still to be determined. The preseason depth chart lists Jamie Markosian as the starter at left guard, which should really surprise nobody given the high-praise he's received from coaches over the past two years. He's continued to bulk up along the way and based on how he's looked so far in camp, appears ready for prime time.

Left tackle is a bit more of a question mark with Kevin Whimpey and Logan Molohifo'ou pushing each other for a starting role. What really complicates things is that they are both quite a bit different from one another. Whimpey, along with his brother Kyle, have earned mild internet fame based on their mind-blowing strength displayed in offseason workouts. The question of lateral movement is what hangs over his head though.

Molohifo'ou is a totally different story, possessing excellent athleticism to go along with great size for an offensive lineman. He's only a freshman, and looks to have superstar potential as he adds more muscle to his frame, but Whimpey already has that muscle and then some.

Having someone step up and put a stranglehold on each spot on the left side is crucial though. A little bit of depth wouldn't hurt either, seeing as how Markosian has been slotted as the backup center each of the last two seasons behind Tyler Larsen. Schultz has been thrown into the mix as a possible emergency center too, but let's hope it never has to be anyone but Larsen snapping the football.

One also has to hope if the coaching staff is going to stack each one of last season's starting tackles together on one side of the line, that they feel plenty comfortable in the guys filling the spot on the left side. With some strong play from those guys stepping in, the offense should be able to easily maintain a high level of play again this season.