Utah State preview: board the train to nowheresville

Previewing the WAC seems like a good job for an intern. Unfortunately, we do not have an intern. Ugh. Previously: SJSU, LaTech, Fresno State, Hawaii. Today: Utah State.

  Utah State

  Team motto: "Failure is totally an option"





By far, the high point of last year for the Utah State Aggies was winning in consecutive weeks against Idaho and New Mexico State to finish the season. If that doesn't set the recruiting trail abuzz, then we don't know what will.



The Aggies have even higher hopes this season now that they have momentum and a full roster of players to work with. Could their two-win 2007 turn into a four-win 2008? Talk about a program on the rise!



At this point, head coach Brent Guy will take anything. His tenure in Logan has been short on winning and long on blowouts, and no matter how you classify last season's two-game winning streak, it doesn't change the fact that the Aggies have been just plain bad. If Utah State has plans on contending in the deep waters of the WAC, they are going to have to overcome their fears of sailing one way or another.

Five questions

Does anyone want to play quarterback at Utah State?

From the looks of things, the answer is "no," followed shortly thereafter by an "Are you kidding me? They're terrible!" First, the Aggies lost quarterback Riley Nelson to rival BYU in what was later termed as upward mobility. Then one of the key competitors in the fall quarterback race, Jase McCormick, up and quit once fall camp started, citing a lack of "interest" (read: winning) in "football" (read: getting Utah State chicks). Can you blame them? Well, Brent Guy probably can because now he is left with senior Sean Setzer holding the reins to the offense. You can loosen your grip, Sean. The offense isn't going anywhere.



What's this new weight room I am hearing so much about?

Utah State is at least doing things right with their facilities and infrastructure. Over the summer, they replaced their athletic director and duped the new guy into thinking that the football program can be a viable income source some day. Sucker. As a result, the Aggies have a brand new training facility that is either state-of-the-art or better-than-whatever-high-school-we-were-at-before. The press release was not clear.



The Aggies are hoping that the upgraded facilities will bring in new recruits, and their hopes are being met at least a little bit this season. USU will have the full allotment of roster players for the first time since people believed Guy was the right choice for the job. In other words, the first time in a long time.



Does Brent Guy keep fresh copies of his resume on hand, you know, just in case?

Hey, we were just speaking about Guy! As a former Boise State assistant coach, we wish we didn't have to poke fun at his win-loss record (6-29) or his striking resemblance to Mr. Belvedere.

 

But when you're a bad head coach with a bad team, the ribbing is inevitable. So, too, is the shaky job security. Though Guy maintains that he is indeed not on the hot seat, the results of his tenure say otherwise. If he cannot at least tread water in the WAC and beat Idaho and NMSU again, the Aggies could be looking elsewhere for unconvincing coaching candidates.



Jake Hutton: superstar by association or statistical anomaly?

The Aggies' "star" linebacker gets credit for being a good player on a bad defense. His stats reflect as much: 102 tackles and a sack only because no one else had the desire to sack and/or tackle. To be sure, WAC offenses will gameplan for Hutton but only because there is no one else to gameplan for and they'd get bored otherwise. The jury's still out on whether or not returning nine starters on defense is a good thing or a bad thing.



Describe in a picture what will happen when Utah State visits Oregon.

Over/Unders

+/- 1 minute, 30 seconds into their first game it takes for the Aggies to lose the momentum from last season

+/- 3 starting quarterbacks, in addition to Jase McCormick, who suddenly decide that football just isn't their thing

+/- 7 thirty-point losses



Are things improving at Utah State? From certain angles, yes. But in the big picture, the Aggies are still the Aggies.



Certainly, building a modern weight facility is a good start. Thick-necked high school seniors will appreciate that. But the product on the field is several years behind in the quest for belonging in the WAC.



With no clear-cut leader of the offense and nothing to scare opponents on defense, the Aggies have the look of a typical Aggies team...except with more guys standing on the sideline. Having a full roster must be great for practice ("We don't have to play both ways any more! Hooray!"), but unless the roster is full of four- and five-star recruits, it won't matter much on Saturdays.



Speaking of not mattering, that's the case for Utah State again. And so long as the Aggie administration is happy with that, Brent Guy should be back to do it all again next year.

Perfect situation

NCAA allows Utah State to play with 13 men, Aggies win three games instead of two

Reality

the offense struggles to score, the defense struggles to matter, USU loses to Idaho, Brent Guy takes head coaching job at Cole Valley Christian High School in Meridian

Final record: 2-10 overall, 1-7 conference

WAC fall camps: hopes are high, better quit while you're ahead

The beautiful optimism of fall camp will give way to the tragic reality of the regular season before long, so WAC teams better enjoy it while it lasts.

Rest assured, they are. Here is a sampling of the high hopes at WAC schools across the country.

 

New Mexico State

Our favorite out-of-touch fanbase has some pretty unfounded expectations this season. But what's new, right?

The Aggies are expecting to make it to a bowl game this season. We think the Aggies will win between seven and nine games this season including a sweep of rivals UNM and UTEP which is something they haven't done since the 2002 season

We're not entirely sure who is expecting them to make a bowl game other than Hal Mumme, Hal Mumme's immediate family, the webmasters at holbrook4heisman.com, and crazy people.

Hyperbole courtesy of Bleed Crimson.

 

San Jose State

We always pictured Spartan head coach Dick Tomey as a sensible person, but even he can't help but get caught up in the kiddie-pool-wave of excitement surrounding his program.

Coach Dick Tomey, entering his fourth season at SJSU, said. "This should be our best team."

Not sure if that's saying a whole lot.

Blind hope courtesy of the San Jose Mercury News.


 

Louisiana Tech

The Bulldogs are throwing a Fan Fest on August 10th to celebrate success that hasn't happened yet. We did the same thing when we threw a premature Prom Date Fest in high school.

Tech fans will have an opportunity to meet and greet this year’s players, coaches and administrators during the two-hour event while obtaining autographs and pictures. Numerous activities will be available for youngsters, such as games, face painting and more.

We imagine that the more includes arm wrestling with Derek Dooley, a Taylor Bennett dunk tank, and a petting zoo.

Blatant hype courtesy of the News-Star.

 

Utah State

This week, Utah State quarterback Jase McCormick quit the team, leaving senior Sean Setzer as the leader in the Aggies' quarterback derby. Perhaps Setzer's joy over this news has adversely affected his decision-making.

"I think we can be really good this season," senior quarterback Sean Setzer said. "We have a lot of weapons; we have to play with more discipline so we can win the close games. But I definitely think we've made a big improvement over last season."

Adding, "How could we not?"

Fish story courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune

As the WAC quarterbacks turn: Graunke out, McCormick done

Hawaii and Utah State's quarterback competitions are not as competitive any more.

Tyler Graunke, the favorite for the Warriors' quarterback spot, will not be with the team for the foreseeable future, and Jase McCormick, one of several irrelevant contenders for the Aggies, has quit football entirely. Utah State will do that to you.

Graunke, who backed up Colt Brennan each of the last three years, was suspended in the offseason, but he seemed to have his problems worked out and was set to capture the starting quarterback spot. His situation now is pretty up in the air, and will remain that way so long as Hawaii head coach Greg McMackin continues to make broad, generalizing statements.

"Tyler has things he has to work on," McMackin said yesterday in a release from UH. "At this point, he will not practice with the team. Because of privacy laws, I can't comment any further."

Things are much more black and white with Utah State's Jase McCormick. He's got better things to do than lose to mediocre WAC teams week in and week out.

When reached by The Tribune on Saturday, Guy said that McCormick was involved with a few business ventures that he was doing well with.

Also, he was tired of this happening:



The turmoil at Hawaii and Utah State serves to highlight the QB flux across the WAC this season. In addition to the Warriors and the Aggies, there are several other schools with unsettled quarterback situations:

• LaTech: open competition
  
• San Jose State: open competition
  
• Boise State: open competition
  
• Idaho: Nathan Enderle

The signal callers in the WAC with job security are Tom Brandstater, Chase Holbrook, and Colin Kaepernick. Armageddon cannot be far off.

Graunke left back [Star Bulletin]
Jase McCormick leaves Aggies [Salt Lake Tribune]

Tuesday: Links with predictions

Story of the day:

RB Ian Johnson tops in the WAC? [ESPN.com]

ESPN's Graham Watson posed an interesting question on her blog yesterday: Is Ian Johnson the WAC's best running back? If Watson knows, then she's not telling as her story politely skirted the issue with open-ended statements, facts, and Johnson quotes.

But is he the best running back in a stacked WAC?

"I've seen a lot of these guys and you look at (Nevada's Luke) Lippincott and all the guys from La Tech and even the guys from Fresno, these guys are very different running backs from myself," Johnson said during WAC Media Days last week.

Johnson was the best running back in the WAC during his glory year in 2006 and was even considered a darkhorse for the Heisman Trophy. But those numbers trailed off last season as Johnson was plagued with injuries.

We live in a black-and-white world, so this article, with all its grayness and ambiguity, was hard to deal with. The answer, in our opinion, is clear: Ian Johnson is not the WAC's best running back. He lost that title last year when he struggled with injuries and effectiveness. Let the angry emails fly.

Remember, Johnson was not very good at times last year, and Bronco Nation openly questioned what was wrong with him. Sure, he is saying all the right things and doing all the right things this offseason, and to be honest, we are confident that he will regain the mantle of WAC's top running back this season. But in the meantime, we feel he is no longer the top dog.

There, Graham Watson. We said it.

Other links:

Dan Gore cut by Dolphins [Scott Slant]

We guess Miami liked losing last year more than they thought

Utah State bringing down Utah's schedule [ESPN.com]
The Aggies get replaced by Notre Dame. Boise State would do the same if it could.

Another vote for Kellen Moore [Bleacher Report]
Bush Hamdan not available for comment.

Rivals' countdown reaches No. 3 [Rivals.com]
USC and Georgia still to come--most likely in that order.

Recap of rule changes [Rivals.com]
Clock changes may shorten games from 3 hours, 45 minutes to 3 hours, 40 minutes.

Friday: Links with thrift

Story of the day:

You win some, you lose some [Fight Fight BSU]

On the same day that the Broncos lost out on local prospect Darren Markle, BSU received a verbal commitment from Tesoro High (California) LB John Michael Davis. The bright lights of Boise apparently won him over.

From the Statesman:

He arrived in the city Wednesday and visited the school and met with coaches. That was enough for him.

"I just liked everything about it. The town was great. The campus was awesome. The coaches were great. It was a good fit," Davis said Thursday evening before heading to a Boise theater to watch "The Incredible Hulk" with his father.

We always try to celebrate our big life achievements with the cinema of Edward Norton, too.

Davis, in addition to having three names, is a 6'2", 225-pound stud, and he is expected to play middle linebacker at BSU. Welcome to Bronco Nation, John Michael.

Other links:

Did someone say superconference? [Orlando Sentinel]

Here's some food for thought.

Coach Pete's second-year coaching review [College Gridiron]
Another person who thinks he'll be in Boise for awhile.

Utah State website sees the light [USU Aggies]
Spending money on a football team? What a crazy idea!

Nevada stocks up on JC transfers [Reno Gazette Journal]
Highly sought-after freshmen are so overrated.

A positive story on the Mothership [KBCI]
Rhode quits Boise Burn [Statesman]
Taylor Bennett (LaTech QB) feature [Rivals.com]

Wednesday: Links with contentment

Story of the day:

National networks don't want BSU-Oregon [Statesman]

The excitement over one of Boise State's most anticipated games of the season is apparently quite relative. When the Broncos visit the Ducks this September, only the local crowds will be watching.

The Pac-10's TV partners - ABC/ESPN, Fox Sports Net and Versus - passed on the Sept. 20 game when they finalized their selections Monday.

We assume the choice was made considering the possibly damaging combination of green, yellow, orange, and blue on TV sets nationwide. We also assume it has nothing to do with the Broncos laying a traditional egg against BCS competition on the road.

The game will air locally on KTVB and will be covered by the new Mark Johnson-led broadcast team.

Said KTVB sports director David Augusto: "It looks like it's ours to do."

The Oregon game would give KTVB the rights to seven games this season - the first three games of the season and four straight games in November.

The more Mark Johnson, the better. We think.

Other links:

Boise State's schedule not very tough [PhilSteele.com]
Then again, it is Phil Steele talking.

Boise State must be in Rivals Top 50 [Rivals.com]
Waiting for them to be ranked is kind of like Christmas for us.

PAC-10 expansion discussion continued [Fanblogs.com]
Interesting stats on possible candidates for expansion

Ian Johnson projected as third round draft pick [Red Zone Report]
If he's healthy, a second round pick. If he's Tim Tebow, a first rounder.

Campaigning to be the next USU coach [KVNU]
We could think of at least 500 better things to do.

Exposed secrets of Utah State attendance

With the news that New Mexico State is in trouble for poor attendance figures, one might rationally wonder why the same isn't true of football black hole Utah State. As it turns out, some Aggies are more unethical than others.

With the way USU counts every student on campus as someone who has purchased a ticket, the Aggies have found a sneaky way to avoid trouble from the NCAA by living up to ‘attendance standards.’

If only they put as much effort into playing their games...

Thank goodness we root for a team whose waiting list alone exceeds NCAA attendance requirements.

NMSU football in danger [KVNU Full Court Press]

Thursday: Links with politics

Story of the day:

Yahoo/Rivals starts rankings countdown [Rivals.com]

Starting with the bottom of college football and working their way up, Rivals.com will be unveiling a countdown of all 120 teams over the next few weeks. And there's no surprise whom they chose for the bottom.

Numbers 118 and 119 out of a possible 120 are the WAC's Utah State and Idaho. Only Florida Atlantic was deemed worse.

RE: the Vandals:

THE BUZZ: It's tough to succeed in the WAC when you can't throw the ball effectively. Playing in a league that featured five of the nation's top 40 passing offenses last year, Idaho is going to continue to lag behind until it shores up its passing attack.

Well, we don't know if we would call it "buzz." More like sad, depressing truth.

Their take on the Aggies started awfully optimistic, but quickly turned south.

Utah State enters the season on a two-game winning streak. They haven't won three in a row since 1996-97. But a 1-4 start looks likely, and unless the Aggies win at home against Idaho on Sept. 20, a winless season is a possibility.

Too bad Florida Atlantic isn't on the schedule.

Other links:

Face of Boise State football [Bronco Nation NOW]
Our vote rhymes with "Schmadman."

WAC expansion with...Utah Valley State? [Parsing the WAC]
They don't have a football team, which is a far more honest assessment than that of the University of Idaho.

Utah State pretty geeked up about Phil Steele [Utah Statesman]
Take comfort in the small victories, Aggies.

Still no Jeremy Childs [Idaho Statesman]

Life Coach: Airport Cheering 101

The Life Coach believes that there are no stupid questions, just stupid Vandal fans who ask questions. His purpose is to shepherd Bronco Nation to the calm waters of illumination, guiding them through their perfunctory problems with grace, flair, and competent advice. Got a question for the Life Coach? Email him at OneBroncoNationUnderGod@gmail.com.

Dear Life Coach,
I recently was in another airport and saw another traveler wearing a Boise State shirt. I suddenly had an uncontrollable urge to shout "Boise!" and he responded with "State!" Is this acceptable?
Annoying in Arco

No. A thousand times no. Please do not do this. If you do this, mature Boise State fans will slowly shake their heads, look down to the ground, and sigh. Here’s why.

I lived in Ohio for a year once. In Ohio, one person will yell “O-H!” and another person will yell “I-O!”. It’s fun. It’s unique. It’s been around forever. That’s why it works. But it does NOT work for us to do our "Boise...State!" cheer. First, it’s not fun to do it with just two people (especially if the guy on the back end is a little quiet because then it's just a dude in an airport yelling “BOISE!” and that’s a little odd). Second, it’s not unique at all. Every team has a back and forth cheer like that. And third, we’ve only been doing it so habitually for, like, 10 years – ever since we’ve been good. So please, please, don’t do this.

But there is something all to our own that is kind of cool that you can yell in an airport at another Boise State fan. By yelling this, you will see if this person really is a fan or not, and it will be a special moment between the two of you where you will both laugh and high-five each other. Just yell out, “And that’s another Boise State…” And if he or she is a true fan, they will yell back “FIRST DOWN!”

Life Coach,
How many Idaho Vandals does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Seriously, because I have four here right now and that isn't enough.
Handy in Hailey

It actually takes 17 Vandals to screw in a light bulb. Why? Because 16 isn’t enough, and 18 is too much.

It doesn’t have to make sense. We hate you, Vandals. Get better so we can have a rivalry again.

Mr. Life Coach,
Are Utah State fans worth jeering or are we just wasting our breath?
Sincerely, OBNUG

Well, let me say this. The name “Aggies” is actually short for “Agriculturalists." Now, don’t get me wrong; I support our agriculture as much as the next guy. But I just don’t think we need to waste our breath jeering the Utah State Agriculturalists. Not worth our time.

But we could do something new and exciting. I would encourage all fans instead of jeering to simply pity the other team. Simple and genuine pity. Instead of giving them the effort of our jeers, we could just feel bad for the Agriculturalists and their relative obscurity (ed's note: this works well with those New Mexico State Agriculturalists, too). Gentle pats on the back. Small encouragements for them to “keep trying, guys!” This will infuriate them. Agriculturalists hate pity.

Utah State starts at bottom of rankings

One blog's quest to rank every single football team in America begins at an appropriate place: the intersection of Utah State and the bottom.

God Inc is starting its rankings from worst to first, and the Aggies are the first ones up. The website sees Utah State finishing 2-10 (2-6 in WAC play), which we consider to be a roaring success as far as Utah State is concerned. And we already know where one of the wins is coming from:

Game to look for:

Idaho. This seems like it will be the game for last place in the WAC unless something changes fast for either of these programs. Utah State won last year’s meeting 24-19 in Moscow, Idaho.

We imagine that Idaho should be popping up on the site's rankings pretty soon, and we are more than prepared to wait 100 days or so to see Boise State's name.

2008 College Football Countdown [God Inc]

Wednesday: Links with hype

Story of the day

Several non-BCS running backs to watch [Rivals.com]

Rivals came up with a list of the top non-BCS running backs in the country, and if you look purely at the numbers, we think it is obvious which one is best.

The former Fiesta Bowl hero leads all active running backs in career rushing yards (3,418) and tops all active players in rushing touchdowns (45).

Ian Johnson stands out from the rest of the pack on his career totals alone, but the story focused on Southern Miss running back Damion Fletcher, who sounds like he'll be a handful when the Broncos visit Hattiesburg. In all, four of BSU's 2008 opponents made the list, including Deonte Jackson (Idaho), Luke Lippincott (Nevada), and Ryan Matthews (Fresno State).

Let's hope our run defense really has gotten better.

Other links:

Utah State QB heading to BYU [Herald-Journal]
He must have seen the light on his Mormon mission.

Boise State's Fiesta Bowl third in clutchness [Pronounced like...]
But #1 in our hearts.

Non-Saturday games sure are annoying [FOX Sports.com]
Boise State fans hardly even notice any more.

Democracy fails; Idaho voted No. 1

Looks like Robb Akey just found himself a recruiting tool.

The Idaho Vandals, all one win and eleven losses of them, are the number one team in the nation, according to a poll at collegefootballpoll.com. Curse those computer macros!



We're fascinated to see the Vandals on top, and we are equally surprised to find Utah State at number two. Talk about a scintillating BCS Championship game!

Utah State outdoes itself

There were plenty of surprises in last weekend's NFL Draft, but perhaps none more so than the relative glut of Utah State Aggies who were drafted.

G Shawn Murphy and WR/KR Kevin Robinson each found NFL homes; Murphy went in the fourth round to the Dolphins and Robinson was picked up by the Chiefs in the sixth. The flying pigs in frozen hell found this particularly interesting.

The duo are the first USU players chosen in the NFL draft since Chris Cooley in the third round of the 2004 draft. Murphy and Robinson also become the first two Aggies to be picked in the same draft since 1989 when wide receiver Kendal Smith and quarterback Brent Snyder were both selected in the seventh round.

Utah State's excitement was tempered, however, when they realized that they will be minus two NFL draftees next year.

Murphy and Robinson drafted [KVNU Full Court Press]

WAC roundup: Vandals, Aggies find new backs

Here is a long overdue look at the world of WAC competition. Did we say competition? We meant speed bumps.

Idaho

Vandal RB Princeton (if that's his real name) McCarty had himself quite a game in Idaho's spring finale, rushing for 124 yards and four touchdowns. But diving into the end zone? Act like you've been there before, McCarty, even though--as a Vandal tailback--you might never get there again.

“He had some great big plays,” Idaho head coach Robb Akey said. “He learned a little lesson about discipline. We’re not going to be diving into end zones like that unless we have to. He made some big plays and dadgumit that’s what I’ve been asking them to do."

Akey went on to add: "Darn tootin'."

Sportslink: spring roundup [Spokesman-Review]

Utah State

Linebacker-turned-running back? Yeah, that'll work.
Utah State's latest offensive strategy involves converting linebackers to running backs. Isn't it supposed to work the other way?

Cumbee carried nine times for 69 yards and a touchdown during the spring-ending scrimmage at Romney Stadium.

Said Cumbee: "I just saw the hole and ran. That's what the coaches told me to do. ... They said to run the ball like a linebacker."

Run the ball like a linebacker? We seem to remember linebackers not running the ball all that well. Hence, why they are linebackers.

USU: RB shows his stuff in scrimmage [Salt Lake Tribune]


Fresno State

While Boise State fans anxiously await several Broncos going in the NFL Draft, Fresno fans have decidedly less to get excited about. DL Jason Shirley might be the only Bulldog to be drafted, and that is not even a certainty.

The former Fresno State football player knows he severely hurt those chances in October when he was charged with three misdemeanors, including driving under the influence.

"I know NFL teams frown upon those types of incidents," Shirley said.

Nonsense. The Cowboys and Bengals would love to have him.

Self-inflicted slips put Shirley's draft stock in question [Fresno Bee]


San Jose State

San Jose State has been busy crafting its non-conference schedule for the next seven years. Talk about proactive.

For SJSU fans, the biggest name will undoubtedly be USC (in 2009), but the biggest story should be Navy.

That’s partly because of the allure of playing a service academy, partly because SJSU and Navy will play four times: twice at Spartan Stadium, twice in Annapolis.

And partly because those four games are winnable.

SJSU football... [San Jose Mercury-News]

WAC spring football...catch the fever (or don't)

With nearly every WAC team in action, we thought it would be fun to take a look around to see what our conference rivals are up to. Enjoy.


Hawaii
The Warriors begin their WAC championship defense the only way they know how: getting up at the crack of dawn.

Most practices run from 7-9 a.m. and are open to the public.

Getting up early? Hah! Nothing a 64 oz. Coke can't fix!

Warriors Open Spring Practice [Hawaii athletics]


Utah State
The Aggies are halfway through their spring practices, and head coach Brent Guy is predictably optimistic.

"The main thing was that it was much more physical than in years past because of our numbers; we have a lot more guys to get in there and we were able to get quite a few live snaps in," said Guy.

Utah State Football 2008: Quantity Over Quality.

Guy pleased with...practice [Utah State athletics]


New Mexico State
NMSU will become the final WAC team to open spring practice, when they kick things off later today. The last shall be first? We doubt it.

Aggie football gears up for first spring practice [NMSU athletics]


Idaho
In addition to oily team-building, the Vandals have lots of work to on the football field during spring practice.

"That’s the one thing we really need to work on," Enderle said, "finishing our drives and getting in the end zone.”

"Also, pretty much every other aspect of football," he continued.

Akey likes what he sees [Idaho athletics]


Fresno State
When Kansas State pulled out of the Bulldogs' 2008 schedule, Fresno replaced the Wildcats with Big East power Rutgers. The Fresno-Rutgers season opener will take place on Labor Day, and the Scarlet Knights will return in 2012 to take on the Bulldogs in Fresno.

Gene Bleymaier is hard at work replacing Idaho State with ITT Tech.

Football schedule gets a facelift [Fresno State athletics]


LaTech
Something is going on at Louisiana Tech's spring practice, but we're not sure what exactly that is.

Following Saturday's first scrimmage of spring workouts, the Bulldogs focus was on improving and building a brand of Louisiana Tech football Monday. Head coach Derek Dooley told his players when each of them earns respect from the opponent the team will have an identity as a strong football program.

What?

Bulldogs build brand of football [LaTech athletics]

No joke: Utah State raises ticket prices

The Utah State Aggies, fresh of of three home wins in the past three years, have jacked up ticket prices for next season's home games. Sometimes, these jokes write themselves.

For years, Aggie fans have been told that tickets to USU athletic events are “a bargain” compared to other Division-I schools. With the latest increase at USU, however, that’s not true.

In Utah, for example, season tickets to the University of Utah and BYU can be obtained for less than the cheapest tickets at USU. It’d be hard to argue that given the quality of those programs, better football bargains couldn’t be found south of Cache Valley.

We do not expect the next great business mind to come from Utah State.

Aggies pricing loyal fans out of market? [Herald-Journal]

WAC rivals name athletic directors

Louisiana Tech and Utah State have named new athletic directors, and each has his sights set on the schools' football programs.

The LaTech Bulldogs hired head football coach Derek Dooley (pictured) to take over the athletic director duties, despite Dooley not having any experience in the position. Did Buddy Garrity have a hand in this?

Utah State showed more sense in its hiring of Scott Barnes, most recently an assistant AD at the University of Washington. Barnes is committed to building the football program, which is a good sign for the WAC and a bad sign for unathletic high school football players from the state of Utah who were hoping for a scholarship.

Dooley introduced as Tech AD [Shreveport Times]
Barnes named AD [Herald Journal]

Grading the classes: Utah State

This week, OBNUG will be grading the recruiting classes for each WAC team. Our research may be spotty, but as you can see from the final result, there is no questioning our loyalty.



Utah State

One publication described the Utah State recruiting class as big on warm bodies. I assume this was meant as a compliment.

“We’re excited about this class coming in,” recruiting coordinator Danilo Robinson said. “We’ve addressed some needs that we have and hopefully some guys can come in and fill some holes. We’re excited about this group and are looking forward to a great year from them.

“On average, they’re a little bit taller, a little bit faster and have a little bit more potential to play right away for us. We’re excited about this crop so far.”

I don't even know where to begin with that.

The Aggies won their final two games of the season — both on the road, no less — and carried that momentum into the recruiting process.

Apparently, it paid off.

If by "paid off" you mean that people actually signed with the team, then you would be correct. Twenty-one newcomers were lured with the promise of playing time and approachable Utah co-eds. Want to start a large Mormon family and play some quarterback? Then you've come to the right place.

Twelve of the recruits play offense, including two quarterbacks, two running backs, three wide receivers, and three tight ends. Never mind having people to block for these guys, Utah State seems to be planning the world's largest seven-on-seven drill. Good luck with that.

We want you to succeed, Utah State. We don't like making fun of you all the time. But seriously, help us out a little bit. We're running out of jokes.

Scout.com rank: 119
Rivals.com rank: 101
OBNUG grade: F

Utah State signs 21 [The Herald Journal]