The Utah State Aggies impressive run of six consecutive bowl games is over. Worse, the Aggies stumbled their way to a 3-9 record to close out the 2016 season. Returning back to the postseason could prove to quite the chore for head coach Matt Wells. Utah State only returns eight starters with experience from last year’s squad.
Utah State will look completely different when it prepares to do battle in the trenches this year. Both the offensive and defensive lines have fresh faces and the players must do a better job of protecting leads and closing out ball games.
The Aggies’ non-conference schedule includes road games against the Wisconsin Badgers and Wake Forest. They also get a visit from in-state rival BYU. Nevertheless, Utah State’s bowl hopes will likely be decided on how well they compete in conference play.
Offense
Revamping the offensive line will be the first priority after four starters graduated from the program. Three of them had earned All-Mountain West honors during their years with the Aggies. Veteran quarterback Kent Myers returns, but he needs to stay off his back if he hopes to move the chains in 2017.
Last year, Kent Myers threw for almost 2,400 yards with 10 interceptions and 8 picks. His numbers reflect the fact he was under constant pressure, but his decision making also has to improve. Myers definitely contributed in the running game for Utah State. The senior scampered for almost 450 yards on 116 carries and pushed the ball past the goal line another 6 times.
Utah State managed to run the ball for more than 2,000 yards as a unit. It was the eighth straight season they have accomplished this feat. Running back Tonny Lindsey Jr. filled in for injured Devante Mays and rushed for 763 yards. He will be back and hope to be a pivotal role in the Aggies’ rushing attack.
All-Mountain West tight end Wyatt Houston is gone, but Dax Raymond has shown plenty of capability. Wide receivers Ron’quavion Tarver will hope to improve on his 46 catches for over 600 yards and three scores. Fellow receivers Braelon Roberts and Jaren Colston-Green give Kent Myers plenty of options down the field.
Defense
Just like the offensive line, Utah State’s defensive front should look completely different at the start of the 2017 season. Three starters all graduated and two of the Aggies’ top linebackers are also finished. With that goes three top tacklers from a year ago.
Free Safety Dallin Leavitt made his presence felt immediately last year after transferring from BYU. Leavitt is the leading tackler for the Utah State Aggies. He brings back his 57 stops and three interceptions from their 2016 campaign. More importantly, he must remain healthy for all 12 of the Aggies’ games. Last year, he missed several games because of injury.
Helping to bolster the back half of the defense, cornerback Jalen Davis returns. The durable player has started all 35 games for the Aggies. Safety Jontrell Rocquermore also brings experience to the secondary. Alex Huerta and Derek Larsen will anchor the linebacking corps. Either way, Utah State must find a way to produce more turnovers. This unit only had 10 takeaways in 2016. Only three other Division 1 teams had fewer.
Prediction
Utah State’s streak of five straight years with at least six wins came to an abrupt end. As a result, the Aggies were absent from a bowl game and posted a lowly 3-9 record. A huge reason for the downfall was the Aggies couldn’t finish games strong. They suffered five Mountain West losses by a combined 29 points. In the majority of those defeats, they were leading by double digits in the second half.
In my opinion, the Mountain Division in the Mountain West Conference is the tougher of the two. Because of this, Utah State will need to show quite a lot of improvement in 2017.
On top of that, their non-conference slate isn’t easy. They have to head to Wisconsin to play the Badgers and get Wake Forest from the ACC. To finish it off, they will face-off with the BYU Cougars at home. They do get to play the San Jose State Spartans and UNLV, but how good those two squads will be is yet to be seen. It’s extremely hard for me to believe they will get anywhere near six wins in 2017, and a bowl bid will be completely out of the question.
Odds makers have the Aggies at a team win total of 4.5. I like the under bet here at -110. The Mountain division is going to be tough and opening at Wisconsin and playing BYU will add two more defeats. Also, Las Vegas has them as 33 to 1 (+3300) to win the Mountain West championship. You can just forget about that right now.
Schedule
Sept. 1: at Wisconsin
Sept. 7: Idaho State
Sept. 16: at Wake Forest
Sept. 23: at San Jose State
Sept. 29: BYU
Oct. 7: Colorado State
Oct. 14: Wyoming
Oct. 21: at UNLV
Oct. 28: Boise State
Nov. 4: at New Mexico
Nov. 11: OPEN DATE
Nov. 18: Hawaii
Nov. 25: at Air Force
The getmoresports.com NCAA College Football Throwdown Podcast will be returning to the air on August 24th. We will be highlighting the first five games on August 26th of the 2017 NCAA College Football season. That will be the first of three installments leading into the first week of the season. We also we will be covering our expectations for the Heisman Trophy front runners as well as predictions for conference winners and team totals.
Our second NCAA College Football Throwdown is penciled in for August 29th. In that installment, we will be discussing all the games that will be played on August 31st and the 1st of September.
Our third segment will officially be airing on August 31st. In this edition of the NCAA College Football Throwdown, we will be covering all the relevant games for Sept 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
Keeping with tradition, EJ the Rainmaker and Erik the Hun will give their predictions for the contests. On top of that, we will be providing our dog play of the podcast as well as cash money plays for the week. Join us for all three opening episodes and improve your college football knowledge while increasing the size of your sports book betting account. Come join us and help everyone make it rain. #moneytreesgrow
