The long off season: Utah State

With the season now over, the Utah State Aggies began their shameful off season trapped in the Golden Gopher Shame Mask around their necks. Reflecting on their season is pretty tough to stomach.

After losing their season opening game at Wyoming, 38-7, they lost their next three games at Arkansas, Utah, and at BYU by a combined score of 106-0. The next week, they improved and were not doubled up in their 41-21 home loss to Idaho.

The next week, however, 1-3 Fresno state came to town. Utah took a first quarter lead with a 54-yard TD pass from Riley Nelson to Marcus Cross. This lasted until the third quarter when Fresno State tied it with a 60-yard touchdown pass, and then went ahead 12-7 with a fourth quarter safety and field goal. But the Aggies were not done, and their two-minute drill led to a 30-yard TD pass to Kevin Robinson with 0:55 remaining, giving them a 13-12 win. Fresno State did however miss two field goals in the game.

The next week, they jumped out to a 14-0 second quarter lead at San Jose State. However, it would be the last time they led a game during the season. San Jose State rallied to win 21-14. The remainder of the season had losses to Louisiana Tech (48-35), Hawai`i (63-10), Nevada (42-0), Boise State (49-10), and New Mexico State (42-20).

Of the 119 teams in Division I-A, Utah State's offense was 117th in scoring with 10.8 points per game, 111th in passing with 139.7 yards per game, but their 114.2 yards per game rushing were good enough for 89th. (They were 114th in total yardage.)