Utah State laments 6-win year
Aggies coach Wells confident in model
A year ago in July, at the annual Mountain West Conference football media gathering, Utah State coach Matt Wells was asked how he planned to sustain an unprecedented run of success at USU.
A poor to mediocre program for most of five decades, Utah State had won 30 games from 2012-14. Wells said he was confident that success was no fluke, but rather based on a solid foundation of recruiting, development and accountability.
And now, after a 6-7 season that included a 2-5 finish and an Idaho Potato Bowl loss to Akron?
Same answer, Wells said at this year’s Mountain West media conclave in Las Vegas, Nev.
Nor, he said, should Utah State ever have to apologize for a six-win season.
“I’m very confident that the model and the culture are right,” said Wells, a former University of New Mexico assistant. “Even last year, when you take a little dip in wins at six, it’s still a good year.”
Wells is a Utah State alumnus, and he knows the history well. If Aggies fans have come to expect better than six wins in a season, and if they’re disappointed in six wins, that’s a compliment to what Wells and his predecessor, Gary Andersen, have accomplished.
“Now we’re being judged against (higher) standards, which is great, I’m good with that,” Wells said. “But I’m also making sure our players understand that, hey, the culture’s right, the model’s right, the model works.
“Now, within that culture, we have to feed it every day, we have to train it every day.”
The care and feeding of the USU defense probably is job one. The Aggies, ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense in 2014, gave up a touchdown more per game and dropped to 61st with an average yield of 26.7 points.
Reducing that figure will be a challenge, given that Kyler Fackrell and Nick Vigil, both first-team allconference linebackers last fall, are gone.
Again, Wells remains optimistic.
“Here’s what I’m confident of,” Wells said, speaking about his linebackers in particular but his entire roster in general. “I’m confident in terms of our players’ talent level.
“Their development just has to continue to progress steadily.”
On offense, the Aggies return an experienced quarterback (Kent Myers), a fast, powerful running back (Devante Mays) and an offensive line anchored by two Mountain West Conference preseason all-conference picks in Austin Stephens and Jake Simonich.
The Aggies’ task this fall, Stephens said, is clear-cut.
“You’ve got to execute in all three phases (offense, defense, special teams) to win a football game,” he said. “... Especially in this (Mountain) division with the teams we have to play.”
Clear-cut? Yes. Easy? No.