Aggies eye wins in close games
COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS: NO. 84 UTAH STATE
Utah State is an interesting football team, both consistently good and consistently frustrating for its fans.
The Aggies are competitive and generally in the mix to regularly earn bowl bids, but they have consistently lost close games that would have helped them contend for a Mountain West Conference title.
The promising team returns 18 starters and 58 lettermen, but it’s unclear whether it can pick up the pace on offense enough to win close games. As a result, Utah State is No. 86 in Orlando Sentinel college insider Matt Murschel’s preseason 2018 college football rankings. Murschel ranked all 129 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the country.
The Sentinel staff takes a closer look at a new team daily, counting backward from No. 129 to our projected No. 1 team.
State
9 Utah
Matt Wells (34-32 entering sixth season, 34-32 overall)
6-7 overall, 4-4 in Mountain West; tied for fourth in Mountain Division
Utah State opened the 2017 season 3-4 and struggled under the direction of quarterback Kent Meyers. Freshman backup Jordan Love took over and predictably made some mistakes, but he provided enough a big-play spark to help Utah State win three of its final four regular-season games to become bowl eligible. The Aggies closed with a 26-20 overtime loss to New Mexico State in the Arizona Bowl.
RB LaJuan Hunt, WR Braelon Roberts, CB Jalen Davis, S Dallin Leavitt
QB Jordan Love, OT Roman Andrus, OC Quin Ficklin, TE Dax Raymond, K Dominik Eberle, DE Adewale Adeoye, LB Chase Christiansen, S Gaje Ferguson, LB Suli Tamaivena, DE Devon Anderson, CB Cameron Haney
Love was 129-of-235 passing for 1,631 yards with eight touchdowns and six interceptions and could bolster the offense if he continues to improve.
The defense has been reliable for Utah State and has the potential to be an imposing unit with nine returning starters.
Linebacker Suli Tamaivena led the team with 111 tackles, including 3.0 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss, and two fumble recoveries.
Kicker Dominik Eberle was a Lou Groza Award finalist and gives the Aggies an edge.
Utah State must replace cornerback Jalen Davis, who was named a first-team AllAmerican by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
The Aggies also lost safety Dallin Leavitt, who earned All-Mountain West honorable-mention honors.
A year after relying on 26 first-time starters, Utah State hopes to show more poise in close games and lock down another bowl bid.