2011-2012 Football Previews – Pac 12 Conference – Utah State Aggies
Utah State is expected to be on a downswing in 2011. This is a team that only won four games in 2010, so, unless the Aggies exceed expectations and prove people wrong, they are most likely to wind up at bottom of the WAC standings come December.
2011 WAC | Utah State Aggies Football Preview
Coach: Gary Anderson
2010-11 Record: 4-8 (2-6)
Utah State Aggie Gambling Odds from Bodog.com to win BCS: 15-1
Utah St Team Page – Players Stats – Roster – 2011 Schedule –>
Head coach Gary Anderson will be in his second full season in the position, and this could be his final year leading the Aggies if 2011 is anything like 2011.
The team only won two games against conference opponents in 2010, and those two wins were against fellow bottom feeders New Mexico State and San Jose State.
The team ended the season on a low note, a 50-14 loss to Boise State, but is looking forward to 2011 to show that this is a different team.
However, there isn’t much to show that the outcome of this season will be any different than last, but the Aggies do have some promise at certain positions that begs for consideration.
With that said, let’s see how the will look in 2011 compared to 2010 by breaking down both the offensive and defensive squads.
Offense:
The team will say goodbye to starting quarterback Diondre Borel, who started for the Aggies during his last three years on the team. Borel had a terrible year in 2010 though, throwing just eight touchdowns and a whopping 13 interceptions.
His failure led to the team’s collapse, only punctuated an already miserable season.
Stepping up to the starting role will be sophomore Jeremy Higgins. There isn’t a lot of tape on Higgins from his freshman year, but his high school career was one of the best of any prospect ever to come out of Hawaii.
Higgins will likely be a major upgrade from Borel, and the team will retain the majority of their skill players for the 2011 season.
Higgins will have the all-around running back Derrvin Speight to hand the ball to, which will take a lot of pressure off the young quarterback as he gets used to the speed of the game.
Speight does it all, and is the perfect weapon for a inexperienced quarterback.
Receiver Dontel Watkins will also return for 2011, having been the leading receiver for the team in his freshman year.
This trio should be deadly and will give the team a real chance to be competitive in 2011. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Defense:
The Aggies’ defense is led by one of the best linebackers in the WAC in senior Bobby Wagner, and wherever Wagner goes, so goes the rest of his defense.
Wagner led the team with an astonishing 133 tackles in 2010, but that can be credited to the offense’s inability to stay on the field.
Despite this, Wagner has all the skills needed to excel at his position in the middle of the defense, and the defense follows his lead.
Along the defensive line, senior defensive end Levi Koskan leads the way. Koskan is a beast from the end position, and racked up five sacks and nine tackles for loss in 2010.
The defense is well-rounded going into 2011 and will retain the majority of their top players, but can they take their game to the next level now that conference-bully Boise State is long gone? It has yet to be seen.
2011 Utah St. Prediction: 7th WAC
The team has promise up and down the roster, but the offense is a couple years away form being a threat in the WAC. However, don’t expect this season to be as awful as 2010, with the defense keeping them in games and preventing blowouts.
2011 Utah State Aggies Schedule
9/3/11 12:00 PM ET @AUB
9/10/11 8:00 PM ET WEBST
9/24/11 8:00 PM ET COLST
9/30/11 8:00 PM ET @BYU
10/8/11 8:00 PM ET WYOM
10/15/11 10:00 PM ET @FRSST
10/22/11 3:00 PM ET LTECH
11/6/11 12:00 AM ET @HAW
11/12/11 3:00 PM ET SJST
11/19/11 5:00 PM ET @IDAHO
11/26/11 3:00 PM ET NEV
12/3/11 12:00 PM ET @NMXST
