2013-14 Football Previews – (MWC) – Aggies
The Utah State Aggies football program had an unbelievably successful season in 2012. This was a program that was accustomed to losing season after season, but they went 11-2 and picked up some great wins last year.
Mountain West 2013 College Football Previews: Utah State Aggies
Head Coach: Matt Wells
2012 Record: 11-2
Utah State Gambling Odds to win BCS Championship: +2,000 (Part of Field)
Utah State Gambling Odds to win Mountain West Conference: +650
Gary Andersen is gone though, and he was a huge part of this team’s turnaround.
First-year coach Matt Wells looks to keep the success going in Logan, Utah.
Utah State returns 49 lettermen from a year ago, and the team has plenty of talent to compete in the Mountain West Conference. Still, the Mountain West Conference is a significant step up from the WAC that Utah State competed in last season.
There won’t be easy games all over the schedule like the Aggies had in conference play last season. Having said all of that, this isn’t a team to sleep on.
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They are very good.
Team Strengths:
The argument could be made that Chuckie Keeton is the best player in the Mountain West Conference. He’s a superior athlete who just happens to play quarterback, and he can play the quarterback position very well. He is a terrific runner who also happens to be an adept passer. His versatility makes him almost unstoppable.
The Aggies offensive line is tremendous. This unit is led by super center Tyler Larsen. Larsen is on many pro scouts watch list already, and I expect him to be a difference maker on Sunday’s in the future. As a whole, this offensive line has a lot of experience and they should do very well in both run and pass blocking. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Zach Vigil and Jake Doughty lead a tremendous group of linebackers for the Aggies. Vigil is the aggressive linebacker who gets into the backfield early and often, while Doughty led the team in tackles a year ago and is the heart and soul of the defense.
The athleticism of this group will help the Aggies a lot this year.
Team Weaknesses:
Keeton is a tremendous athlete, but he doesn’t have as many play makers around him this season. Kerwynn Williams was an elite runner and he is gone. The team is very short on depth and talent at the wide receiver spot.
There is going to be a ton of pressure on Keeton this year, and it will likely be hard for him to put up numbers that are as good as last season.
The Utah State defense has a tremendous front seven, but the secondary is definitely a question mark. Will Davis and McKade Brady were the team’s top two players in the secondary last year, and both of them are now gone.
Nevin Lawson is a good cornerback, but the rest of the secondary is up in the air. Expect teams to throw it early and often against the Aggies this year.
2013-2014 Utah State Football Prediction: 9-4
Utah State isn’t going to be able to match its 11 win season from a year ago, but this team has too much talent to completely fall off the map this season. Keeton is going to find a way to move this offense, and the front seven on defense is as good as anyone in the conference.
A tough schedule wins four losses is pretty likely, but I do like this Aggies team.
2013 Aggies Schedule
8/29/13 8:00 PM ET @UTAH
9/7/13 3:30 PM ET @AFA
9/14/13 8:00 PM ET WEB
9/21/13 TBD @USC
9/27/13 9:00 PM ET @SJSU
10/4/13 8:00 PM ET BYU
10/12/13 7:30 PM ET BSU
10/19/13 9:00 PM ET @UNM
11/2/13 4:00 PM ET HAW
11/9/13 TBD @UNLV
11/23/13 3:30 PM ET CSU
11/30/13 2:00 PM ET WYO
