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Show StatesmanSports Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009 Page 9 Preview: Ags ready for Utes -continued from page 8 was announced two weeks ago that starting end Koa Misi, a preseason All-Mountain West selection this year and second team All-Mountain West selection last year, is out until further notice with a back injury. His replacement is Nai Fotu, a converted linebacker. On the flip side, Utah possesses a strong offensive line and a great stable of running backs, led by Matt Asiata. “He’s an NFL running back in my opinion,” Andersen said of Asiata. “He’s a force, he’s a power. He’s a good blocker, he’s deceptively shifty and when he lowers his head he definitely packs a punch. You don’t want to spend your whole evening trying to tackle Matt Asiata up high, I can promise you that. He’ll make you pay.” Utah may stick to a power running attack early on to try and keep its quarterbacks comfortable, because they have a serious lack of experience at that position. Brian Johnson graduated after a long and successful career capped by a Sugar Bowl MVP award, and his backup Corbin Louks transferred late in the summer when it became obvious he wouldn’t be the clear-cut starter. This leaves Utah with a true freshman, Jordan Wynn, and a junior college transfer, Terrence Cain, who have been named co-starters. No coach wants to begin the season without a clear-cut leader at the game’s most important position, and Andersen will no doubt attack the Ute’s signal caller aggressively from the first whistle. “You can change the game if you have a young quarterback, or if you have any quarterback, if you have the ability to get pressure on him and that’s something I believe in,” Andersen said. “On the offensive side of the ball we don’t want that to happen and we’ll do everything we can to not let that happen. But on the defensive side of the ball we definitely want to do everything we can to take advantage of that.” One bit of good fortune for the Aggies, who will walk into Rice-Eccles Stadium as three-touchdown underdogs to the Sugar Bowl champs, is that they have come through spring and fall camps under Andersen without suffering any major injuries. “We’ve got some nicks and bruises but we should walk in fairly healthy, which goes to show that the kids did a fantastic job in the offseason conditioning themselves,” Andersen said. “You can call it lucky, you can call it fortunate, you can call it whatever you like but I don’t believe that. I believe it’s because the kids prepared themselves right.” –graham.terry@aggiemail.usu. edu SectionF A different point of view T he scent of the last of the summer air dwindling away, the feel of the temperature outside cooling down, the look of fear and uncertainty on the faces of freshmen everywhere ... This must mean football season has finally come to Logan. It is no secret that I can’t keep my excitement reigned in for this season, and I have fair reason. When you consider the factors of facilities, institutional support and quality personnel within the program, it is tough to argue that there has ever been a better foundation laid at any point over the past 30 years for USU football to return to glory. In case you have been actively trying to ignore Utah State football, you should know by now that our new head coach is former University of Utah defensive coordinator Gary Andersen. Andersen was the architect behind that dominating defense that pretty much shut down Alabama in last year’s Sugar Bowl and carried Utah to an undefeated season, so the guy obviously knows a thing or two about running a football team. Andersen knows at least one thing about bringing legitimacy to struggling programs too. Andersen’s prior head coaching experience in the college ranks took place in 2003 when he coached Division I-AA Southern Utah, a team that had won just three total games in two seasons prior to Andersen’s arrival. In 2002, SUU finished ranked No. 102 in the nation in the I-AA Gridiron Power Index (GPI), which is a ranking system used to determine playoff selection in IAA, where they actually determine a champion by having a playoff. At the end of the 2003 season with Andersen at the helm, SUU finished No. 36 in that same ranking, a jump of 66 spots in just a single season. As if Andersen’s 2003 success wasn’t enough to give him some credit as a potentially great head coaching candidate, I’m sure he picked up a few more tips from a certain guy he coached with in 2004. That person would be twotime national champion head coach Urban Meyer, whom Andersen was the defensive line coach for during Utah’s first BCS run that season. It probably isn’t right to try and put Andersen, a first time Division-I head coach and Meyer, a veteran head coach with two national titles, into the same conversation, and just to be clear, I’m not proclaiming Andersen to be the next Urban Meyer. The main similarity I feel needs pointing out is the aspect of a heavy increase in strength training after Andersen arrived on USU’s campus. Andersen has mentioned several times the improvements his team has made in getting stronger, particularly the improvement of having more than just the four players on last year’s team who could lift 300 pounds. The number of USU players capable of lifting 300 pounds is now in the mid-30s. When Urban Meyer arrived at his first head coaching job at Bowling Green State University in 2001, he put a similar emphasis on his players getting stronger. Meyer inherited a team that finished 2-9 in the 2000 season. In Meyer’s first year, Bowling Green improved to 8-3. Similarly, when Meyer went to the University of Utah he inherited a team that went 5-6 the previous year with only 11 total returning starters. Utah went 10-2 in Meyer’s first year there and went undefeated in his second year. Given the quality players that have found their way to Logan in the past couple years, the overall increased strength of the team and considering the resume of Andersen, and who he has coached with, it all lends plenty of legitimacy to the excitement surrounding the program. What it all really comes down Matt Sonnenberg is a junior to though is that majoring in print journalism. college football Matt is an avid fan of Aggie season is finally athletics and can be found here. When on the front row of every you look at home football and it that way, basketball game. He we’re all can also be reached winners. at matt.sonn@aggiemail.usu.edu. The Aggies hope to be able to pressure Utah’s QB’s just like they did their own in USU’s recent scrimmage. USU opens the season Thursday at Utah. PATRICK ODEN photo Ags have a chance at upset of ranked Utes A s the Aggies’ first game of the season approaches and the Gary Andersen era is set to kick off, I’ve been fielding a lot of questions about the Aggies’ chances against 19thranked Utah. Here’s my take: USU’s chances are decent. Traditionally games against teams ranked in the top 25 have not been good to the Aggies. Thursday’s contest will mark the 50th time Utah State has taken on a ranked opponent, and the Aggies have amassed a not-so-stellar 1-48 record in the previous 49 games. If that wasn’t enough to extinguish the hopes of the Aggie faithful, the Utes have won 19 of the last 21 meetings between the two schools, including 11 in a row. Despite these forlorn statistics, there are some positive signs that the Aggies can stamp their name back on this rivalry before it takes a two-year hiatus. Last year, Utah went 13-0, dismantled national power Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and in the mind of most college football aficionados was the true National Champion. That is not this year’s Utah team. Defensive studs Paul Kruger and Sean Smith are now showcasing their skills in the NFL, longtime starting quarterback Brian Johnson has graduated and his backup Corbin Louks, who got pushed to third on the depth chart, eventually transferred to WAC foe Nevada. Louks’ transfer leaves the Utes with no clear-cut QB as true freshman Jordan Wynn and junior college transfer Terrance Cain have been named co-starters for Thursday’s season opener. Obviously these two signal callers must have some talent to knockout Louks who was the only QB on Utah’s roster with game experience after playing in games during his freshman and sophomore seasons, but the fact still remains that neither has taken a snap in a Division I football game. Players aside, the biggest and most obvious advantage for the Aggies going into this year’s game could be familiarity. Andersen USU Bid Sale Public Invited September 2-4, 2009 Time: 9 am-6 pm 880 East 1250 North North Romney Stadium Hundreds of Items including: pickups sedans box vans farm tractors desks chairs file cabinets CNC verticle mill computers printers monitors steel lockers projectors riding lawn mowers TVs copiers chipper shelving furniture & much more! Check our Web Site at: www.usu.edu/surplus spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach for the Utes, including the last four as the defensive coordinator. Along with Andersen, seven other current Utah State coaches have experience on the Utah sideline. That knowledge should give the Aggies a competitive edge that they probably won’t have against other opponents. Similar to the Utes, this year’s version of the Aggies is not the same as in years past. There has been a not so subtle buzz around the Valley about the 2009 football season, but that buzz is even more palpable within the team. The players have a new energy, one that has been clearly visible in practices, scrimmages and interviews. Each player I’ve talked to is bigger, faster, stronger and hungrier. With a new offensive system that should highlight junior quarterback Diondre Borel’s talents and a fast, blitzing defense, the product on the field should be markedly better this year. That said, Utah still has a lot of assets. Running back Matt Asiata, who ran all over the Aggies for three touchdowns last year, is back in the backfield and safety Robert Johnson anchors a solid, speedy, big defense. Utah is deserving of its highest preseason ranking ever. This will be a tough matchup for the Aggies, as will the majority Tim Olsen is a of their preconference games. senior majoring in The Utes will hand nothing to print journalism. USU, but unlike years past, Comments can be the conclusion of this game sent to him at is not forgone. If the Ags t.olsen@aggishow up and handle their email.usu. business, 1-0 is a feasible edu, or online start to the season. at aggietownsquare.com. |