Utah State Aggies 2010 Review

2010 Record: 4-8 (2-6), 7th WAC
2010 Bowl Game: None
2010 Schedule/Results
@ Oklahoma, L 31-24
Idaho State, W 38-17
Fresno State, L 41-24
@ San Diego State, L 41-7
BYU, W 31-16
@ Louisiana Tech, L 24-6
Hawaii, L 45-7
@ Nevada, L 56-42
New Mexico State, W 27-22
@ San Jose State, W 38-34
Idaho, L 28-6
@ Boise State, L 50-14

OFFENSE
347.3 yards per game

Nobody can say the offense was not balanced. The Aggies passed for 178.7 yards per game and rushed for 168.7 yards per game. While the rushing total wasn't bad, the passing total left something to be desired, which is really a shame when you consider how much talent QB Diondre Borel had coming into his senior season. For whatever reason, the whole package just never came together for Borel, who clunked through a season that saw him tos only 8 TD passes compared to 13 picks. He did manage to rush for another 7 TDs, but on the whole, he was not the right fit for the Aggies at QB. With Borel moving on, Jeremy Higgins looks to be the only player on the roster with any experience, and it wasn't much.
Derrvin Speight and Kerwynn Williams shared most of the load during the season, with Speight being more of the feature back, but Speight still only rushed for just under 65 yards per game, hardly a factor that would spread the field to open up the pass for Borel. With Speight moving on, Williams will try to pick up on his 5.57 yard per carry average as the feature back in 2011.
The good news is that the top 6 receivers from 2010 all will return, but that being said, someone is going to have to pick up the pace to become a star, as Dontel Watkins only had 42 grabs for 492 yards and 4 TDs. The second best receiver on the team was Eric Moats, who only had 20 catches on the season. Not going to get it done that way.
The entire left side of the line must be replaced in 2011, but the center and right side will return intact. Oscar Molina-Sanchez will get first shot at LT, while Eric Schultz will get first crack at LG. Depth will be available and plentiful here.

DEFENSE
428.8 yards allowed per game

When you give away more yards than you gain, you lose. That seems so painfully obvious, but not at USU. The D line is just not getting it done for the Aggies, in that their sack and TFL numbers are dreadful over a 4 game season. Levi Koskan is the only Aggie that seemed to kind of have a clue as to getting into the backfiels, but he only had 8.5 TFLs on the season, a number that's hardly impressive, and his 4.5 sacks were way ahead of the pace set by his brethren up front. Abysmal. What's worse is that 2 starters will have to be replaced next season.
Bobby Wagner was one of the hardest working LBs in the nation in 2010, but mainly because he had nobody working in front of him. When the season was said and done, Wagner had collected 133 tackles on the year. He should be back to provide more stats and leadership as a senior in 2011. Kyle Gallagher was busy as well, posting 91 tackles on the season. The Aggies would love to get more aggressive with these guys, but if they don't stay home in the scheme, there is little to stop offenses from breaking a big play due to lack of support.
The secondary lacks playmakers as well, as Rajric Coleman and Quinton Byrd tied for the team lead in picks with 3 each, and nobody was running those picks back. Curtis Marsh ended up defending 13 passes, but was picked on heavily at times, while Chris Randle batted away 8 passes. It would be nice to pick some of those every now and then.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The PK game was crap in 2010, with Aggie kickers only connecting on 11 of 17 FG attempts. Braeden Loveless will get the first crack atthe job in spring ball, but he had better show a flash of something, or else the Aggies will be even more screwed. Peter Caldwell, who only hit on 10 of 15 FGs, but also managed to hit an average of 41.72 yards per punt, which was not horrible. Loveless took a crack at punting as well, and was nothing short of awful.
Kerwynn Williams has some talent in the return game, and busted a kick return for a TD. Expect bigger things for Williams in 2011, as he will be expected to be a huge playmaker in several areas.

FINAL NOTES

One thing the Aggies can say is that they took out BYU for the first time in 17 years. Whenever that happens, people in Logan smile. However, USU's other three wins were a sham, as they came against Idaho State, San Jose State, ans New Mexico State, 3 of college football's worst programs. Gary Anderson has got to start finding a way to change the culture in Logan, as all these kids no how to do is lose. Learning to win is tough. Learning to lose is easy.

2011 NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
9/3 @ Auburn, 9/10 Weber State, 9/24 Colorado State, 9/30 @ BYU, 10/8 Wyoming