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LOGAN — The Utah State Aggies (9-2, 5-0 WAC) dropped formerly ranked No. 19 Louisiana Tech (9-2, 4-1 WAC) and are ranked for the first time since 1978. The Aggies are currently ranked 25th in the nation in the AP Poll, the first time since 1961 that Utah State has been ranked in the AP Poll.
In downing the Bulldogs and finding themselves in the national rankings, the Aggies also clinched a share of the WAC title and can win the championship outright with a win this weekend over the Idaho Vandals (1-10, 1-4 WAC).
The Aggies just managed to pull out the victory over the Bulldogs in overtime in the box score, but were impressive on tape. ESPN, the Examiner and SI’s SportsMashUp all had glowing reviews of the Aggies, and especially, USU head coach Gary Andersen.
Andersen has been so impressive this season (all four seasons in Logan in fact), several Cal/Pac-12 blogs have tabbed Andersen as a potential candidate to replace recently ousted Cal head coach Jeff Tedford in Berkeley. The blogs have including California Golden Blogs, Pacific Takes and Athlon Sports.
The Aggies now turn their sights on the Idaho Vandals. Even with a less than stellar record, the Vandals have an impressive offensive squad. The Vandals are averaging 240.7 yards passing per game, but their defense is not impressive, allowing 494 total yards per game.
On paper, this game will be hugely one-sided, but as the Aggies have proven this year, games are not played on paper. This CBSSports article not only provides excellent preview stats, but a write-up of USU’s upcoming match-up with Idaho.
You won’t hear this from any of the Aggies or their coaching staff, but USU will head into bowl season as the WAC champion with a stellar 10-2 record, including a perfect 6-0 record in conference play.
Justin McKissick is a ksl.com contributor originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been covering USU sports since 2011. Follow him on Twitter: @justin_sr.
