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SALT LAKE CITY — Already having fallen a notch in the state’s pecking order, BYU football is now in a legitimate fight to hold off getting surpassed by Utah State.
For 30 years, during nearly all of LaVell Edwards’ tenure as the head coach, BYU was unquestionably the state’s best college program by any metric. From St. George to Logan and anywhere in between, the best talent flocked to the Provo campus, leaving Utah and Utah State to scour for the leftovers.
The good ol’ days are long gone.
For several reasons, most notably a winning streak against BYU that has reached seven games, Utah is the state’s best program. Few would argue that playing in the Pac-12 is not better than being an independent or in the Mountain West Conference.
Recent evidence suggests Utah State is gaining on BYU. To put it simply, the Cougars need to beat USU this week in Provo.
“It’s a big game for us, and it’s a rival game,” said Utah State coach Matt Wells. “It’s something, I think, that makes college football pretty cool and pretty special.”
From 1952-74, Utah State dominated the series with a 16-8 record in the annual game. The Aggies enjoyed separate winning streaks of five games and twice with four games.
But Edwards, who played at Utah State, overhauled the dynamics between the two teams. BYU went 23-3 from 1975 through 2002, after which the series was discontinued for three seasons.
Gary Andersen’s hire at Utah State signaled another shift in the rivalry. Starting in 2010, by the time Andersen had rebuilt the program, the Aggies have gone 3-5 against BYU.
Last year’s game in Logan was a disaster for the Cougars, who lost 40-24 and generally looked outmatched in part due to quarterback injuries. A victory this season would give the Aggies their first two-game winning streak over BYU since 1973-74.
“There’s a little bit of a rivalry there,” said BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum, who sat out last season’s game with an injury.
As an independent, BYU shuffles through several teams from year to year without any history with most of the opponents. The constant changes in the schedule add a level of importance to the games against Utah and Utah State since BYU no longer plays for a conference championship.
And more than any team, Utah State is most likely to stay on BYU’s schedule for many years to come. Utah already has taken a two-year break from scheduling BYU in the regular season.
“Our guys are excited,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake. “This is going to be a big game for us just like it is for them.”
Ultimately, the team that has the upper hand in the series could gain an advantage on in-state recruiting. Utah State’s objective would be to lure players to Logan rather than only get the recruits BYU did not want.
For years, the theory was the Aggies signed BYU’s hand-me-downs and therefore played with a chip on their shoulders against the Cougars. Wells welcomes any motivation for his players but doesn’t believe his roster is comprised of BYU rejects.
“It would be my guess if a kid is LDS and he is not in Cache Valley, (he) probably at some point wanted to go to BYU,” Wells said. “I’m not sure how many they offered of our kids. I really don’t know. But most of my Cache Valley kids grew up wanting to be Utah State Aggies.”
