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LOGAN — Earlier this week, three separate $1,000 bets were placed at the Ceasar Sportsbook in Atlantic City for Utah State football to win the national championship. By contrast, defending national champion Georgia has just two $1000-plus bets to win the title.
The peculiar trio of bets sent people scrambling for answers.
Did the bettors mistakenly bet the wrong Aggies, intending on picking Texas A&M? Was this some sort of money laundering? Time travel? Or was winning a Mountain West championships last season all the evidence some people needed to believe in Utah State? Either way, the three bets pushed up the odds of them winning the championship from 1000/1 to 750/1.
On Saturday afternoon, Utah State had it's spring game, the final chance before August for the trendy championship pick to show what they're made of this season.
Despite a decent showing by the defense, the offense blew them away 64-29, thanks to a questionably-designed scoring system.
The defense was able to bring pressure throughout the day and forced nine sacks and 14 tackles for loss, while the offense had their moments, scoring eight touchdowns and 548 passing yards from three quarterbacks. Every healthy player got reps.
Strange note from @CaesarsSports.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 20, 2022
They have now received three $1,000 bets on Utah State to win the college football playoff.
As many $1,000 bets have now been put on the Aggies of Utah State as has been put on the Aggies of Texas A&M.
Utah St has moved from 1000/1 to 750/1 pic.twitter.com/iUWatELZ3J
Did the performance from his team convince head coach Blake Anderson those three national championship bets are going to cash in? Probably not.
"That means we'd have to beat Alabama probably twice," Anderson joked about the national championship prospects (The Aggies play Alabama on Sept. 3).
But Anderson, who doesn't shy away from being critical of his team, seemed pleased with what he saw Saturday and throughout the entirety of spring ball.
"It's hard to figure out a score and a scoring plan for O vs. D without getting crazy like it did today," Anderson said. "But I still thought the energy was good. Guys had a good time, everybody played … so all in all, good spring and we turn the page, so get ready for summer workouts."
The scrimmage, played in front of a couple thousand fans, as well as several notable Aggies alumni, such as Jordan Love and Bobby Wagner — Wagner was also honored Saturday night for his induction into the Hall of Fame along with Robert Turbin — was a proper reflection of how several spring practices have gone.
The defensive front seven is where they dictated the spring game. Hale Motu'apuaka had team highs of three tackles for loss and three sacks. Linebacker Kaleo Neves had six tackles.
Despite graduating four starters, the front seven has proven this spring to be a group capable of containing running backs in short yardage situations, as well as bringing pressure to reach the quarterback.
Motu'apuaka, Byron Vaughns, and AJ Vongpachanh are returning guys who have become leaders, and all set the tone for physicality; but Anderson mentioned two new additions, which made major strides throughout spring ball.
"MJ Tafisi's been a great addition," Anderson said. "Daniel Gresiak — I mean really for us to have lost what we lost with Nick Heninger — every day just getting better and better and better."
Tafisi, a linebacker transfer from Washington and an Alta High native, showed off his edge speed with a huge third-down sack on quarterback Cooper Legas. Gresiak, a Nevada transfer, didn't fill the stat sheet on Saturday but has shown off his speed and ability to pressure the quarterback.
Another promising player has been AJ Carter, who moved from safety to corner, and has proven throughout camp to be a reliable guy in the corner's room, along with Micheal Ananwu and Andre Grayson.
"I'm really excited with the D-line and the defense that we have," Motu'apuaka said. That's all on coach Banda. He calls the right plays, he let's us play aggressive and just create havoc in the backfield and make it hard for the quarterback, the O-line and the running backs."
There was one major blow to the defense, however, which occured at the beginning of the spring game. Linebacker Anothony Switzer, an Arkansas State transfer and projected starter, went down with a lower leg injury.
"We had gotten to this point without a significant injury," Anderson said. "It honestly looks bad; I hope it's not. Hopefully we've got time to get him well if it is."
There have been injures on the offensive end, as well. Receiver Kyle Van Leeuween didn't play Saturday due to a hamstring injury, along with receiver Terrell Vaughns, who got "dinged up" in an earlier practice; but according to Anderson, both will be fine.
Despite missing those two, which have made several big plays throughout spring ball, the receiver room had a nice day Saturday.
The throw of the day was a 51-yard touchdown pass from Legas to Ny Ny Davis. Justin Mcgriff, who according to several, made major strides since the fall and had four catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. Ny Ny Davis continued to play well, reeling in a 51-yard touchdown pass from Legas. Maryland Transfer Brian Cobbs and Alabama transfer Xaiver Williams had a few catches, as well.
"It may not be one guy that has 100 and something catches; it may be collectively spread across the group," Anderson said. "But we are talented in there, and we'll continue to grow and be competitive — we need that group to be explosive, and they can."
Another positive takeaway, offensively, from spring camp has been the ability to run the ball. Contrary to last fall camp, when the offensive line consistently struggled to get push for their backs, there has been consistent production on the ground.
On Saturday, John Gentry had a 40-yard-plus run, while Pailate Makakona had several first-down runs. For camp as a whole, Calvin Tyler Jr. has looked healthy and explosive; expect him to be the lead back going into the fall.
"It's comforting knowing we have three, four, five running backs that can really make a difference," Legas said. "It doesn't matter who's in there, we know we can run the ball; we know that there will be protection for us, so it's cool we've got a really deep running back group for sure."
Legas finished the day 13-of-19 for 276 passing yards. He appears to be the clear No. 2 when Logan Bonner returns for the fall.
"We all expect Logan to be fine and be ready to play, but we'll feel very comfortable throwing Cooper out there to win a game for us if need be," Anderson said.
Should you rush to Wendover to place a $1,000 bet on the Aggies winning a national championship? Of course not. But despite losing several standout seniors and being without their starting quarterback for spring camp, the transition to the 2022 season seems to be a smooth one.
