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LOGAN — Last October, coming off back-to-back losses to Boise State and BYU, Utah State used a bye week to regroup, refuel and spring into its most successful stretch of the season.
The Aggies defeated UNLV in Las Vegas 24-21, improved to 4-2 on the year and started a five-game win streak that helped the program clinch first in the Mountain Division. Similar to last year, the 2022 Aggies are coming off back-to-back losses and a bye week entering its game against UNLV on Saturday.
The overall situation this season is more unnerving, though.
The Aggies' latest loss was not a 14-point loss to a Top-15 team, rather a 28-point loss to an FCS team in Weber State — the first time Utah State has lost to the Wildcats at home.
Serious concern surrounded the teams' resolve, and on-field abilities gloomed over the program entering the bye week. In the return to game week, player leadership has stepped up and addressed the issues that plagued the team, players said. And there's hope it can improve the on-field product, too.
"We've done a lot within this past week," senior cornerback Michael Anyanwu said. "Not even on the field, but a lot off the field as well. We had a lot of meetings and a lot of player-led stuff that we've kind of just gone back to the basics, I guess you could say."
"We've had guys do a phenomenal job," coach Blake Anderson said. "I think we had a bunch of guys step in and challenge the team."
The Monday following the Weber State game, there was a player-called meeting, where team veterans took accountability for the early-season results and challenged the team to stay engaged and committed to the team goals.
Most vocal in the meeting was senior quarterback Logan Bonner. The face of the team publicly and one of the main leaders internally entering the season, Bonner struggled through three games, posting a QB rating of 21.2 (118th nationally). Although physically healthy, he continues to battle the psychological effects of a torn ACL sustained last December.
In the meeting, Bonner acknowledged his personal challenges, shouldered blame for the 1-2 start, and vowed to improve.
"He's already one of the biggest leaders on our team," senior offensive tackle Jacob South said. "But this last week, I think he really stepped up and took some ownership and really said: 'Hey, guys, I've kind of been struggling these past couple of weeks. And I'm claiming that and I'm going to be better going forward.'"
"I think he gained a tremendous amount of respect from the guys in the room," Anderson said.
Also speaking out in the meeting, according to Anderson, was senior safety Hunter Reynolds, junior defensive end Byron Vaughns and graduate transfer receiver Brian Cobbs. Similar to Bonner, each took personal responsibility rather than pointing fingers.
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For a team whose leadership abilities were publicly questioned by Anderson following the Weber State game, for both coaches and players to specifically identify leaders — and come up with the same names — during Monday's press conference indicates a step forward.
"One spot I think this team has gotten a lot better at in the past week is leadership," Anyanwu said. "A lot more guys stepping up into the leadership roles that we need, including myself."
Senior leadership is crucial for any team, but especially for the Aggies. Utah State has 40 freshmen on it's roster — 26 true and 14 redshirts — that makes up nearly 42% of the team.
Several of these freshmen have played meaningful minutes this season, too, including safety Ike Larsen, running back Robert Briggs, receiver Ny Ny Davis, defensive tackle Seni Tuiaki, offensive guard Weylin Lapuaho, tight end Parker Buchanan and linebacker Omari Okeke.
Success for the remainder of the season hinges not only on guys like Bonner improving but on the freshman fulfilling their roles. Season-ending knee injuries from both junior receiver Kyle Van Leeuwen and graduate student Phillip Paea, which Anderson announced on Monday, make it all the more crucial.
"I looked, we're playing almost 14, 15 freshmen right now," Anderson said.
Young teams in college football crumble all the time, often due to lack of talent, but often due to lack of experience and resolve amidst adversity. It aided both BYU's demise in 2017 and Utah State's struggles in 2020.
Keeping the young guys committed despite a deflating start requires the veteran leadership to help keep everyone on the path.
"You just got to keep the main thing," South said. "You can't let these games too early in the season discourage us. That's what I've been trying to tell the guys, like, we can't let all this stuff discourage us. You've just got to keep working every single week, because I believe in this team, I believe in all these guys.
"I know what we have, who we have; and I know that we can be really successful. We've just got to keep doing what we've been doing."
A concerted effort was put forth during the bye week from veteran leadership to reset the tone and help save the season. Against a much-improved UNLV squad on Saturday is the first chance to see if it paid dividends, and perhaps spring Utah State toward success again.
