Aggies withheld from MWC preseason accolades, to use as motivation

LAS VEGAS — Utah State football was overlooked by most everyone in 2021.

Betting lines and predictive metrics tabbed the Aggies as underdogs in the majority of their games, and doubt of Utah State's validity from opposing fan bases and the media persisted, even after they clinched the Mountain Division of the conference.

How did Utah State respond? The team beat up a one-loss San Diego State team 46-13 to win the Mountain West Championship and then coasted to a victory over Oregon State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl. Surely, those wins were enough to eradicate any accusation of flukiness.

But any external vindication that came from last year's achievements is fleeting.

The Aggies lost 45% of last season's production but return 12 starters, had the majority of their coaching staff return, and added a bevy of transfers, but they're being doubted once again.

In the preseason media rankings released on the first day of a two-day Mountain West media period, Utah State was picked to finish third in its division, behind Boise State and Air Force. And on Thursday, the media voted no Aggies players into its preseason All-Mountain West football team.

The Aggies' most recognizable players, quarterback Logan Bonner and running back Calvin Tyler Jr., failed to make the cut. But the offensive player of the year and quarterback award went to Fresno State's Jake Haener, who passed for over 4,000 yards last season; and the running back award went to Air Force's Brad Roberts, who rushed for 1,300 yards last year.

But zero awards? Surely, there was a spot for the Mountain West championship game MVP Byron Vaughns and the brawny senior Hale Matu'apauka on the defensive line — or at least 2021 All-MWC honorable mention Alfred Edwards on the offensive line.

Instead, San Diego State, which lost 46% of last season's production, filled in eight of the 25 spots; and San Jose State, which went 5-7 last year and lost 43% of its production, got three accolades on the team.

In reality, preseason rankings are all meaningless, an annual way for college football conferences to drum up attention. What does a handful of media members scattered across the west, from the Southern California metropolis to the greater Denver area really know what's going on in Logan anyway?

But in a world where validation from your peers matter, so do baseless polls and awards.

"At this point they blatantly disrespect us," Tyler tweeted Thursday. "What's the vendetta?"

Vendetta or not, it's not surprising for those who care about the Aggies. In a media day interview with 1280 The Zone Wednesday, head coach Blake Anderson predicted how the preseason awards would pan out.

"I doubt we get any," Anderson said. "That would be my guess."

The second-year coach's prediction was spot on, not only in its validity, but in its nature.

It was an inherently Aggie-esque answer — an answer reflective of an underdog mentality that seems prescribed into any Utah State fan. The roots of it run deeper than any preseason poll.

It may be a product of the university getting left behind in the conference realignment shuffle several times over the years while in-state foes received more glamorous offers. Or maybe it's a product of the school being in an oft-forgotten town in a secluded valley in Northern Utah.

But it's a mindset the Aggies have adopted, and it's often used to their advantage. So getting snubbed in the preseason awards as the reigning champion? It only adds motivation.

"Oh absolutely. How can there not be," Anderson added. "And I love that. Our kids love the disrespect. And it played into us playing as well as we could the last couple weeks of the season when it mattered most, and yes that's something they'll carry in (to this season). We don't spend a lot of time talking about, it but social media makes it to where I don't have to say a word. They see it every day."

Bonner shared similar thoughts during a media day session on Thursday.

"Right where we want to be — underdogs again," he said. "I think that it's really good for us. I feel like we've been disrespected in the past. I think that we deserve to get some recognition, but that's fine if we don't get it.

"I think that underdog mentality was the same as it was last year. Last year picked last, this year we're picked third. Might as well be the same; that's how we feel."

It's everything fans would want to hear from the team's leader, and even members of the Aggies coaching staff. In a year where Utah State will be circled on opposing teams' calendars, the worst-case scenario is for the team to enter fall camp with inflated egos and complacent tendencies. Instead, they'll enter camp with a level of frustration, eager to prove people wrong again.

But some recognition every once in a while would be nice, too.

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