BYU 2009 Opponent Preview: Utah State Aggies

Jeremy by Senior Writer Written on July 06, 2009
PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 23:   Quarterback Jason Beck #7 of BYU warms up prior to the game against Utah State September 23, 2006 in Provo, Utah. BYU defeated Utah State 38-0.  (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images)    (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images)

Utah State has a new coach in former Utah defensive coordinator Gary Andersen, and already the program is looking in the right direction.  Utah State was actually able to score some points, but their defense was still lacking.

That should change under coach Andersen, as he was the man behind the Utah defenses for the last few seasons, plus Andersen is a great local recruiter and will bring in some talent.

The north endzone project that was started under former coach Brent Guy helped the program with better facilities for the athletes, and even increased the stadium size.

The 2009 Aggies most likely will not beat BYU, but they will be improved overall and their offense should be pretty solid.  The offense returns nine starters from last year, which should help the team try to improve off of their three win season from 2008.

Passing Com% Yards TD INT
Diondre Borel 56.2 1,705 11 10
Rushing Carries Yards Yards Per Carry TD
Diondre Borel 179 632 3.5 5
Robert Turbin 106 485 4.6 8
Receiving Catches Yards Yards Per Catch TD
Stanley Morrison 26 291 11.2 1
Omar Sawyer 19 246 12.9 0
Xavier Bowman 9 101 11.2 2

They return four starters along the offensive line, and their top player is dual threat quarterback Diondre Borel who lead the team in rushing last year.  He will be able to create plays and make the defense more honest with his rushing ability.

The running back is Robert Turbin who was alright last year as a freshman, but should be improved with the four returning lineman.  Also, Turbin is a dual threat and in 2008 had twenty catches and two scores.

A big concern is at wide receiver because the Aggies do not have a go-to guy.  All of the receivers have experience, but none stood out last year.  While there is no go to wide out the top four were consistent.

The defense only returns six starters, but new coach Gary Andersen has a few playmakers; starting with linebacker Paul Igboeli who had 78 tackles, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, an interception and a blocked field goal.

The defense will be faster then last year which will definitely help, plus the recruiting that Coach Andersen did in his short opportunity did a good job in gathering talent.

Even with the defense that should be improved they were 108th in scoring defense which was 34.7 per game, so they have a ways to go.

Nothing should be expected over four wins for the Aggies, but that would be moving in the right direction, and be their best season in nearly a decade.

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written on July 06, 2009 Preview/Prediction

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