The College Football season may be a long way off but Matt Fargo is already deep in study and will once again provide his take on each and every NCAA team. We start from the bottom and move up so keep checking in for more previews!

No. 117 Utah St. Aggies
2007 Record ~ 2-10 SU ~ 7-5 ATS
Starters Returning ~ Offense (6) Defense (9)

If there was anything good that came away from last season for Utah St., it was that it doubled its win total from the previous season. The problem is that it had only one victory in 2006. Aggies head coach Brent Guy, who enters his fourth season, has a 6-29 record in his tenure and he is clearly on the hot seat. Utah St. has a very experienced team coming back so things need to turn the corner right now. Winning the final two games of 2007 definitely brings some momentum into this season.

The biggest problem for the Aggies last season was their inability to keep a lead as they had leads in the fourth quarter on four different occasions only to lose all four. That blame can be placed on the defense as they allowed 33.8 ppg which was 101st in the nation. Total defense placed 106th in the country but with nine starters back along with two heavily recruited JUCO transfers, the stop unit should be better. How much better is still the issue and it will need to be a lot better to compete in the offense-heavy WAC.

While the defense was a sieve, the offense did not do much to help out. The Aggies finished a dreadful 115th in total offense, averaging a mere 277.9 ypg. The rushing offense was adequate but still needs to get better and with three starters returning on the line along with both leading rushers, an improvement should happen. The passing game was a disgrace. Quarterback Leon Jackson is gone and replacing him should be Sean Setzer, who sat out last season with an injury. We should see a big upgrade here.

Utah St. was very competitive last season as proven by its 7-5 record against the number. Eight of the 10 losses were by 16 points or fewer and those eight losses came by an average of 9.9 ppg. The schedule starts tough as games at UNLV and Oregon kick off the slate. Three home games follow but two of those are against MWC heavyweights Utah and BYU. While more wins are likely, it won’t be easy. Don’t be surprised to see a repeat of the spread mark as the Aggies will be getting an abundance of points most weeks.
 

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