Whatever happens this season, USU believes it will persevere

There was a time Saturday night during Utah State football’s season opener when it looked like the Aggies might struggle to win more than two or three games this season at best.

The Aggies were being outplayed on both sides of the ball by Robert Morris — an FCS team that won only four games in 2023 and was picked to finish third in the Northeast Conference this season, a conference that was ranked the worst in the entire FCS by FloFootball .

The idea that USU might be able to beat teams such as New Mexico and Hawaii, let alone Mountain West powers such as Boise State and UNLV, seemed pretty far-fetched, and that is before mentioning teams like No. 23 USC and No. 12 Utah, who Utah State will face in consecutive weeks beginning this Saturday.

Of course, didn’t turn out too bad for the Aggies Saturday night. USU rallied in impressive fashion, outscoring the Colonials 26-0 in the second half for the season opening win.

Afterward, optimism about the future was the prevailing sentiment, though realism came a close second. The idea that USU can and will compete for a MW title is still very much there.

“The ceiling is a Mountain West championship,” linebacker John Ross Maye said. “We are a good team and just have to do what we do. ... Once this team gets headed in the right direction and we will, the sky is the limit.”

So is an understanding that the Aggies have a great deal of work to do.

“Don’t get me wrong, it was not a clean football game,” interim head coach Nate Dreiling said. “We have a lot we have to fix.”

How do those two ideas occupy the same mental space? How can the Aggies feel that they’ll compete with the best in the MW, while simultaneously acknowledging that their performance Saturday night was rife with miscues and more?

It all comes back to the team itself. The bond that exists between the players.

Since the start of July, the Aggies have dealt with off-the-field distractions, controversy and tragedy that could have upended the entire season.

The opposite has happened though, they say.

“The team, there is a vibe about this team,” backup quarterback Bryson Barnes said. “(Former) Coach (Blake Anderson) left and everyone just rallied together. We’ve had a lot of adversity that last 60 days and everybody just rallied together.”

Dreiling and the coaching staff have noticed it. It has stood out to them enough that the Aggies’ new head coach has been quick to comment on the bond this team shares, and he did so again after the win over Robert Morris.

“Hats off to how close they are together,” Dreiling said. “... Everyone stayed together, everyone stayed positive. We know what we have to fix, but one thing that is hard to fix is a team that is not close, and we don’t have that problem. We have a bunch of guys that are resilient that want to win games.

“This team doesn’t blame anybody,” Dreiling added. “The offense wasn’t mad at the defense, the defense wasn’t mad at the offense. It was just about whatever the next opportunity was. When it was an interception (thrown by our quarterbacks), the defense went back out there again. Or if it was a 3-and-out and the offense got some momentum going, that is what we need. We need to play complementary football, play together, and that is what the second half looked like.”

Maye summed it all up like this: “I think we came out and were a little (indecisive) tonight. We went out there acting like ‘OK, let’s see what happens.’ We felt really strongly about our offense coming into the game. Defensively, we know the talent we have. We didn’t take the game lightly, but we played it safe and that wasn’t the right approach. That isn’t who we are and that isn’t who we are going to be.”

The Aggies will need to be the best version of themselves this Saturday. Utah State travels to USC to play the Trojans, who kick off the season Sunday night at 5:30 p.m. against LSU.

USC is a far cry from Robert Morris. That isn’t earth shattering or close to it, and if Utah State is to be remotely competitive, it has a lot to clean up.

“We have so many things (we need to get fixed),” Dreiling said. “The biggest thing is penalties. Penalties we put on ourselves. Stupid penalties. We can’t beat good teams consistently if we keep shooting ourselves in the foot. That comes down to being a smart football team.

“That will be a huge emphasis. ... It is never about what the opponent does. As long as you are getting better, playing better ball week in and week out you are going to have a chance, but when you are setting yourselves back, then life is hard. That will be a huge emphasis this week.”

The Aggies’ bond will surely be challenged by the Trojans. A road game against a Power Four opponent is a daunting challenge, but if the Aggies are to be believed, even USC won’t shake them.

Not this group.