The Hive Sports

by Daniel Olsen

The Utah State Aggies came to Boise with high hopes, but faltered down the stretch in a 45-22 loss to Georgia State at Albertson’s Stadium at the 2023 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. What prevented an inevitable shootout between two high powered offenses?

Early offensive success gives hope

The first 15 minutes saw the Aggies match the Georgia State intensity on offense as the Aggies only trailed 21-14 after the first quarter. The guys who were responding for the scores were none other than the 1000 yard receiver himself Jalen Royals, and team rushing leader Davon Booth.

The Aggies looked like they at least belonged in a bowl game at this point, while during the season they lost to all teams with winning records and beat the teams with losing records. They were determined to shake off the mid title.

Weather factor

While at a birds eye view the cold windy weather proved not to be a factor for the Georgia Staye Panthers, it did seem to affect the kicking game. While USU converted their two extra point attempts, Elliott Nimrod missed his only field goal attempt of the game from 37 yards out. Had he made it, the Aggies would have pulled the score to 21-17.

This was a key momentum shift as the Aggies followed up a Georgia State fumble gift with a prompt interception that lead to the lone made field goal for the Panthers. Liam Rickman, the Panthers kicker, did miss a field goal in the second half when the game was already decided.

Defensive Woes Continue

The defense, particularly the rushing defense, was one of the worst performances statistically of the season. The 386 allowed rushing yards were the most allowed in a game in the season. This was saying something since the Aggies also allowed over 300 rushing yards in their two previous games.

The Aggies sorely missed Anthony Switzer due to injury and Devin Dye to the transfer portal. They will look to shore up the defensive woes in the offseason as they return experience and look to make some progress with their offseason acquisitions.

2024 recruiting class brings hope

The Aggies return talent like hometown hero Ike Larsen on defense, lightning receiver Jalen Royals and experienced quarterback Cooper Legas. Time will tell who else will join the Aggies as they look to fill out the roster for the 2024 football season.

Blake Anderson Era

This decade started out with a disappointing 1-5 record under the former Gary Andersen. While Blake Anderson won a Mountain West title in his first season, he has gone 6-7 in his last two seasons.

When it comes to rivals, he is a combined 0-7 against Wyoming, Boise, and BYU. One positive is his unblemished 2-0 record over San Diego State as well as the continued dominance over Colorado State.

While Blake continues the tradition started the previous decade of bowl eligible seasons, it is imperative that the incoming class get the Aggies back to a winning season in a particularly difficult 2024 football schedule. The Aggies are usually not a bad football team, but their elite teams still seem to be a dime a dozen. Their AP Top 25 finishes this century came in 2012, 2018, and 2021. Aggie fans will be on the look out for another memorable winning season.

Images courtesy Joe Oliver