When you’re getting hands to the ball and you’re playing with an extreme amount of passion and you’re hustling to the ball, you’re usually around those loose balls a little bit more. I think that has to continue. – Utah State head coach Matt Wells
SALT LAKE CITY — BYU made off with Utah State’s uniform colors, in 1999, but last Friday the Aggies reclaimed something far more important: the football.
For the last 41 minutes of their 40-24 win, they treated it like an heirloom, theirs for the generations.
So as they prepare for Saturday’s key Mountain West game against Colorado State, the conversation has been all about the Aggies’ propensity for theft. They lead the country in takeaways. This is not surprising to BYU. By game’s end, the Cougars were lucky to still be wearing pants.
Everything else, the Aggies claimed.
Utah State is supposed to finish last in the MWC this season, largely based on last year’s 1-7 conference meltdown. But what would happen if they kept up the takeaways at this rate?
A massive surprise.
“When you’re getting hands to the ball and you’re playing with an extreme amount of passion and you’re hustling to the ball, you’re usually around those loose balls a little bit more,” coach Matt Wells said. “I think that has to continue.”
If the Aggies keep rolling, they’ll end up in a bowl game. With three wins, already they’re halfway there.
“The key to this whole thing,” Wells said, “is hitting the reset button.”
Some teams make their mark with breakaway speed, a strong-armed quarterback, or a clever pass-run mix. But the Aggies of 2017 will get where they’re going by robbing the opposition blind.
“It’s awesome to be recognized for that, but we can’t be complacent,” linebacker Derek Larsen said.
USU’s nation-leading 16 takeaways include nine fumble recoveries and seven interceptions. Cornerback Jalen Davis had three picks against the Cougars, while teammates recovered three fumbles. Whether that was carelessness on BYU’s part or aggressiveness on USU’s side is debatable.
“You can watch it on film,” Larsen said, presenting the evidence. “There were guys punching at the ball and trying to strip it out.”
A week earlier, against San Jose State, the Aggies recovered four fumbles and intercepted a pass. USU’s nine recoveries rank second nationally.
“It has to be a habit,” Larsen said. “It can’t just be something that you do every now and then.”
The numbers show what coaches have long preached. As the turnover margin rises, so does a team’s record. Last year, the top five and eight of the top 10 teams in turnover margin finished with winning records. Of the bottom nine teams, just Eastern Michigan and Wake Forest had winning records — but it took games against Delaware and Mississippi Valley State to make that happen.
CSU is tied for 19th in turnovers gained this season.
“You’re starting to see a lot more — in a baseball term — a swing and a miss, when you’re the second or third guy in and you’re swinging and clubbing and missing,” Wells said. “But you have to have those (plays). We had some of those Friday night that were clinical.”
The Aggies are fifth nationally in first-time starters, with 18. So they still have much development ahead. They have losses to two Power 5 schools (Wisconsin, Wake Forest), but defeated an FCS school (Idaho State) and a pair of one-win opponents (BYU and San Jose State).
CSU — picked second in the Mountain Division — will be a good way to gauge for USU’s progress. One measurement might be the kind of swings they’re attempting. Years ago, the Aggies were embarrassed after video showed players recklessly throwing groin punches at Utah’s Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala in an effort to slow the big running back. But now they have honed their skills. They’re aiming for the football.
Whether they can keep up their current pace is doubtful. But that doesn’t stop them from evoking an old idiom: What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is mine.
For now, the Aggies are owning anything and everything in the vicinity. Navy blue uniform colors included.