PROVO — The Aggies could use some of that traditional tough Utah State defensive moxie heading into their Mountain West Conference opener Saturday against San Jose State.
Hopefully capable, certainly necessary and absolutely demanded, the defensive play should be improved against SJSU as Matt Wells sets the tone for the rest of the season now that the non-conference portion of the schedule has ended (except for the BYU game in another week).
Wells is not going to shake things up aside from injuries, but he will keep platooning parts of his defense like BYU does.
"I'm anticipating our defensive line and our linebackers to play way better than they did last week,” Wells told the media earlier this week.
Once again, he will be shuffling linebackers in and out on a regular basis to keep them fresh and build experience and confidence.
"A lot of guys played linebacker and on the defensive line against Wake Forest and you're going to see the same guys play this week," Wells said. "That's who we have and I believe in them."
A week ago on the East Coast, the Aggies missed tackles, didn't gang tackle, and failed to get pressure on Wake Forest’s quarterback. The result was a thrashing by the ACC foe.
Said Wells at his weekly press conference, “We brought pressure and didn't land it. We've got to rush the passer better. It's not a secret and I don't have a magical answer for it, but we've got to be able to put pressure on the quarterback. It was like a skelly drill to their quarterback, John Wolford. And, credit to him, he played catch. They caught balls and he threw balls accurately. He gained confidence as the game went on and we didn't move him off of his launch point. He sat in the same spot all night."
THE PLAYER’S LIST: During BYU’s bye week offensive line coach Mike Empey made use of a list of how to be a great teammate with much-needed attitude when he posted his top-10 list on Twitter. Here is his list that would do well for high school, college and professional players:
10. You’re willing to play any role that helps the team.
9. You would rather score less and win than score a lot and lose.
8. When your team scores, the first people you congratulate are your teammates.
7. You love to practice as much as you love games.
6. You respect your opportunities but don’t fear them.
5. You listen, are coachable and respect your coaches and officials.
4. You are quick to pick up a teammate who is having a bad day.
3. You help younger teammates who have less experience.
2. You learn and grow from your own mistakes as well as others.
1. You’re confident but not arrogant.
FATHER AND SONS: Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo had a rare “fan” experience during the Midshipmen's bye week last Saturday. He saw his two sons play major college games in Utah the same day. He first watched his oldest son Va'a play in a Cougar uniform against Wisconsin, then made his way to Utah where he saw his youngest son Ali'i play for the Utes against San Jose State.
Both sons played on special teams.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Niumatalolo told the Capital Gazette. “It was my first time ever doing that and it will probably be my last. I doubt that will ever happen again. Just an awesome experience.”
This week’s picks:
Boise State 35, Virginia 28: Bronco could pull off the upset with some luck.
Stanford 24, UCLA 21: Bruins aching to play some defense.
Notre Dame 27, Michigan State 21: Nice Big Ten pickup for Domers.
Oregon 41, Arizona State 35: A season-defining game for Sun Devils.
San Diego State 35, Air Force 27: Rocky Long’s got Aztecs marching.
Washington State 45, Nevada 10: Mike Leach just fiddlin’ around.
Ohio State 47, UNLV 7: Buckeyes in a breather, Rebels struggling.
Michigan 37, Purdue 24: Wolverines go munching and lunching.
Washington 38, Colorado 24: Well-rounded team vs. rebuilding one.
Southern Cal 37, California 24: Too much Trojan firepower.
Mississippi St. 28, Georgia 27: Right down to the wire.
Oklahoma State 34, TCU 28: Gary Patterson looking for consistency.
Utah State 27, San Jose State 24: Aggie defense wins the day.
Last week 10-3; Overall 22-10 (.687)