Best team of the decade — 2012
The 2018 version of the Aggies would seem to be sexy choice for best incarnation of the 2010s, thanks to an 11-2 record and unbelievable offense led by NFL prospect Jordan Love that put up 50 points or more on seven occasions. But in 2012, Utah State said goodbye to the WAC with a then-school record 11 victories and its first victory in a bowl game since 1993. Sophomore quarterback Chuckie Keeton had his best (and most healthy) season as an Aggie, leading Utah State to an overtime win over Utah and another OT victory at No. 19 Louisiana Tech. Ranked No. 16 in the final AP Top 25 poll, the Aggies’ only two losses came at No. 22 Wisconsin and at BYU by a total of five points.
Worst team of the decade — 2016
Coming after a school-record streak of five straight bowl game appearances, and before a run of three straight bowl games (and counting), the 2016 season has to be considered “The Big Dip.” Of course, at the time, many fans feared the 3-9 campaign was more than likely the beginning of the end of USU’s run, thanks to a last-place finish in the Mountain Division of the Mountain West and the Aggies dropping eight of their last nine games. But Matt Wells, who many thought would be fired after by far the worst season of his tenure, returned in 2017 and managed to stop the bleeding and get back to six victories and then double-digit wins in 2018.
Biggest win of the decade — Utah State 52, Boise State 26 (2015)
Utah State’s 21-14 victory over Heisman finalist Jordan Lynch and No. 24 Northern Illinois in the 2013 Poinsettia Bowl comes close, as do wins over Utah in 2012 and at BYU in ’14. But there haven’t been many nights at Maverik/Romney Stadium like the 21st-ranked Broncos’ visit in 2015. Thanks to eight turnovers — seven in the first half alone — the Aggies put together a perfect performance on their home turf, scoring three TDs in the final 85 seconds of the first half to lead 45-10 at halftime and turn the return trip to the Gem State into a very long journey for hundreds of Boise State fans. And to add extra context, the Aggies are 0-7 against the Broncos the rest of the decade, including heartbreaking setbacks in Boise in 2014 and ’18 in the final games of the regular season that could have propelled them into the Mountain West championship game.
Most disappointing loss of the decade — Tennessee 38, Utah State 7 (2014)
Most painful Aggie loss of the 2010s? Perhaps the 42-38 setback against the defending national champion Auburn Tigers when USU was up by 10 points late? Or maybe the 16-14 setback at No. 22 Wisconsin in 2012 that came down to a missed field goal with 11 seconds left? But after also staying within a score in other early-season road losses at Oklahoma and USC in previous years, the Aggies went into Neyland Stadium with high hopes that they’d be able to compete with a so-so SEC team in front of 102,455 fans. Playing in his first game since suffering a torn ACL, junior Keeton received a lot of hype, but was far from his old self, completing 18 of 35 passes for just 144 yards with two interceptions as the Aggies fell behind 31-0 before he threw his lone TD pass in the fourth quarter. To make matters worse, current Green Bay Packers linebacker Kyler Fackrell was lost for the season after tearing an ACL.
Most impactful assistant coach of the decade — David Yost
Fresh off LSU’s national championship, it’s certainly noteworthy that Tigers’ defensive coordinator Dave Aranda held the same position at Utah State in 2012, and was a Broyles Award nominee after the Aggie defense finished seventh in the country in scoring defense (15.4 ppg) and 14th in total defense (322.1 ypg). But like many USU assistants and coordinators in the 2010s, Aranda was able to parlay that success into a higher-paying job and was gone after just one year when Gary Andersen left for Wisconsin. Like Aranda, Yost also followed the head coach who hired him at USU to a more lucrative position at a Power Five school. But before he left for Texas Tech with Wells, Yost brought the USU offense back to life after a dismal season in 2016. With Yost as OC, the Aggies went from just three wins to six wins and a bowl appearance in 2017, to an 11-2 campaign in 2018 that might just have helped propel quarterback Jordan Love into the first round of the NFL draft. A Broyles Award semifinalist that season, Yost helped the Aggies average 47.5 points per game, the second-highest scoring average in the country.
Most important development or trend of the decade — Bringing respectability back to the Old Wagon Wheel rivalry with BYU
The Aggies went 1-7 against in-state rival Brigham Young in the ’90s, and then 0-6 vs. the Cougars in the 2000s, losing by an average of nearly three touchdowns a game. But Utah State turned that around in the first year of the new decade, beating BYU 31-16 in 2010 at Romney Stadium under Andersen — USU’s first win in the rivalry since 1993. But more stunningly, Wells and backup quarterback Darell Garretson guided the Aggies to a 35-20 upset of No. 18 BYU in 2014 at LaVell Edwards Stadium, the first victory in Provo by a Utah State team since 1978. The Aggies also won at home in 2017 and on the road in 2018, their first back-to-back wins against the Cougars since they took four in a row from 1971-74.