But there is no denying the frustration amongst players and coaches immediately following the debacle against the Utes.
Aggie receiver Otis Nelson said USU failed to compete. Coach Brent Guy called the loss one of the most embarrassing of his tenure and proclaimed his team to be at "ground zero."
On Monday, however, Guy was clearly more composed than he was two days before, and his comments reflected as much.
"I give a lot of credit to Utah," Guy said. "They came in prepared. At that point in the season, it could've been easy for them to have a let down against us. They went on the road and played well."
Even so, the cries around the program and amongst the Aggies fan base are getting a louder. Heading into Saturday's Western Athletic Conference opener against Idaho, USU is 0-3 with none of the games being close. Oregon scored 66 points and rolled up almost 700 yards of offense on Utah State. UNLV, a team the Aggies thought they had legitimate chance to beat, handled USU. But the loss to the Utes was the most galling of all of them.
Nothing, however, speaks louder than empty seats.
And with an announced attendance of 19,061 at Romney Stadium, there were more than 6,000 empty seats to be had, which is a message that the state no longer views the game between USU and Utah as much of a rivalry. And that at least some Aggie fans may have already abandoned their team.
Given all that, the date with Idaho is shaping up as an absolute must-win game. A loss here, and fan support may plummet even more so than it has already. A loss against the Vandals, and Guy's job may be in jeopardy sooner than most thought.
Inside the Aggies program the panic button isn't being hit - not yet. USU knew that the first three opponents on the schedule posed huge challenges.
And with UNLV's win on the road over nationally ranked Arizona State, it appears that the Rebels are better than first thought.
The key for Guy is how his team performs in Western Athletic conference play. There may not be much that can be done against the Utahs, Oregons, BYUs, Boise States or Fresno States of the world. But there are winnable games left on the schedule. And at this point, progress for the Aggies has to start with Idaho.
"We're going to have to start off and play well the entire four quarters against Idaho, which we did not do the other night," Guy said. "Physically, we're going to have to go out and play four quarters, both running and throwing the football."
This is something the Aggies have yet to do this season. Utah State has either played well on offense or on defense, but never both in the same game. As ugly as the score was against the Utes, the USU defense was solid in parts. But they were on the field for so long that they eventually tired out.
The offense can take some blame for that, as they have gone three-and-out on their first drives for three consecutive games. That's a major reason that Guy, on Monday, named Diondre Borel his starting quarterback for Saturday's game.
Sean Setzer, the senior quarterback who started the first three games of the season, is the better passer of the two. But Borel is the better runner and playmaker. And at this point, Guy needs all the playmakers he can get.
"We're going to put Diondre out there and see if he can get something started," Guy said. "He's our best runner, so hopefully he can help the running game as a whole."
tjones@sltrib.com
USU vs. Idaho
Saturday, 2 p.m.
