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Logan • So much optimism surrounding the Utah State football program this season. So much potential for wins and a possible bowl game.
Too bad the Aggies are forced to travel Saturday to Norman and take on Oklahoma. The same seventh-ranked Oklahoma that is gunning for its 800th win as a program.
For Utah State, reality is less than 48 hours away.
"Obviously, playing a team as good as that presents a huge challenge," said Aggies coach Gary Andersen.
This is the last of the "body bag" games for Utah State, the games scheduled by the Randy Spetman regime designed to bring the USU program a nice paycheck, while also providing the Aggies with the opportunity to get smashed by a superior opponent.
The results of the last five years haven't been pretty. Since 2005, Utah State has played two teams from the Southeastern Conference, a Pac-10 school in Oregon and two Big-12 schools. The Aggies have lost by a combined 213-60, with 30 of those points by USU coming last season against Texas A&M.
While Utah State likes to hope it's beyond the getting manhandled stage, this is exactly the type of game current Athletic Director Scott Barnes has wanted to avoid. Step one in this directive involved setting the schedule up for six home games a season. Step two involved not scheduling over the head of the football team.
"It's a process, a challenge," Barnes said. "We wanted to eliminate playing over our heads. At the same time we want to challenge ourselves in the nonconference. I think the direction we take in the next few years will dictate how we schedule."
In other words, should Utah State, after being caught up in the BYU-Western Athletic-Mountain West Conference saga the past two weeks, settle in the MWC at some point, then the Aggie administration would be more comfortable scheduling a few creampuffs here and there at the start of the season.
Should USU end up stuck in a WAC that's undesirable, then the Aggies will be forced to schedule more aggressively in the preseason. As the football program grows, so does the desire to schedule smartly and within its abilities. Playing against Oklahoma, for this Utah State team, isn't something the staff would choose. But it isn't something that the staff, nor the players, are going to run from, either.
"Do I think we can be competitive?," asked senior running back Derrvin Speight. "I think we have a good chance to be competitive. It all depends on how we execute, how we play on both sides of the ball."
In the past, these kinds of games dotted the Utah State schedule on a weekly basis. There was a game at Texas A&M last season that certainly qualifies on paper. But there was Utah State, down eight points with the ball in the final minute of the game.
"Watching that film, we know that Utah State's not a walkover for us," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. "They played a very good Texas A&M team down to the wire. They have a special quarterback in Diondre Borel. We're going to have to come to play."
Barnes said the schedule will be more balanced going forward, and more flexible as well. For Barnes, making the Aggies a competitive commodity is the top goal.
The last body-bag game?
Saturday's opener at Oklahoma marks the sixth straight season USU has faced a national powerhouse. The previous five have been unkind to the Aggies:
Season Opponent Result
2010 at Oklahoma TBD
2009 at Texas A&M L, 38-30
2008 at Oregon L, 66-24
2007 at Oklahoma L, 54-3
2006 at Arkansas L, 20-0
2005 at Alabama L, 35-3