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Logan • Utah State's bye week came at the right time, according to coach Matt Wells.
The Aggies don't play again until Oct. 22, when they will try to snap a three-game losing streak — their longest in six years — against Fresno State.
In the meantime, Wells and his staff plan a close examination of their season on the brink and what must change to get the Aggies headed in the right direction. Utah State is 2-4 overall and, at 0-3, out of the Mountain West Conference championship race.
On Saturday night, the Aggies built a 14-point halftime lead at Colorado State before losing 31-24. Dating to last season, they have lost nine of their past 13 games, including six straight on the road.
"We just haven't found ways to win," said Wells. "That's concerning. We're trying to take a hard, deep look at it — what we're doing, how we're doing it, who we're doing it with and how we're coaching them."
The Aggies have played well at times. But they have not made a big enough plays in losses to Air Force (27-20), Boise State (21-10) or Colorado State.
"They are not major issues," Wells said. "But, when the game is in the balance — there for the taking — we have not been able to string together plays [and] find ways to win it."
The Utah State coaching staff will "self-scout" during its 14-day break.
"We will reflect and put a strategy together," Wells said. "We will tweak some things and try to get on a roll. … We'll take the bye week right now."
Under Wells, the Aggies are 3-0 after a bye.
Special teams not so much
Through six games, Utah State's special teams has been so-so. The Aggies average only 30.7 yards in net punting and 7.6 yards on punt returns. On kickoffs, Utah State's average return is 17.1 yards, often resulting in poor starting field position.
Asked about his special teams, Wells said, "I graded the Colorado State game as a wash. But to be special, you have to have extraordinary effort. … Some of the punt returns that we've broken in the last three or four years always included two or three guys with extraordinary effort. Whether it's technique-related or effort-related, we just have to keep coaching that."
Broncos headed for New Year's bowl?
Boise State is ranked 15th this week and, after Houston's loss to Navy, has a golden opportunity to reach a New Year's Six bowl.
The Broncos are 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Mountain West. The most difficult game remaining on their regular-season schedule might be Oct. 20 against BYU. If Boise wins out, it's difficult to imagine it won't be in the NY6 mix.
"Boise State has got a good program and a good team this year," Wells said. "They're a tough-minded defensive team and they've got a tremendous amount of explosiveness on offense. … They are a good team, a good program and very deserving of that ranking based on who they've beaten and how they've played this year. It's good exposure for the league."
Finding a "killer instinct"
Before squandering a 24-10 lead against Colorado State, the Aggies also failed to maintain control of games they were dominating against Arkansas State and Air Force, though it did win the game against ASU.
"If I had the right answer, or if any coach had the right answer, you'd have 12-win teams every year," Wells said. "We all look for [it] every year, every week and every game."
Wells noted the Aggies did not respond when the Rams trimmed their deficit to 24-17 in the third quarter.
"Right after that," he said, "there were a couple of series on both sides of the ball that, if you have that killer instinct, you slam the door shut and say, 'Nope.' … We don't have that right now."
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