Pressure to win is mounting for Utah State

In many ways, Utah State's game against Louisiana Tech is the most important game of the season for the Aggies and the most important game of Gary Andersen's young career as a head coach.

Coming into Romney Stadium, USU is 1-5 on the year and that one win is against Division I-AA Southern Utah. The Aggies have competed in every game, but have suffered heart-wrenching losses against New Mexico State and Nevada in the last two weeks.

So with another winnable game on the schedule, the Aggies are facing more and more pressure to win games. More pressure than ever to turn competing and playing well into victories. More pressure to simply break the threshold and to not let the season skid out of control.

"We as a team need to learn how to win," Andersen said. "And I'm excited that we have another opportunity to play a good football team. We look forward to having them come play us in Logan. I expect a highly competitive game."

But can the Aggies expect to win?

The answer to that may lie in the hands of how well Utah State can move the football on the ground, and how well the Aggies can balance that through the air. It may depend on how well USU defends D'Anthony Smith, one of the best all-around talents in the Western Athletic Conference. It depends on how much the Aggies can get the ball in the hands of Robert Turbin.

Turbin's seven carries against Nevada was the hot topic of discussion this week. Andersen acknowledged

that he and the staff need to get him the ball more, but also said that the increased number of touches need to come within the spirit of the current offensive scheme, and not because of any special tweaks to the game plan.

What hasn't been discussed is the hamstring injury that Turbin suffered against New Mexico State. That caused his effectiveness to be limited slightly against Nevada. Andersen expects his star sophomore to be ready to go this time around.

"He might've said he was 100 percent against Nevada but he didn't practice all week leading up to the game. I expect him to be ready against Louisiana Tech."

As has been the case in recent weeks, the Aggies are facing a solid, athletic team that runs the ball well and sports a better than average defensive line. Although both teams have lost to Nevada, Louisiana Tech is 2-1 in the WAC and 3-3 overall.

"They can play," Andersen said. "They have some guys with speed. They aren't real big, but they are compact, physical runners. They have a nice scheme, and they do a good job of using their personnel."

tjones@sltrib.com