2009 Utah State NCAA Football Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd on June 18, 2009

Utah St 61809 New head coach Gary Andersen expects to put the pressure on his opponents this season with a no-huddle spread offense and a blitzing defense. Find out if these changes will benefit the Aggies in this 2009 college football betting preview. Take advantage of our special $500 match bonus offer at BetUS now!

Offense – With new head coach Gary Andersen comes the spread offense and he will count on junior quarterback Diondre Borel to run the show. On top of his three, four, and even five wide receiver formations, Andersen wants to give the opposition a no-huddle look the majority of the time. Borel is a dual-threat, who led the Aggies in both passing and rushing yards last season, throwing for 1,705 and running for 632 more. The coaching staff likes Borel’s ability to make plays in the proper situations, but they have expressed to their QB that they would like him to sit in the pocket more and trust his teammates to make plays. That means that the receiving unit is going to have to step up with last year’s receptions leader Otis Nelson no longer on board. All of the remaining receivers will have plenty of opportunities in this new offense, but sophomore Stanley Morris looks to be the emerging No. 1. He is the top returning wideout with 26 grabs for 291 yards in 2008. Robert Turbin figures to be the feature back and the offensive line returns three starters and eight total players who saw significant playing time in 2008. Center Brennan McFadden, who earned 2nd-Team All-WAC honors heads the unit. It is worth noting that Utah State scored on 94.1 percent of its red zone trips last season, which was good for third in the nation in terms of efficiency. While this number figures to go down, the scoring production figures to rise as the Aggies’ new offense should produce more trips to the red zone. Bet the WAC at BetUS and get up to 145% in sign up bonuses!

Defense - The conservative approach to defense did not treat the Aggies well last season as they ranked 107th in the nation in points allowed (34.7) and 99th in yards allowed (412.7). In comes former Utah Utes defensive coordinator Bill Busch with a mind to shake things up. The Aggies want to control the tempo on both sides of the ball and that means Busch plans on coming after the opposition hard with a variety of blitz packages out of a 4-3 defense (most of the time). Seven starters return on this side of the ball with 2nd-Team All-WAC linebacker Paul Igboeli leading the charge. He recorded 78 tackles last season. To compensate for a lack of size, Busch plans on shifting his defense around to confuse the opposition. He also plans on utilizing speed to get in the backfield as often as possible.

Prediction: 7th WAC – Following a 3-9 season, changes needed to be made, and I like the new additions to the coaching staff and the schemes they are implementing. The Aggies will already be more competitive this season and the wins will start to follow in subsequent years.

Jimmy Boyd is all set to beat the NCAA football odds with his award winning football picks this season.

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