2020 Utah State Aggies football team
The 2020 Utah State Aggies football team represented Utah State University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aggies played their home games at Maverik Stadium as members of the Mountain West Conference. Head coach Gary Andersen, who was in his sixth year, coached the first three games before he and Utah State agreed to part ways.
| 2020 Utah State Aggies football | |
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| Conference | Mountain West Conference |
| 2020 record | 1–5 (1–5 MW) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Bodie Reeder (1st season) |
| Co-defensive coordinator | Frank Maile (4th season) |
| Co-defensive coordinator | Stacy Collins (1st season) |
Uniform | |
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| 2020 Mountain West Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 24 San Jose State y$ | 7 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boise State y | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nevada | 6 | – | 2 | 7 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Diego State | 4 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 3 | – | 3 | 3 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Air Force | 2 | – | 2 | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wyoming | 2 | – | 4 | 2 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico | 2 | – | 5 | 2 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado State | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah State | 1 | – | 5 | 1 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UNLV | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: San Jose State 34, Boise State 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Previous season
The Aggies finished the 2019 season with a 7–6 overall record, going 6–2 in conference play to finish third in the Mountain Division, behind Boise State and Air Force. The team was invited to the Frisco Bowl, where it lost to Kent State 41–51. The 2019 season marked Gary Andersen's first year back in charge of the Aggies after having coached the team from 2009 to 2012.
Personnel
Coaching staff
After an up-and-down year, various changes were made to the Aggie coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Mike Sanford left to take the same position at Minnesota, and was replaced by North Texas offensive coordinator Bodie Reeder. Defensive coordinator Justin Ena was reassigned as the inside linebackers coach. Frank Maile, assistant head coach and tight ends coach, was reassigned to defensive coordinator. He had previously been Utah State's defensive coordinator from 2016 to 2018. Stacy Collins, special teams and running backs coach, was named co-defensive coordinator with Maile. Bojay Filimoeatu was moved from defensive ends to outside linebackers. Dave Schramm, the offensive coordinator at Weber State, was hired as the new running backs coach. Safeties coach Mike Caputo was let go and is now at Baylor with former Utah State defensive coordinator Dave Aranda.
| Name | Position | Alma Mater | Joined Staff |
| Gary Andersen | Head Coach | Utah (1986) | 2019 (previously 2009–2012) |
| Frank Maile | Co-Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Line | Utah State (2007) | 2016 (previously 2009–2013) |
| Stacy Collins | Co-Defensive Coordinator / Secondary | Western Oregon (1998) | 2016 |
| Bodie Reeder | Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks | Eastern Illinois (2009) | 2020 |
| Justin Ena | Inside Linebackers | BYU (2001) | 2019 |
| T.J. Woods | Offensive Line | Azusa Pacific (2002) | 2019 (previously 2009–2012) |
| Jason Phillips | Pass Game Coordinator / Wide Receivers | Houston (2001) | 2019 |
| Bojay Filimoeatu | Defensive Ends | Utah State (2012) | 2019 |
| Dave Schramm | Running Backs | Adams State (1983) | 2020 |
| Mark Orphey | Secondary | Texas Southern (2010) | 2019 |
| Jordan Hicks | Strength and Conditioning | Georgetown (KY) (2005) | 2019 |
| Keegan Andersen | Director of Player Personnel | Utah State (2013) | 2019 |
Source: [2]
Schedule
Utah State announced its 2020 football schedule on February 27, 2020.[3] The 2020 schedule consisted of 6 home and 6 away games in the regular season. On August 10, 2020, the Mountain West Conference announced the suspension of the football season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4][5]
On September 25, the Mountain West announced the 2020 season would return with a revised 8-game, conference only season beginning October 24.[6]
On November 18, the scheduled November 19 game against Wyoming was canceled by the Mountain West Conference due to rising COVID–19 cases in the Utah State program.[7]
On December 11, the scheduled December 12 at Colorado State was canceled by Utah State University as a result of a Utah State player boycott in protest of comments made by their university president that they perceived as discriminatory.[8]
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 24 | 5:00 p.m. | at Boise State | FS1 | L 13–42 | 0 | |
| October 31 | 7:30 p.m. | San Diego State | CBSSN | L 7–38 | 5,116 | |
| November 5 | 5:00 p.m. | at Nevada | FS1 | L 9–34 | 250 | |
| November 14 | 12:30 p.m. | Fresno State |
| FS2 | L 16–35 | 0 |
| November 26 | 5:00 p.m. | New Mexico |
| FS1 | W 41–27 | 198 |
| December 3 | 7:30 p.m. | Air Force |
| CBSSN | L 7–35 | 3,025 |
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Source:[9]
References
- "WE'RE BACK". twitter.com/MountainWest. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- "Football Coaches". Utah State University Athletics. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- "Mountain West Announces 2020 Football Schedule for Utah State". Utah State University. February 27, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- "Utah State football won't play as Mountain West cancels fall sports". The Salt Lake Tribune. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- "Mountain West postpones football, fall sports". ESPN.com. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- https://www.mwcconnection.com/2020/9/24/21448098/the-mountain-west-announces-the-return-of-football
- Potter, Davis (November 18, 2020). "More COVID-19 issues cancel Wyoming's game against Utah State". Casper Star Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- Fredrickson, Kyle (December 11, 2020). "Utah State at Colorado State football game canceled due to USU player boycott". The Denver Post. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
- "2020 Utah State Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.