Utah State football: Confident Ags focus on WAC

LOGAN — According to Utah State football coach Brent Guy, the Aggies take two primary things with them as they look back on the 34-14 loss to BYU.

First, confidence in the way the team recovered from a disastrous and game-deciding first quarter. The Aggies fell behind 24-0 thanks to numerous turnovers and BYU's big-play scores.

Second, USU can look back on the BYU game as the end of the nonconference schedule and focus on the Western Athletic Conference.

"We can't start so slow on the road this week," Guy said. "We have to start fast and get into the football game against San Jose State and not make critical errors early that can give them momentum."

Utah State, 1-4 overall and 1-0 in the WAC, has enjoyed being in first place — whether alone or in a tie — for three weeks now. And after Saturday's date with the Spartans, the Aggies would like to still be there.

"The WAC is our main focus. We need to come out and play one game at a time," USU cornerback Roy Hurst said. "We feel we have a shot at it and every game if we come out and play to our ability. If we don't cause critical mistakes and play focused we have a shot at each game."

The Spartans are one of four WAC teams still unbeaten in the conference standings. With the rough preseason behind them — USU's non-WAC foes have a combined 17-4 record — the Aggies hope to have what it takes to stay near the top of the conference.

"We'd like to take the steps to be in the top third of the conference," Guy said. "That's something we haven't done in three years so far."

WAC WIN STREAK: The Aggies are, remarkably, the team with the longest conference winning streak in the WAC. Thanks to back-to-back wins at Idaho and New Mexico State to end the 2007 season and a 42-17 win over the Vandals three weeks ago, the Aggies have won three straight conference games.

Nevada and San Jose State have each won two in a row.

In case you're wondering, USU's last WAC loss was an ugly one — a 52-0 home drubbing to Boise State.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: Utah State is living proof that in football it's not better to give than to receive.

Through five games, the Aggies have turned the ball over 10 times and been on the takeaway end nine times. While that seems to be a near-wash, the difference has been profound on what happens after those turnovers.