Logan • Utah State players and coaches alike stuck to one point in the final days leading up to the 2017 season: The team would have to find a way to win the close games, unlike the year before.
And there would be plenty of close games.
Except there haven’t been any — not yet anyway.
Utah State (2-2) has gone through its early season slate on a wildly swinging pendulum.
Each contest, alternating between wins and losses, has been a blowout.
The average margin of victory in the four games has been 43.5 points. The closest was the 46-10 loss to Wake Forest, while the most lopsided was the 61-10 rout of San Jose State.
ROLLER COASTER SCORES <br>The average margin of victory in Utah State’s first four games has been 43.5 points. Here are the scores. <br>Opponent • Score • Aggies result • Point differential <br>Wisconsin • 59-10 • Loss • 49 <br>Idaho State • 51-13 • Win • 38 <br>Wake Forest • 46-10 • Loss • 36 <br>San Jose State • 61-10 • Win • 51
Jalen Davis, four-year starter at cornerback, doesn’t seemed concerned about the roller-coaster ride so far this season.
“We just keep pushing each other. Whether we lost, whether we come out with a big win, we just keep pushing each other to get better,” Davis said.
Aggies coach Matt Wells said he never has been in a stretch where a lopsided win followed on the heels of a lopsided loss. Then the pattern repeated itself.
Utah State started the season by seeing a 10-10 halftime tie turn into a 59-10 trouncing by Wisconsin.
The Aggies starters went to the bench early in the third quarter of a 51-13 victory over Idaho State at home the next week.
Then the pendulum swung back.
A 46-10 loss at Wake Forest two weeks ago wasn’t a promising sign for Utah State’s trip to San Jose State last week, but the Aggies blew out the Spartans 61-10.
Wells is trying to keep his team from getting too high or too low after the blowouts. So this week, after the 51-point victory, he harped on problem spots he saw.
“We had mistakes, we had lack off efforts, we had technique issues that got covered up in that win — just like it got covered up in the Idaho State win, that are getting addressed directly,” Wells said. “We have to correct them, and we have to have individuals play better and play at a higher effort level than what they’re doing and more to what we’re accustomed to.”
And he doesn’t expect the trend of blowouts to continue Friday when BYU heads to Logan.
“We have a lot of games, I think, that are about to come down to the wire,” Wells said.
BYU at Utah State<br>Friday, 6 p.m.<br>TV • CBSSN