Utah State football ready to move on from coaching change against Fresno State

The Utah State football team has an opportunity to right the ship Saturday against the Fresno State Bulldogs.

But the Aggies will have to deal with a fanless environment at Maverik Stadium due to the rise of COVID-19 infections in Utah. And to top it off, the Bulldogs are a team with a high-octane offense, featuring quarterback Jake Haener and running back Ronnie Rivers.

It will be interim coach Frank Maile’s first game coaching in the regular season as well. He coached Utah State to a win the New Mexico Bowl in 2018 before Gary Andersen’s arrival.

So it appears that there’s a lot riding on Saturday’s game for an Aggies team that has started 0-3 for the first time since 2008. And Maile is trying to send the message that the shock of Andersen’s firing has dissipated, and now it’s time to get to work.

“As sad as the situation was, we can’t do that to the kids — to sit around and mope and point fingers and [think] what could we have done better,” Maile said. “We have to move forward to give them a chance to have success starting this week.”

Fresno State is 2-1 this season and has a plus-seven point differential over its opponents. Haener and Rivers are versatile at their positions, which is part of the reason the team is averaging 39 points in the previous two games.

Rivers is averaging 102.3 rushing yards per game, but he’s also Fresno State’s second leading receiver at 58.7 yards per game. Haener is averaging 254.7 passing yards and has five touchdowns to his name through three games.

Maile said the Aggies will need to figure out how to contain both Rivers and Haener if they want to have a chance.

“Defensively, we have our hands full for us this week,” Maile said.

Senior defensive lineman Justus Te’i said Utah State will need to come out of the game with a “fourth-quarter defense” mentality.

“We can’t start hot and dwindle down as the game goes on,” Te’i said.

Te’i knows how bad USU’s record looks to fans. But he’s confident the team has what it takes to start winning again.

“I think we’re more than capable as a team. I know we are,” Te’i said. “I know we have a talented group of individuals. We have great coaches on the staff. I know we can turn this thing around.”

In the same vein, Maile is not even focusing so much on what Fresno State does on the field. Rather, he’s trying to make sure the Aggies play like the Aggies.

“To tell you the truth, this week is about the Aggies,” Maile said. “We have to be better. The game plan is not beat the Aggies.”