Utah State fans were not shy about voicing their displeasure during Saturday night.
The crowd of 17,781 on more than one occasion booed starting quarterback Logan Bonner, who threw three interceptions as the Aggies lost to Weber State for the first time since 1978.
Head coach Blake Anderson heard those boos loud and clear — and it’s safe to say he wasn’t happy about it.
“I don’t know how to say it any nicer: A lot of our fanbase showed true colors today and it was embarrassing,” Anderson said following the 35-7 defeat to a Wildcats team ranked No. 16 in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Bonner has completed 35 of his 69 attempts to start this season, good for 440 yards and three touchdowns. He ranks 119th out of 131 college quarterbacks in total rating, per ESPN.
But just a season ago, Bonner was setting school records as he threw for 36 touchdowns.
Anderson was quick to remind USU fans of that fact.
“I don’t know if people are going to want to hear this but that’s the same quarterback that won a Mountain West Conference championship last year, the first one ever at this university,” Anderson said. “That’s coming off a knee injury in less than nine months and he’s not the only person making mistakes. So it’s real easy to sit in the stands and boo.”
Aggie fans cheered in the fourth quarter when Bonner was replaced by backup Cooper Legas, who helped lead Utah State to a bowl victory with Bonner injured last December. Anderson, however, is not interested in making a change at quarterback.
“I want nothing better than Cooper Legas to have a great career when his time has come, but he had the opportunity to win that job in the offseason and he did not. He’s a great No. 2, and he’s gonna be a really good No. 1. But right now, Logan Bonner’s the starting quarterback. he deserves that opportunity and he also deserves respect.”
Legas went 4 of 9 through the air and was himself picked off once on Saturday.
Utah State is 1-2 to start the season and hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown in either of its last two games.
“They can be mad at me and, hey, we didn’t get it done, we didn’t win,” Anderson said. “But there’s plenty of blame on that sideline to go around, not just one guy. And he did help us win a conference title last year and it ain’t been that long ago. I wish people would remember that and pull for him, not against him.”
The Aggies have a bye week this week before hosting UNLV on Sept. 24.
“We’ve got to learn from [the loss], be critical in the open week, find where we can get better because right now we’re not a very good football team,” Anderson said. “We’re searching for ourselves, we’re searching for confidence, we’re searching for leadership, you name it.”
The Aggies are not, however, looking for a new starting QB.
“Cooper’s going to get his opportunity. He’s going to be a great football player. I love him to death,” Anderson said. “But I’m not going to be swayed by people in the crowd. We’re going to pull together tighter on the sideline as a matter of fact, because apparently, that’s what we got.”
