5 reasons Utah State will repeat as MWC champs and 5 reasons they won’t

Utah State surprised the college football world during the 2021 season. They won the Mountain West Conference Championship and a bowl victory. The 2022 season is a new one.

The team that won the national championship last year has a lot of talent, especially on offense. Logan Bonner, Calvin Tyler, John Gentry and Justin McGriff are expected to have breakout seasons. Hunter Reynolds and AJ Vongphachanh will lead the defense from his safety spot.

Utah State used the transfer portal to reload last season and they are hoping it will do the same this year. Brian Cobbs and Xavier Williams are the two most important transfers. On the other side of the ball, the big name is linebacker MJ Tafisi and defensive end Daniel Grzesiak.

Utah State has an easier out-of-conference schedule than in- conference. They get UNLV, Hawaii, Air Force and San Jose State at home in conference, then they have to take on Boise State again.

Last year's team won the MWC championship. They have the confidence to repeat it this year. They started off by beating Washington State. The team trusts the process, the schemes, and the coaching staff.

Blake Anderson is 62-40 in his 9-year career as a head coach. He has a winning blueprint. Utah State won the MWC championship last season.

Utah State lost a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. They reloaded to perfection last year. The Aggies are 119th in returning production.

The advanced stats indicate Utah State was lucky last season. They had a win probability of 25% against Washington State, 22% vs Air Force and 3% v Colorado State. Their success was built on explosive plays and fantastic red zone defense.

Utah State had early season success last year, winning their first three games. They play Alabama in the first week of the season and BYU in September. If they lose both of those games, it will kill their confidence.

Utah State lost three games last season. They were beaten by 24 (Boise State), 14 (BYU), and 27 (Wyoming!) points. Last season they didn't score a TD against the Broncos and gave up 44 points to an offense that had major scoring issues. This points out to their boom or bust type of 2021 season for Utah State.

Utah State is going to be the defending champion of the Mountain West Conference. San Diego State won the title in 2015 and 2016. The Aggies will be under constant pressure this season.