CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Utah State

4–⁠8 (3–⁠5 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Gary Andersen.

Schedule and results

Utah State in 2009, game by game: lost at No. 19 Utah 17–35; lost at Texas A&M 30–38; won vs. Southern Utah 53–34; lost at No. 20 BYU 17–35; lost at New Mexico State 17–20; lost vs. Nevada 32–35; won vs. Louisiana Tech 23–21; lost at Fresno State 27–31; lost at Hawai’i 36–49; won vs. San José State 24–9; lost vs. No. 6 Boise State 21–52; won at Idaho 52–49+19−31Lost 17–35 at No. 19 Utah-18No. 19 UtahLost 30–38 at Texas A&M-8Texas A&MWon 53–34 vs. Southern Utah+19Southern UtahLost 17–35 at No. 20 BYU-18No. 20 BYULost 17–20 at New Mexico State-3New Mexico StateLost 32–35 vs. Nevada-3NevadaWon 23–21 vs. Louisiana Tech+2Louisiana TechLost 27–31 at Fresno State-4Fresno StateLost 36–49 at Hawai’i-13Hawai’iWon 24–9 vs. San José State+15San José StateLost 21–52 vs. No. 6 Boise State-31No. 6 Boise StateWon 52–49 at Idaho+3Idaho
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3at19UtahL 17–⁠3513%
Sep 19atTexas A&ML 30–⁠3831%
Sep 26vsSouthern UtahW 53–⁠3478%
Oct 2at20BYUL 17–⁠3518%
Oct 10atNew Mexico StateL 17–⁠2056%
Oct 17vsNevadaL 32–⁠3539%
Oct 24vsLouisiana TechW 23–⁠2141%
Oct 31atFresno StateL 27–⁠3120%
Nov 7atHawai’iL 36–⁠4938%
Nov 14vsSan José StateW 24–⁠958%
Nov 20vs6Boise StateL 21–⁠5212%
Nov 28atIdahoW 52–⁠4937%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Idaho 52–⁠49; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 89th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 5th in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
349–⁠408
Coach
Gary Andersen
Elo
1386 −21 this season
SP+ rating
-12.7 No. 100 of 120; offense No. 68, defense No. 110, special teams No. 100
SRS
−7.9 No. 92 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 109
Offensive coordinator
Dave Baldwin
Defensive coordinator
Bill Busch

How good, play by play

  • Offense42nd of 120
  • Defense116th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted44th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted113th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0638%1.1542nd of 120
Defense0.1543%1.06116th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
0.09 def		39% off
41% def		—44th off
113th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 302% allowed
Defense0.0own 292% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsDiondre Borel QB2,885 yds
Passing touchdownsDiondre Borel QB17 TD
Rushing yardsRobert Turbin RB1,296 yds
Rushing touchdownsRobert Turbin RB13 TD
Receiving yardsStanley Morrison WR616 yds
Receiving touchdownsRobert Turbin RB5 TD
InterceptionsJames Brindley S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Kane Wilson DUAL★★★No. 1428
Eric Berntson WDE★★No. 1702
Travis Parrish ILB★★No. 1858
Jeff Manning PRO★★No. 1858
Travis Van Leeuween WR★★No. 1858

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.794
Running backs12.00.767
Receivers12.00.767
Offensive line32.00.757
Defensive line52.00.738
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs12.00.700
Whole class142.10.753

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 100

The 2009 roster

100 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 30 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State8–⁠014–⁠04
Nevada7–⁠18–⁠5
Fresno State6–⁠28–⁠5
Idaho4–⁠48–⁠5
Hawai’i3–⁠56–⁠7
Utah State3–⁠54–⁠8
Louisiana Tech3–⁠54–⁠8
New Mexico State1–⁠73–⁠10
San José State1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.