Coaching matters. Just look at Utah State, which began a fall into the abyss a few years ago when Gary Andersen mysteriously lost interest in his second tour of duty at Logan and was dismissed during the 2020 Covid campaign. Enter another Anderson, this one with an "o" named Blake, who had kept Arkansas State relevant and qualifying for bowls for much of the previous decade and has done the same with the Aggies. It wasn't quite as easy a year ago, when Anderson had to scramble in the second half of the campaign to get postseason-eligible after a slew of injuries, among other things, temporarily sidetracked the operation. 

It was a far cry from the 11-win, Mountain West title season of 2021 when everything seemed to fall neatly into place -- including against the spread, which didn't repeat a year ago (Utah State was only 4-9 vs. the number). Still, they're not complaining about that dip in form too much in the Cache Valley after worrying that the program was headed into a wilderness era a couple of years ago... 

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of Utah State's 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the Mountain West season.

Mountain West preview: Conference winner | Air Force | Boise State | Colorado State | Fresno State | Hawaii | Nevada | New Mexico | San Diego State | San Jose State | UNLV | Utah State | Wyoming

2023 Utah State at a glance

• Last Year: 6-7 SU, 4-9 ATS, 5-8 O/U
• Returning starters: Offense 4; Defense 3
• Win total: 5 (Over -125, Under +105)

What do you need to know about Utah State before locking in your Mountain West futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Mountain West futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!