Utah State Coach: "The Best Team I've Ever Seen Put on Pads"

Blake Anderson said the Crimson Tide was exactly as he expected them to be.

Mason Smith | Sep 4, 2022

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Before the game, Utah State head coach Blake Anderson warned his players about playing the Alabama Crimson Tide. He knew what he and his team were getting into playing the AP No. 1 team in the nation.

"We've seen people come down here and have the same night we did," Anderson said. "Hopefully we're going to learn some things off of film that'll help us move forward."

The Aggies arrived in Tuscaloosa with a 1-0 record after coming back against UConn in the season opener. And like any team Anderson went into Saturday's game believing they had a chance (because in theory, they did.) But the night went downhill very fast, with the Crimson Tide scoring 17 points in the first quarter en route to a 55-0 loss for Utah State.

"I was very clear with the media and my team this was the best team I've seen in my 30 years of coaching," Anderson said after the game. "And they played like it tonight."

Anderson gave special credit to Bryce Young stating that "[Young] won the Hesiman for a reason," and that everyone on the Crimson Tide was as advertised in his book.

The two main goals for Anderson, besides aiming to win, were to leave the game healthy and not make many mistakes. In that regard, the Aggies accomplished the latter, committing 11 total penalties to Alabama's six, not committing any turnovers and recovering all three fumbles on offense. Utah State even found success on fourth down, converting two of their four opportunities.

The health matter is a different story: according to Anderson, starting quarterback Logan Bonner was pulled after dealing with Alabama's physical play and his knee ultimately swelling up.

"He got dinged early," Anderson said. "He got hit a couple times, his knee was swelling. It's structurally sound, but it wasn't the right decision to keep him out there based off where the game was and where he was at."

Anderson did point out some plays his team made, including the blocked punt, but his focus now is to get ready for their next opponent, a home game against Weber State, who beat Western Oregon 41-5 in their season opener September 1.

See Also: