The ’14 Aggies overcame a rash of injuries (four starting QBs) to hit 10 wins. With 17 starters back, including former Heisman dark horse QB Chuckie Keeton, USU aims to weather a brutal six-game stretch that begins with an in-state trip to Utah.

Offense

How the Aggies beat you: Since ’11, Aggies WRs have 126 rushes, 17th most in the FBS. This year the X-factor is junior WR JoJo Natson (1,295 total yards, 7 TDs in ’14), the team’s third-leading rusher with 498 yards on 50 carries. “We play him at running back, throw him the ball out of the backfield, hand him the ball,” says head coach Matt Wells. “The fly sweeps and fakes are very powerful.”

How you beat the Aggies: Even if Keeton (reinjured left knee) doesn’t return to his 2012 form (3,373 pass yards, 619 rush yards), Oregon transfer Damion Hobbs is quick and accurate. USU QBs are tough, and the key is to stuff their runs, especially on first down. Since ’11, Aggies QBs are half as productive on first-down run plays in losses (2.8 ypc) as in wins (5.5 ypc).

Defense

How the Aggies beat you: “You name it, we’re in it: man pressures, zone pressures,” Wells says of his 3-4 D. While the Aggies will miss departing LB Zach Vigil’s production (20½ TFL, 9 sacks), the LB corps will look familiar. Junior LB—and Zach’s brother—Nick Vigil had seven sacks in ’14; senior Torrey Green added three. And with “game-changing pass rusher” Kyler Fackrell back from a nearly yearlong injury, the nation’s third-best sack D should continue living in backfields.

How you beat the Aggies: USU’s one bugaboo? The first-down air attack: 9.8 yards allowed per first-down pass attempt in losses versus 6.7 in wins since ’12. Junior S Devin Centers (’14 All-MWC honorable mention) returns, but leading ball hawk S Frankie Sutera (7 INTs in ’14) does not.