http://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/players/matt_wells/75109 Recent articles about Matt Wells en-us No. 26 Utah State Aggies (11-2) Coach Matt Wells (first-year head coach)Returning Starters: 18, 8 offense, 7 defense, 3 special teamsRecruiting Rank: 112Strength of Schedule: 88 With a new coach and a new conference for the program this season, Utah State could immediately contend with Boise State for supremacy in the expanded Mountain West Conference. The Aggies were the champions of the Western Athletic Conference in its last season.  Matt Wells takes over for Gary Andersen, who departed to become the new coach at Wisconsin after Bret Bielema bolted for Arkansas. Wells, a Utah State alumnus, spent two seasons as an assistant under Andersen, including as offensive coordinator last season. Under Wells, the offense ranked 23rd nationally. He definitely has plenty to work with as the Aggies return 18 starters, including eight on offense, seven on defense and three on special teams. Junior quarterback Chuckie Keeton started all 13 games last season and has 21 career starts. A dual th... Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:00:18 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/no_26_utah_state_aggies_season_preview_wac_champion_utah_state_to_challenge_boise_state_in_mountain_west_conference/13851167 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/no_26_utah_state_aggies_season_preview_wac_champion_utah_state_to_challenge_boise_state_in_mountain_west_conference/13851167 No. 26 Utah State Aggies season preview: WAC champion Utah State to challenge Boise State in Mountain West Conference http://www.yardbarker.com/college_football/articles/no_26_utah_state_aggies_season_preview_wac_champion_utah_state_to_challenge_boise_state_in_mountain_west_conference/13851167 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png (Photo Courtesy: USA Today Sports) After spending the last week breaking down the in's and out's of the Mountain West, it's time for the Crystal Ball Run staff to make their conference championship, Player of the Year and Coach of the Year picks! Allen Kenney's Take: All this time spent studying the Mountain West in the past week has taught me what the conference aficionados already know: This league is flush with solid teams. It should make for an exciting conference race. In the Mountain Division, how do you bet against Boise State? The Broncos have a notable question mark in the form of a remade offensive line. We've seen enough out of Chris Petersen over the years to know that's not In the West, I really like Fresno State. The Bulldogs rampaged through conference play last year except for a loss at Boise. This time around, they catch the Broncos at home. I actually wouldn't be shocked if Fresno makes it through the regular season undefeated... Fri, 24 May 2013 18:14:00 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/mountain_west_preview_picking_the_pre_season_conference_champion/13689638 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/mountain_west_preview_picking_the_pre_season_conference_champion/13689638 Mountain West Preview: Picking the Pre-Season Conference Champion http://www.yardbarker.com/college_football/articles/mountain_west_preview_picking_the_pre_season_conference_champion/13689638 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png (Photo Courtesy: USA Today Sports) After spending the last week breaking down the in's and out's of the Mountain West, it's time for the Crystal Ball Run staff to make their conference championship, Player of the Year and Coach of the Year picks! Allen Kenney's Take: All this time spent studying the Mountain West in the past week has taught me what the conference aficionados already know: This league is flush with solid teams. It should make for an exciting conference race. In the Mountain Division, how do you bet against Boise State? The Broncos have a notable question mark in the form of a remade offensive line. We've seen enough out of Chris Petersen over the years to know that's not In the West, I really like Fresno State. The Bulldogs rampaged through conference play last year except for a loss at Boise. This time around, they catch the Broncos at home. I actually wouldn't be shocked if Fresno makes it through the regular season u... Fri, 24 May 2013 14:34:14 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/mountain_west_preview_picking_the_pre_season_conference_champion/13688096 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/mountain_west_preview_picking_the_pre_season_conference_champion/13688096 Mountain West Preview: Picking the Pre-Season Conference Champion http://www.yardbarker.com/college_football/articles/mountain_west_preview_picking_the_pre_season_conference_champion/13688096 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png After a couple of years of uncertainty and shifting membership during the tumultuous conference realignment battles of 2010-2013, the Mountain West Conference finds itself in a position of relative stability these days. With enough football playing members to hold a conference championship game and a new television contract offering more visibility on ESPN (and also including more money), the new Mountain West might be in the best shape it’s ever been. When the league expands officially on July 1, it will split into two divisions based on geography, which naturally creates an unbalanced schedule. Also, schools that have road trips scheduled to Hawai’i have the option of adding an extra game to their schedule to help offset the travel cost (per NCAA regulations). Only Colorado State will play an extra game this season, so they have five non-conference games on tap. Without further ado, let’s see how the schedules stack up for the Mountain West Conference. 1) Colorad... Thu, 23 May 2013 08:43:09 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/nfl/article_external/mountain_west_preview_ranking_the_schedules/13679087 http://network.yardbarker.com/nfl/article_external/mountain_west_preview_ranking_the_schedules/13679087 Mountain West Preview: Ranking the Schedules http://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/mountain_west_preview_ranking_the_schedules/13679087 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png It's Mountain West week, you know, the conference that's home to eternal underdog and BCS buster Boise State. Yesterday we gave you a look at what went down in the conference last season. One could say it will it be hard to top the craziness that happened in 2012 for the Mountain West to say the least. Today though, we take a look forward and while the Mountain West has some new parts to it, those of us who are old enough to remember what the WAC used to be like have a very strange feeling we've seen this makeup of the conference before.... Yep, what was old is now new again and in total all twelve members of the Mountain West at one point in time were members of the WAC... Including six who were there when the bitter split that caused the creation of the Mountain West happened to begin with. All of this adds up to old foes becoming new again for a whole new generation of students and fans. Good football may also be the result with the likes of San Jose State and Ut... Tue, 21 May 2013 15:20:55 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/the_mountain_west_preview_newcomers_vs_old_standbys_dot_ten_biggest_games_in_mwc/13664767 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/the_mountain_west_preview_newcomers_vs_old_standbys_dot_ten_biggest_games_in_mwc/13664767 The Mountain West Preview: Newcomers vs. old standbys dot Ten biggest games in MWC http://www.yardbarker.com/college_football/articles/the_mountain_west_preview_newcomers_vs_old_standbys_dot_ten_biggest_games_in_mwc/13664767 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png It's Mountain West week, you know, the conference that's home to eternal underdog and BCS buster Boise State. Yesterday we gave you a look at what went down in the conference last season. One could say it will it be hard to top the craziness that happened in 2012 for the Mountain West to say the least. Today though, we take a look forward and while the Mountain West has some new parts to it, those of us who are old enough to remember what the WAC used to be like have a very strange feeling we've seen this makeup of the conference before.... Yep, what was old is now new again and in total all twelve members of the Mountain West at one point in time were members of the WAC... Including six who were there when the bitter split that caused the creation of the Mountain West happened to begin with.  All of this adds up to old foes becoming new again for a whole new generation of students and fans. Good football may also be the result with the likes of San Jose State an... Tue, 21 May 2013 11:57:22 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/the_mountain_west_preview_newcomers_vs_old_standbys_dot_ten_biggest_games_in_mwc/13662961 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/the_mountain_west_preview_newcomers_vs_old_standbys_dot_ten_biggest_games_in_mwc/13662961 The Mountain West Preview: Newcomers vs. old standbys dot Ten biggest games in MWC http://www.yardbarker.com/college_football/articles/the_mountain_west_preview_newcomers_vs_old_standbys_dot_ten_biggest_games_in_mwc/13662961 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Since everyone is still bummed about yesterday’s loss, here’s a distraction. For the most part, I haven’t given much thought to our erstwhile Backyard Brawl brethren. Still certain stories catch the eye. Turns out those travel burdens in the Big 12 are as onerous as expected. If not more so. To the point where the Big 12 may have to help. West Virginia University’s athletic department and the Big 12 Conference have agreed to attempt to make some travel changes to accommodate the problems the Mountaineers faced during their first season in the league. Athletic Director Oliver Luck says the league offered no guarantees because “scheduling is always a challenge” but the league has agreed to attempt to make life on the road easier in a number of areas when it can. WVU geographically is out of place in the Big 12, with every trip not only being of 1,700 miles round trip or more but fighting a time zone change which costs them an hour returning to Morgantown. Football did not present as much of a proble Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:12:08 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/just_because_west_virginia/13150405 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/just_because_west_virginia/13150405 Just Because… West Virginia http://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/just_because_west_virginia/13150405 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Kevin McGiven returned to Utah State on Friday as new football coach Matt Wells' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. McGiven, Montana State's offensive coordinator this season, was Utah State's assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach in 2009 under Gary Andersen. Wells was promoted from offensive coordinator last month when Anderson left to coach Wisconsin. The 35-year-old McGiven spent the 2010-11 seasons as Memphis' assistant head coach of offense and quarterbacks coach. He also has coached at Weber State and Southern Utah and was a graduate assistant at BYU. Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:06:10 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/kevin_mcgiven_returns_to_utah_state/12579706 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/kevin_mcgiven_returns_to_utah_state/12579706 Kevin McGiven returns to Utah State http://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/kevin_mcgiven_returns_to_utah_state/12579706 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Utah State has promoted offensive coordinator Matt Wells to replace Gary Anderson as head football coach. The university announced move Thursday in Logan. Anderson has reportedly been hired at Wisconsin to replace Bret Bielema. Bielema left to take the Arkansas job. Wisconsin hasn't officially announced the hire yet. Andersen just completed his fourth and best season at Utah State. The Aggies went 11-2, won the Western Athletic Conference and beat Toledo on Saturday in the Famous Idaho Potato Bow. They are expected to finish in the Top 25 in the final AP rankings. The 39-year-old Wells played quarterback for the Aggies in the mid-1990s and has coached at the school for the past two seasons. Thu, 20 Dec 2012 19:30:47 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/utah_st_promotes_wells_to_coach/12483454 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/utah_st_promotes_wells_to_coach/12483454 Utah St. promotes Wells to coach http://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/utah_st_promotes_wells_to_coach/12483454 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png MADISON, Wis. Gary Andersen won't be officially introduced as Wisconsin's next football coach until a Friday news conference, but he already reportedly has a plan in place for hiring several assistant coaches. Andersen, the former Utah State coach, is expected to bring along three Aggies assistants to his staff, as well as an assistant coach at Utah, according to the Herald Journal of Logan, Utah. The Herald Journal, citing a source close to the Utah State program, said Andersen would be taking Utah State defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, offensive line coach T.J. Woods, special teams coordinatorsafeties coach Bill Busch and Utah defensive line coach Chad Kauha'aha'a with him to Wisconsin. Aggies offensive coordinator Matt Wells was initially believed to be joining Andersen at Wisconsin, but Wells interviewed Wednesday for the vacant head coaching job at Utah State. Wells recently turned down a job at North Carolina State, while Aranda turned down a position at Texas Tech. Aranda served Thu, 20 Dec 2012 13:11:51 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/report_andersen_bringing_assistants_with_him/12480565 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/report_andersen_bringing_assistants_with_him/12480565 Report: Andersen bringing assistants with him http://www.yardbarker.com/college_football/articles/report_andersen_bringing_assistants_with_him/12480565 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/7/8/782f4352ee452448238a16e57dc6a71b9d56cb13/mini/wisconsin-michigan.jpg MADISON, Wis. Gary Andersen won't be officially introduced as Wisconsin's next football coach until a Friday news conference, but he already reportedly has a plan in place for hiring several assistant coaches. Andersen, the former Utah State coach, is expected to bring along three Aggies assistants to his staff, as well as an assistant coach at Utah, according to the Herald Journal of Logan, Utah. The Herald Journal, citing a source close to the Utah State program, said Andersen would be taking Utah State defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, offensive line coach T.J. Woods, special teams coordinatorsafeties coach Bill Busch and Utah defensive line coach Chad Kauha'aha'a with him to Wisconsin. Aggies offensive coordinator Matt Wells was initially believed to be joining Andersen at Wisconsin, but Wells interviewed Wednesday for the vacant head coaching job at Utah State. Wells recently turned down a job at North Carolina State, while Aranda turned down a position at Texas Tech. Aranda served Thu, 20 Dec 2012 13:11:51 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/report_andersen_bringing_assistants_with_him/12480733 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/report_andersen_bringing_assistants_with_him/12480733 Report: Andersen bringing assistants with him http://www.yardbarker.com/college_football/articles/report_andersen_bringing_assistants_with_him/12480733 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/8/3/8377488562856d174efa47f1159bf7db9c41aa16/mini/wisconsin-michigan.jpg Unquiet on the Western Front - The Pac-12 and West Coast extravaganza.  The Poinsettia Bowl is neither a poinsettia nor is a bowl. Discuss amongst yourselves. BYU faces San Diego in the Poinsettia Bowl (8:00 pm ET, ESPN). (Dr. Saturday) I'll Stick Around. Stanford and its head football coach, David Shaw agree to a contract extension. (AP/Yahoo! Sports) Search for Tomorrow. Utah State offensive coordinator Matt Wells interviews to replace his former boss, Gary Andersen as the Aggies' next HC. Andersen left the school to become Wisconsin's new HC. (Mountain West Connection) And the nominees are... Avinash Kunnath looks at possible candidates for the job of USC defensive coordinator. (Pacific Takes) If we took a holiday, took some time to celebrate just one day out of life, it would be, it would be so nice. Mark C. Moore looks at the Dec. 27 Holiday Bowl matchup between UCLA and Baylor. (Our Daily Bears. Yes, this is a Baylor blog. Deal with it.) Ti... Thu, 20 Dec 2012 06:39:00 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/unquiet_david_shaw_bowl_games_jeff_tuel_and_more/12477955 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/unquiet_david_shaw_bowl_games_jeff_tuel_and_more/12477955 Unquiet: David Shaw, bowl games, Jeff Tuel, and more. http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/unquiet_david_shaw_bowl_games_jeff_tuel_and_more/12477955 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png After nearly two weeks full of speculation, crappy rumors becoming reports, and a whole lot of unknowns Wisconsin is expected to formally announce Gary Andersen as their next head coach. So, you'd think we'd all take a break and enjoy what could be an excellent hire, right?  Nah, what fun would that be? Instead it's time to take another ride on the speculation and information train as we try and piece together what a potential staff at Wisconsin would look like for Gary Andersen. Luckily, we know a few of the pieces that will be coming and possibly staying.  Before we go there some of the details of Andersen's contract will be 5 years starting at $1.8 million in 2013 with $100,000 raises each year until year five hits $2.2 million. Enough of that, right? Tell me who's going to be on the staff.... So, here we go!! Offense: Quarterbacks - Your guess is as good as mine on this one. The only way we have a clue would be if Matt Wells, the OC at U... Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:54:54 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/piecing_together_andersens_wisconsin_staff_our_educated_guess/12474175 http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/piecing_together_andersens_wisconsin_staff_our_educated_guess/12474175 Piecing together Andersen's Wisconsin Staff - Our educated guess http://www.yardbarker.com/college_football/articles/piecing_together_andersens_wisconsin_staff_our_educated_guess/12474175 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Utah State football head coach Gary Andersen named Matt Wells as USU's new offensive coordinator on Thursday. Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:22:55 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/wells_tabbed_usus_new_offensive_coordinator/9149464 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/wells_tabbed_usus_new_offensive_coordinator/9149464 Wells Tabbed USU's New Offensive Coordinator http://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/wells_tabbed_usus_new_offensive_coordinator/9149464 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/3/5/356bf44e96c803603da26c4fc4a4a964b7e64fad/mini/Matt_Wells_bf77.jpg The secondary ticket market for bowl games means that people will still show up.  They’ll just be more prudent about it. But while Tech has sold only about 10,000 of its 17,500 allotted tickets, athletics director Jim Weaver has steadfastly maintained there will be 15,000-20,000 Hokies fans at the Sugar Bowl. After 19 consecutive trips to bowls, he said, Tech fans are savvy about acquiring tickets. And they can get cheaper seats, often with better views, by going through the secondary market and brokers. The downside is that some schools will be stuck with an even worse deal from their bowl ticket allotments. West Virginia’s sports marketing director, Matt Wells, said this week that the school has sold only about 7,500 of its Orange Bowl allotment of 17,500 tickets. While WVU will use another 1,500 tickets for staff and family members, the band and other school-related travelers, Wells said he does not expect the university to sell many more before the bowl against Clemson. That mea... Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:16:23 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/this_is_what_happens_when_fans_are_smarter_shoppers_than_their_schools_are/8908921 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/this_is_what_happens_when_fans_are_smarter_shoppers_than_their_schools_are/8908921 This is what happens when fans are smarter shoppers than their schools are. http://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/this_is_what_happens_when_fans_are_smarter_shoppers_than_their_schools_are/8908921 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/3/5/356bf44e96c803603da26c4fc4a4a964b7e64fad/mini/Matt_Wells_bf77.jpg