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5 Takeaways from the SUU game

Despite its best efforts, Utah State football actually squeaked out a win over the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.

The 12-9 final score — yes, really — left in its wake numerous overreactions, criticisms and question marks. As a date with the University of Utah looms, here are the major takeaways from the narrow victory:

Now hiring: offensive linemen

There was way too much negative talk about Keeton after this game. If there are legitimate concerns to be leveled at Keeton at some point this season, rest assured I’ll be among the first to do so. The fact is, Keeton was running for his life every time he snapped the ball for four quarters, a credit to SUU beating the Aggies in the trenches. If you’re looking for a direction to aim your disappointment in Thursday’s game, start with USU’s offensive line.

I can’t confirm this, but I’m pretty sure a strong gust of wind would’ve blown Keeton’s protection out of the stadium Thursday, never to be seen again. Calling USU’s O-line mediocre would be an undeserved compliment, as actual mediocre O-lines occasionally manage to form some semblance of a pocket.

Keeton did what he could with what he was given. Under two seconds to act after each snap would make any quarterback on our roster — on most any roster, in fact — look bad, especially when his wideouts never had much time to beat SUU’s coverage.

It’s tempting to look at a stat sheet and blame a stagnant offense on the man under center, but it’s not like Utah State got a whole lot on the ground either.

Without any visible holes to run through, LaJuan Hunt was constantly forced to bounce outside of his blockers for minimal gains. There were certainly some positives for the Aggies’ ground game, but the poor O-line play sank the offense drive after drive, to the point where SUU’s small contingent of fans were more into the game than USU’s 21,000.

The optimist in me truly believes they just need in-game experience. It’s not entirely a matter of talent or athleticism, and certainly isn’t a lack of effort. The line just hasn’t had enough time to learn how to work as a unit yet, and that will come as players return from suspensions and the season matures. It’s fun to find blame, but it’s entirely too soon to be tempering expectations for this team. Wells will have this fixed.

Defense still looks solid

It didn’t take long for Kyler Fackrell to return to his regular self, which is impressive after missing an entire season to an ACL tear. By the second half, Fackrell and the rest of USU’s linebacker corps appeared in midseason form, holding the Thunderbirds to 1-of-18 third down conversions for the game.

The defense certainly deserves a lot of credit here, especially for snuffing out the T-birds’ final drive and sealing the win. But — and I realize this isn’t exactly fair — the Aggie defense performed on the elite level we fans expected them to.

After one slip-up in the first two minutes of the game, the secondary defended the deep ball well and the front seven generated tons of pressure on SUU’s senior quarterback. The Aggies forced short passes and didn’t have too many missed tackles in the open field, saving what could’ve been even more of a disaster of a game.

That’s just what you expect when what is supposed to be a top Mountain West defense plays a Big Sky team that won three games in 2014. You can’t take anything away from how the defense performed, though one hopes to see some forced turnovers in the future.

A few dropped would-be interceptions and a blocked point-after attempt returned for two points is encouraging, and it seems USU will be maintaining its reputation for being formidable, but even on defense there are some areas that need polishing.

Special teams stumbles, then shines

Let’s start with the bad — USU averaged 33 yards over a whopping 14 punts Thursday. I can’t decide which of those two numbers is more terrible. I’m inclined to say the 33 yards. I’m confident Utah State’s offense is going to gel and improve significantly, but the T-birds seemed to start every single drive at or near the 40-yard line.

That’s fine when it’s SUU because the defense can handle it, barely — USU won by three points, but Utah State’s schedule gets tough in a hurry. If Utah starts every drive looking at a short field the Aggies aren’t just going to lose, they are going to lose big.

I’m a little surprised the team hasn’t explored the possibility of recruiting a soccer player, or even the halftime punt-pass-kick guy. I didn’t know it until writing this column, but all I want out of this season is to witness Jeannie Woller dropping a 60-yard punt and pinning Boise State on its own 10-yard line.

If the Aggies are to stand a chance this year against any competent Mountain West team, the turnover battle and the field position battle must be in their favor, and that means a massive turnaround in this particular department. Here’s to hoping those first game jitters and general dysfunction will be set straight in the coming weeks.

But there is certainly good news, and it’s packaged in the most Utah-State way possible. Enter Andrew Rodriguez, a third-string punt-returner and fringe receiving threat. If you’ve followed USU football for the past few seasons, you already know where this is going. With Hunter Sharp sidelined by a two-game suspension, Rodriguez stepped in and provided an open target for oft-pressured Keeton. He beat the coverage far more than he was actually thrown to, catching just two passes for 20 yards, but it was encouraging to see him race past defenders and find ways to get open.

Turns out, racing past defenders tends to be a specialty of his.

Rodriguez’ 88-yard game-winning punt return was a monster play. I thought he was going to wave for the fair catch, since there were about five defenders waiting to eat his lunch if he so much as thought about returning that kick. He sidestepped them all, streaked to the opposite end of the field, and with the help of some truly superb blocking up front, finally gave the Aggies the six points they needed to avoid what would’ve been an ugly loss.

Hero of the game, third-string punt returner. Of course.

It’s worth noting USU’s returns were actually impressive most of the game, but the majority didn’t count for much due to penalties.

Which reminds me.

123 yards of penalties

The Aggies effectively doubled SUU’s total game yardage (163) by committing 11 penalties. A few were bogus, and that’s just going to happen, but so many could’ve been avoided. If there’s a culprit guilty of sabotaging USU’s offense other than the offensive line, it’s the drive-killing penalties that forced Utah State into an endless string of long third downs. The Aggies converted just 1 of 15 third downs against the T-birds.

A glimpse into the ground game

Hunt did manage to accumulate 80 yards rushing for the offense, and fellow halfback Devantae Mays rumbled for 51 yards of his own including a 39-yarder. Mays certainly isn’t afraid of contact, and the one-two punch he and Hunt can provide, given some improved blocking, is intriguing.

The Aggies will no doubt look to establish a ground attack to open up Keeton’s passing opportunities in the coming weeks, as they quietly had a good thing going in the second half of Thursday’s game. It was overshadowed by penalties and punts, but if USU finds a way to set all of the pieces straight, it could field a lethal pair of rushers.

With Wells at the helm, I’m guessing they do figure out this puzzle and look considerably better next week in Utah, and with a lot of season left it’s foolish to be throwing in the towel on Chuckie, Wells or the team in general. These things take time.

– logantj@aggiemail.usu.edu

Twitter: @logantj