5 takeaways from the Utah game
USU football couldn’t get it done against the University of Utah Friday night, falling 24-14 in a loss you could put several labels on. Was it disappointing? Sure it was, any loss is. But several improvements to the offense, along with the brief return of vintage Keeton, should give Aggie fans hope for a fun season. Not to be a downer, but I like to start with the bad.
1. Costly mistakes and the “missed tackle drinking game”
Utah State is the most courteous football team in the nation. What other defense would so regularly make other quarterbacks look like they’re under pressure, only to blow past them so as to not interfere with the play in any way? It must take a lot of effort to win the trench battle, get into the opponent’s backfield, and then wave at the Utes backup quarterback as he searches for his open man downfield, or swipe at Davonte Booker while he laughs off four defenders every other play.
It was like the Aggies forgot the “don’t hit players wearing red” rule applies only to practice, and that in games contact is actually quite encouraged. At one point, I made some crack on twitter about how USU missing tackles in the backfield could be its own drinking game, to which fellow Statesman sports guy Tommy promptly responded “If we were playing that game, we’d be dead.”
There were errors and misfires in most of what USU tried to do Friday — that’s just part of football. But when you’re on the road against a good team, those errors have to be minimized or you’re going to find yourself down by 10, disappointed the team didn’t perform the way you know it could’ve. Four fumbles, 61 yards of penalties, two interceptions, a crushing 30-yard Utah punt return, a second straight game without a forced turnover and at least one awful dropped pass — you know the one I mean — is never going to be a winning combination.
2. Offensive line looks significantly less bad
If the O-line’s performance last week was a failing grade, its showing against Utah was the equivalent of redoing the assignment for a solid C+. I don’t want to create any illusions that USU’s O-line is suddenly a dominant force — Keeton wasn’t exactly sitting back in a cushy pocket four seconds at a time delivering strikes to wide open receivers. The Aggies’ starting quarterback position remains a dangerous one, but the improvements made to Keeton’s protection stand out as the week’s most notable development. Utah State’s O-line allowed the blitz-happy Utes just two sacks, and that’s not nothing. Keeton was much more effective in this game, and that had a lot to do with the dudes up front pushing people around.
There remains an issue of opening up clearer running lanes for running backs LaJuan Hunt and Davante Mays, but the ground game totaled a respectable 130 yards. As was the case in basically every aspect of this game, that’s something both the coaching staff and the Aggie faithful would like to see improve, but for now they’ll take it. The potential of each position group has yet to be fully realized, which is simultaneously frustrating and intriguing.
3. Both Keetons on display
It didn’t last long. Some say the entire first half, others think it was just for the duration of the Aggies’ 12-play 69-yard scoring drive. Vintage Chuckie Keeton was on the field Friday, and he looked so good.
How’s this for a line: 22 completions to nine different targets for 256 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions and 46 yards on the ground. Those numbers exclude a great grab by Davonte Robinson just outside the end zone and what could’ve been a touchdown grab by Kennedy Williams. Keeton was finally himself, even after a scare when a defender connected with his oft-injured knee on a late hit. In fact, by all accounts he looked more confident after taking the contact, and the Aggies enjoyed a 14-14 tie game heading into halftime.
Then the knee froze. You could see Keeton unable to step into his throws, shorting wide open receivers and looking stiff in the pocket. He’d scramble for a few yards and look fine, then hobble back to the line of scrimmage obviously bothered by what some are postulating could be a hyper-extension. The joy of seeing the full Chuckie Keeton was replaced with anxiety, and the fears of the last two seasons returned.
It’s assumed that Keeton is still getting the start this week, and USU’s backup quarterbacks are more than capable if the worst should happen. Keeton is currently tied for Utah State’s all-time passing touchdown record with 60.
4. Tickets for the Mays hype train now on sale
I seriously doubt Utah State will play a game this year without Mays and Hunt both getting touches, and Hunt has been an understated success early this season in his current role as the Aggies’ feature back. When Hunt is running well, the offense clicks and suddenly everyone on the field looks a little better — that’s the impact his elusiveness and speed can have on a game. But as Hunt so eloquently put it last week, if he’s lightning, Devante Mays is thunder.
Mays introduced himself to Aggie fans back in week one, when in what was surely the best offensive play of the game he rumbled for 39 yards before deciding against stepping out-of-bounds in favor of leveling an unsuspecting SUU safety.
It was awesome.
I’ll never not cheer for a guy who runs with bad intentions. Mays clearly doesn’t fear contact, nor does he merely resign himself to it. You kind of get the feeling he’d rather run through a guy and create his own gap than run through the one his blockers create for him. Football is fun when it’s physical, and Mays makes football fun.
Mays followed up that first performance with a 34-yard day against the Utes on just six carries, providing a nice change of pace for the Aggie offense and giving Hunt a breather. While ten touches is admittedly a small sample size, the 220-pound wrecking ball we call Mays has averaged 8.5 yards per carry so far this season. I suspect Mays’ role in the offense will continue to expand as he gains a firmer grip on the playbook.
5. Receiving corps coming together
Utah State’s receiving corps should get a boost with the return of Hunter Sharp from suspension, though it bears mentioning that Devonte Robinson snagged six passes for 119 yards Friday and came within about a foot from hauling in a spectacular touchdown grab in the game’s final seconds. Sharp’s return leaves me with just one remaining question regarding our wideouts — what’s up with Brandon Swindall?
Is he hurt? Is it bad? When do we get to see that dude on the field again? I guess this is more than one question. Still, the radio silence when it comes to Swindall’s absence is little unnerving. Out for basically all of last season, he and Sharp were supposed to lift USU’s receiver group toward the top of the conference this season. A three-wideout set with Robinson, Sharp and Swindall would be a blast to see, especially since Swindall is the type of guy you want on the field for both his skill and his leadership. At least once this season, I hope to see the man with the “God’s hands” tattoo find the end zone.