Linemen shine in win
Rushing, rushing, rushing.
It made all the difference for the Utah State football team, Saturday night. The Aggies amassed 440 yards of rushing — their most since 467 yards against Denver in 1960 — and held in-state foe Weber State to just 46 yards, en route to a 54-17 victory on Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium.
The first half was somewhat forgettable for USU on the offensive side of the ball, but the Aggies were able to contain the Wildcats defensively — especially on the ground. USU allowed only 30 yards on the ground in the first half.
“We knew we needed to take away the run. Obviously, last week they got into a power run game and were very successful with it,” head coach Gary Andersen said. “I think it was defined very early in the game that they weren’t going to be able to run the power play effectively; they weren’t going to be able to grind the ball effectively.”
The Wildcats rushed for 221 yards against Wyoming in their first game, but the Aggies, who allowed Auburn only 78 yards on the ground, had no plans of letting anyone get anything productive going on the ground.
“There was a big emphasis coming into camp,” senior linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “We want to make sure that teams know that when they come here they are going to have to air the ball out. They’re not going to be able to run the ball like they did last year. Me, being a linebacker, it’s good when we stop the run. So we’ve got to come up and smack whatever comes is in your way, and make sure they can’t run the ball.”
Wagner recorded his second consecutive game with 10 tackles and put some hard hits on Weber State.
“Weber was talking a lot of trash and I did not like that,” Wagner said. “So I made it a point that if they came in my sight, they were going to get smacked. I think the first half I did it a couple of times, and second half they didn’t even want to catch the ball.”
While the Aggies were efficient in stopping Weber’s ground attack throughout the night and rushed well throughout the night, USU kicked the running game into a different gear in the second half. The Aggies rushed for 210 yards in the first half and amassed another 230 yards in the second half.
“Like I said earlier, this is a good Utah State football team,” WSU head coach Ron McBride said. “They are very good, they have a lot of weapons, and I am disappointed that we didn’t step up to the challenge in the second half. They were a much better team, especially in the second half.
” They came on and we went backwards. They got smart. They quit dicking around and lined up and just started running it down our throat, which was a good idea.”
Senior running back Michael Smith had 91 yards by halftime and finished with the same amount. Junior running back Robert Turbin passed the 2,000-yard rushing milestone with 180-yard performance.
“My hat goes off to Robert,” Andersen said. “There is a special place in my heart for a young man that can come back from an injury like that. It’s great to see the accomplishments the kid gets. That’s why I do what I do. To see kids reach goals and at the end of the day it’s a great accomplishment for Robert, and something I’m sure he’s very proud of.”
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu