USU fumbles game away
The Aggies produced a season-high 478 yards of offense against the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech, but couldn’t overcome six fumbles and four turnovers, losing 27-17 Saturday at Romney Stadium.
The Aggies (2-6, 1-4) had 202 yards more than the Bulldogs (5-3, 4-1) in the game.
USU Head Coach Brent Guy said, “We had our best yardage totals, our best third downs for defense. We did a bunch of things a lot better than we’ve done today and all those things do not matter if you cannot hold onto the football.”
USU held the Bulldogs to two field goals and just 18 rushing yards in the first half and trailed just 6-3 at the break.
“You’ve got to get them to kick field goals and we did some of that,” Guy said. “But in the end, they started getting touchdowns and that’s what got us beat.”
The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter and USU running back Ryan Bohm found the end zone for his first of two touchdowns. The 1-yard run pulled the Aggies to within three points, which was as close as they would be all afternoon.
“We were in the game until the very end. Unfortunately, we just kept shooting yourselves in the foot,” Bohm said.
The Bulldogs recovered three of the Aggies’ five second-half fumbles.
“Obviously, the biggest disappointment were the turnovers,” Guy said. “You look at the stat sheet and we did about everything else right except that. We’re just not a team that can overcome those things.”
USU quarterback Leon Jackson accounted for 429 yards of total offense on 16 carries for 57 yards and connecting on 27 of his 44 passes for 372 yards.
“Leon brings his game every week,” said wide receiver Kevin Robinson. “He was on fire today. He was completing almost every throw he made and that’s what we need from him.”
Jackson said he took no consolation in the personal accolades. “We lost the game and that comes first. Quarterbacks are known for wins and losses not for how many yards they threw for or how many touchdowns they threw for,” he said.
Fumbles weren’t the Aggies’ only problem. They also racked up six penalties for a total of 70 yards including a 15-yard penalty for an offensive facemask call on Jackson.
Guy said he had never seen a quarterback called for such a penalty. “Usually on a personal foul you have to pull it or twist it,” he said. “They said he grabbed it and twisted it.”
Jackson said, “The guy had a visor on, so I would see that it’s difficult for me to grab his facemask. I just asked the referee what I could do to prevent that from happening and he had an answer for me.”
In the third quarter, USU unsuccessfully tried a fake punt on a fourth down and three situation.
“That’s the first time that hasn’t worked,” Guy said. “The first guy ran by him, the second guy jumped on him. The guy made a nice play.”
The Bulldogs took the next six plays to go 43 yards for a touchdown to push the score to 20-10.
John Chick led the Aggie defense with two sacks for 17 yards and seven total tackles.
Robinson led the Aggies in receiving with 131 yards on nine catches.
USU will travel to Hawai’i this week to face the Warriors Saturday.
-benwalker@cc.usu.edu
Utah State’s Antonio Taylor tries to tackle Louisiana Tech’s Mark Dillard during Saturday’s game at Romney Stadium. The Bulldogs beat the Aggies 27-17.
Utah State’s Tony Pennyman (top) and Kevin Robsinson (left) fight for a loose ball with Louisiana Tech’s Anthony Crosby. The Aggies fumbled the ball six times during Saturday’s game resulting in four turnovers.