USU loses to BYU
PROVO ‒ For the second-straight year, Utah State head coach Gary Andersen had to watch BYU walk off LaVell Edwards Field with The Old Wagon Wheel after BYU’s 6-3 victory over his Aggies on Friday.
Utah State took a 3-0 lead late into the second quarter and seemed to close out the half, but BYU freshman quarterback Taysom Hill marched the Cougars 61 yards in 28 seconds to take the lead on a 3-yard pass to junior wide receiver J.D. Falslev.
“We can’t allow that with 30 seconds left,” said Aggie freshman linebacker Kyler Fackrell. “I think the hurry-up caught us off guard a little bit.”
A missed point-after attempt left the score at 6-3.
Falslev, a Sky View High School product, had four catches for 17 yards and the game’s only touchdown.
“We got beat by a very good football team in a very, very difficult place to play,” Andersen said.
Despite the breakdown, Utah State’s defense kept the Aggies in the game. USU forced the Cougars to kick a field goal with 4:25 to go before halftime and Utah State junior Paul Piukala blocked Justin Sorenson’s kick to keep BYU off the scoreboard.
Aggie quarterback Chuckie Keeton couldn’t get anything going for the Aggies, finishing 22-38 for 202 yards.
The Aggies had a chance to score late in the third quarter, marching down to the BYU 30, but junior Cameron Webb’s wide receiver pass was picked off on the 2-yardline by BYU’s Preston Hadley.
After another 15 minutes of power defense by both teams, Fackrell picked off a pass and gave the offense possession around midfield, but Utah State left points off the scoreboard when junior kicker Josh Thompson missed a 38-yarder wide left with 7:47 left in the game.
“It was very frustrating, especially when Kyler made a good play to put us in position to score and to win the game,” Austin said. “You can’t blame anybody. It was a team game, so I mean we just didn’t execute in a lot of different ways.”
The Aggie offense was held off the scoreboard for the first time this season, the first time a USU team didn’t score a touchdown since Nov. 20, 2010, against Idaho.
“Of course they were a great defense, but it wasn’t too difficult. We just didn’t execute our game plan,” Austin said. “I feel like, man, if we would have executed our plays and didn’t have a few dropped balls, the outcome of the game would have been on our side.”
Austin finished with seven catches for 72 yards and BYU held the Aggies to 243 total yards.
Andersen said the game was a lost opportunity to prove USU as the best team in the state.
“You’ve got to capitalize,” Andersen said. “It’s one thing to score points against a defense that may not be as good as some of the other ones, but you’re going to have to face a great defense at some point and you’ve got to score some points.”
Utah State had a chance with 5:06 left in the game when BYU punted down to the Utah State 6-yard line, but USU wasn’t able to keep the chains moving and had to punt the ball back to the Cougars.
The Aggie defense held strong on the ensuing drive through the first two BYU downs, calling timeout after each to ice the clock, but a first-down option play by freshman running back Jamaal Williams moved the chains and eventually killed Utah State’s chances.
“We needed one more stop, we just didn’t make the plays,” Fackrell said.
Williams converted another first down on the next play to cross into Aggie territory before Hill kneeled on the next two plays to run the clock out.
Williams finished with 71 yards on 17 carries, while Hill had 24 completions on 36 passes, one touchdown, an interception and 80 yards on the ground.
Both teams sit at 4-2 after the game.
“We’re two games away from being bowl-eligible, which is huge and we haven’t started WAC play yet,” Andersen said. “Number one goal for us when we broke the huddle was to be WAC champs. That’s still out there.”
‒ tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @Stuckiaggies
KEYWYNN WILLIAMS IS TACKLED by BYU’s Ezekiel Ansah after a short pass during the game at LaVell Edwards stadium in Provo on Oct. 5. CURTIS RIPPLINGER photo
BOJAY FILMOEATU WALKS OFF the field after a loss to BYU in Provo at LaVell Edwards stadium on Oct. 5. CURTIS RIPPLINGER photo