Big plays key for Utes overcoming deficit
The University of Utah football team made big plays.
Utah State did not.
The Aggies had chances, but they were not able to convert.
Whenever the Aggies seemed to be getting any sort of momentum, the Utes sucker-punched USU with a big play.
In the first quarter it looked like the Aggies might be the team making the big plays and turning the momentum. After having lost 7 yards on first down, Utah quarterback Brian Johnson dropped back and passed the ball toward receiver Jerome Brooks. Instead of Brooks coming away with the catch, it was Aggie safety James Brindley who ripped the ball away and raced down the field in and out of would-be tacklers all the way to the Utah 1-yard line.
“When the team executes, plays like that happen,” Brindley said. “I just broke on the ball and had a great return, had teammates upfield blocking.”
USU quarterback Leon Jackson III punched the ball in from the 1-yard line, and the Aggies appeared to be on their way to picking up their first win of the season. Unfortunately for Utah State, the next two scores would come from big plays by the University of Utah.
With under six minutes left in the first quarter, the Aggies had the Utes in a third-and-seven situation. Instead of stopping the Utes, the Aggies gave up an 18-yard reception to receiver Brian Hernandez. Three plays later, Johnson found Brooks in the corner of the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown completion to knot the score at seven. This was the first of many fireworks lit off by Utah in the subfreezing weather.
The last time the University of Utah had returned a punt for touchdown was in 2000 by current NFL player Steve Smith. With the beginning of the second quarter, that would soon change.
Jackson punted the ball from the Aggies’ own 40-yard line down to the Utah 25 into the awaiting hands of return man Derrek Richards. Seventy-five yards later and after a plethora of missed tackles, Richards found pay dirt to give the Utes the lead for good.
“This is the worst we have played teams-wise,” Aggie Head Coach Brent Guy said. “We have been a pretty good special teams football team and have kept ourselves in games. Today we didn’t do it. We didn’t have good punt coverage, and we were missing tackles.”
If there was one word to describe the third quarter for the Aggies, it would be frustration.
Down 24-10 entering the quarter, it looked as though junior linebacker Jake Hutton would provide the Aggies with the big play they needed to get back into the game. With Utah facing a third-and-11, Johnson threw a pass that was picked up off by Hutton at the Ute 29-yard line. After a 3-yard run and a 23-yard pass to junior wide receiver Otis Nelson, Utah State was in good position with a first and goal from the Ute 2. Four plays later though, Utah State walked off the field without putting any points on the board.
“That’s very frustrating because we’re so close to scoring, and we couldn’t get the ball in the end zone,” Hutton said. “It’s very frustrating.”
Freshman running back Derrvin Speight agreed and called the Ute goal-line stand a huge swing in momentum.
“That really hurt,” Speight said. “That was like the turning point of the game. We were on the two and didn’t get any points off that, and they scored after that. That kind of hurt us.”
To make matters worse for the Aggies, the Utes followed up the defensive stand with a long 16-play touchdown drive that ran 7:02 off the clock.
The straw that broke the camel’s back for the Aggies on that 80-yard drive came when it looked as though Utah State held Utah to a quick three-and-out. With fourth-and-eight on the Ute 22-yard line, punter Louis Sakoda ran for 22 yards on a fake punt.
“We have four guys lined up there who should be reading that,” Guy said. “He did a good job holding the ball; he held on to it a lot longer and then took off running.”
For the game Utah had three touchdown scores that were longer than 20 yards. Utah State’s two touchdowns were from 1 yard out and 10 yards out.
-sam.bryner@aggiemail.usu.edu