Clemson pounds Utah State 35-6
It was the same old story for the lowly Aggies. At halftime, Utah State only trailed Clemson by seven. But, that changed in the second half when the Tigers exploded for 28 points en-route to a 35-6 victory.
“We thought that we were where we needed to be at halftime,” Utah State Head Coach Mick Dennehy said. “But then, it doesn’t take too many plays to change a ball game.”
Dennehy added that once again the Aggies played well and kept the game close during the first half, but because of some costly penalties and turnovers the Aggies weren’t able to match Clemson’s intensity.
One of the bright spots for the Aggies all season has been their special teams play, especially their punting statistics, ranked No. 7 in the country coming into this game.
That No. 7 ranking will most likely drop after Saturday’s performance. Utah State gave up three of its four longest returns of the season. Another dagger for the Ags was a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown.
“They had already come close [to blocking a punt] several times earlier in the game,” Dennehy said. “They gave us more problems today than anyone else has all season. Clemson’s defensive lineman [Gaines Adams] made a great play to block the kick.”
That touchdown marks the fifth non-offensive touchdown scored against the Aggies this season.
Hidden behind everything that went wrong on special teams Saturday, Leon Jackson recorded a 67 yard punt which is the longest of his career.
Jackson also scored the lone touchdown for USU when he scrambled 2 yards for a touchdown on the last play of the game after he led the team 88 yards.
Clemson’s win over Utah State snapped its three-game losing streak while the loss for the Aggies extended their losing streak to three games.
“I thought we played well at times,” Dennehy said. “We had our hands full up front. The battle between our offensive line and Clemson’s defensive line was the difference in the game.
“They were just the better team today.”
The 379 yards of total offense produced by the Tigers marks the third straight game USU has held their opponents to fewer than 400 yards of total offense. Clemson had 200 yards on the ground and 179 yards in the air.
Utah State only tallied 139 yards of total offense. The Aggies passed for 159 yards, but because of 11 sacks, resulting in a loss of 84 yards, the USU rushing offense netted a negative 20 yards.
The only touchdown scored by Clemson in the first half was a 2-yard run with just more than 10 minutes left in the second quarter. But the Tigers scored on their first two possessions in the second half to jump out to a 21-0 lead. After that, Clemson put on auto pilot and cruised to victory.
Saturday was the first game all season that Travis Cox did not throw a touchdown pass. It also marked the first time a non-quarterback threw an interception. Peter Shields overthrew a receiver deep in Clemson territory on a halfback option play during, the first quarter that squashed the Aggies scoring hope.
“Obviously, that play is not the staple play of what we do,” Dennehy said “but at the time, I thought it was the right call. We had a good chance to complete the pass. I think our receiver was wide open, he [Shields] just put too much air on the pass.”
The interception wasn’t the only first in this game. Kevin Robinson the nation’s top-rated punt returner recorded his first punt return that didn’t exceed 10 yards when during the second quarter he was corralled for a loss of one.
Next week Utah State has a bye before heading back on the road again to take on Middle Tennessee Oct. 30. That game will mark the second of four straight games away from home and is in the middle of a seven-game stretch during which they have only one game at home in Logan.
-kcaustin@cc.usu.edu