Eberle’s record-setting night helps lead Utah State to 60-13 victory
The 2017 Utah State football season came to a screeching halt back in December, when the Aggies made the trip to Tucson for the Arizona Bowl and found themselves on the wrong side of a 26-20 overtime final to the New Mexico State Aggies.
USU kicker Dominik Eberle missed four field goals in the game after a nearly perfect kicking season in which the then-sophomore was named one of just three Lou Groza Award finalists.
This time around, it was Eberle and the Aggies in blue getting the last laugh.
The German native made six field goals and six extra points to tie an NCAA record for points by a kicker in a game with 24, and shattering nearly every kicking record in the USU record book as Utah State crushed New Mexico State by a score of 60-13.
“What’s nice to see is that kid took a lot of grief over the last time we played that team in his performance, which was really the only sub-standard one he’s had since he’s been here,” said Utah State head coach Matt Wells. “It’s nice to see him start off the year like this, obviously in great form.”
Junior kicker Dominik Eberle kicks off versus New Mexico State on Saturday night at Maverik Stadium
Eberle’s night started on Utah State’s first offensive drive, when sophomore quarterback Jordan Love led the Aggies down the field 53 yards to set up for a 44-yard field goal for the junior kicker.
On the first play of New Mexico State’s second offensive possession, USU junior linebacker Tipa Galea’i came off the corner untouched into the offensive backfield to meet Romero, where he earned his third sack and second forced fumble of the season. The USU offense, starting on the NMSU 20-yard line, wasn’t able to capitalize on favorable field position with a touchdown, but Eberle tacked on his second field goal of the game, a 32-yard kick.
New Mexico State got on the board and took its only lead of the game on its third drive, when Romero led his squad down the field for a 10-play, 75-yard drive, capped off by an 18-yard pass to senior receiver Jonathan Boone for a touchdown.
Mid-way through the first quarter, Eberle continued his perfect game effort with a 51-yard field goal to put Utah State up 16-7. The kick was the second-longest of his career, and the second time the 2017 Groza Award-finalist had connected from beyond 50 yards.
After more offensive fireworks for Utah State which included a 65-yard touchdown drive, a 21-yard Eberle field goal, and a 46-yard touchdown drive, the home team went into the locker room up 33-10 halftime.
The first score of the second half came when Romero tried to connect with a receiver on a slant route, but the ball was wrestled away by Utah State senior cornerback Deante Fortenberry. The Oakland, Calif. native then weaved his way 75 yards through would-be tacklers for a touchdown to put USU up 40-13. The play tied for the tenth-longest interception return in program history.
After New Mexico State kicker Dylan Brown made his second kick of the game, a 31-yarder to bring the score to 40-13, Utah State quickly returned the favor. A 75-play drive lasting under two minutes resulted in another USU touchdown when junior running back Gerold Bright ran down the middle untouched for a 51-yard touchdown.
Bright led USU on the ground with 134 yards on 14 carries, the second 100-plus yard game of his career.
“I didn’t get touched thanks to my o-line, they did their job,” Bright said of the run. “They do their job, and I just piggyback off of them, so it all goes do them. If they do their job, it’s a straight-away shot for me, so shout-out to them boys.”
At the 11:11 mark of the fourth quarter, Eberle made history. His third 51-yard field goal of the game soared through the uprights, breaking the program record for field goals in a game and points by a kicker, as well as scoring his 24th point of the game to tie the NCAA record for points by a kicker in a game.
“I knew the school record, because I set it last year, was 19 points, and my coach kept telling me that,” Eberle said. “My coach Brad Bohn set the record for the most field goals for Utah State, so I knew it was five. So I knew after I kicked the sixth one that I had set that, but the NCAA one I wasn’t aware of.”
Eberle said even despite last year’s bowl game with New Mexico State, he wasn’t thinking about that game or about the opponent.
“I didn’t want it to be like a revenge or anything,” he said. “I just wanted to go out there and perform for my teammates and take it a kick at a time.”
Defensively, Utah State held NMSU to just 280 yards while forcing two fumbles and three interceptions. Senior safety Aaron Wade recorded two of the interceptions in his first collegiate start.
“We had a lot of energy going around,” Wade said of the defense’s performance. “When somebody does something great, you just want to do something better, then it just keeps stacking up and stacking up.”
The USU Aggies beat out New Mexico State On Saturday September 8th, 2018. With many interceptions and the USU student section cheering them on, The USU aggies were vicotorious with a score of 60 – 13.
In the game, USU recorded five sacks, including 1.5 by Galea’i, and one each from junior cornerback DJ Williams and sophomore linebacker David Woodward. This was the first time since 2015 an Aggie team totaled five or more sacks in a game.
Wells attributed his team’s ability to get to the quarterback to the defense’s performance stopping the run and creating 3rd-down-and-long scenarios.
“We’re certainly going to be an aggressive-style defense, and everybody on our defense can rush a passer and blitz, and that’s their responsibility,” Wells said. “We’re going to pressure a lot, and we’ve done it since I’ve been here. Nothing new.”
The USU offense finished with 446 total yards, including 172 through the air and 274 on the ground. Love finished 14-of-27 with 159 yards along with one touchdown and an interception.
Utah State will now face a short week, returning to Maverik Stadium in just five days when the Aggies take on Tennessee Tech on Thursday at 6 p.m.