Utah State at Wake Forest: By the numbers
24 – Tackles by David Woodward
Junior linebacker David Woodward recorded 24 total tackles on Friday night, the most since at least 2000 (sports-reference) and just two shy of the single-game Aggie record. It’s the second time Woodward has topped 20 tackles, having achieved the feat last season against Colorado State, joining Bobby Wagner and both Zach and Nick Vigil as the only Aggies in the past 20 years to do so. While this is an extremely impressive feat, and Woodward showed off his All-American quality right from the beginning of the season, this isn’t a situation you want to be put into. Other than on rare occasions, one player having to stop the other team an excessive amount of times means that his team is getting opened up defensively. In fact, only two of the four previous occasions a Utah State player recorded 20 tackles did the team win and the Aggies’ win over Colorado State last season was much more of a fluke than a success. Wake Forest ran the ball 58 times, making it a difficult task to keep up late in the game, which could have influenced Woodward’s extraordinary efforts.
579 – Yards given up to Wake Forest
Utah State has already bested its highest total from last season in the very first game of this campaign. The Aggies gave up 500 or more yards twice last season, to Boise State (509) and Colorado State (506). Interestingly enough, the last time a team put up more than 579 yards on Utah State was the last time the Aggies traveled to Winston-Salem in 2017. This stat doesn’t need much explanation; it’s never ideal to give up that many yards to another team. Since 2000, the Aggies have given up more than 500 total yards to its opponents 45 times and have lost 39 of those contests. Wake Forest also passed for 401 yards Friday night, making it the first occurrence since current Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr threw for 404 yards while playing for Fresno State in the Mountain West championship game in 2013.
141- Jaylen Warren with 141 yards rushing in his debut
141 is the fourth most by an Aggie in a season-opener since 2000, and the most since Devante Mays ran for 208 yards against Weber State in 2016. A JC transfer from Snow College, Warren is no stranger to big games. In high school, he led East High to a state title, a perfect 14-0 record and shattered the state rushing record with 3,099 yards on the season. Utah State had two performances of 140 or more yards rushing this past season, both by current Kansas City Chiefs running back Darwin Thompson. Warren rushed for 140 or more yards on six occasions last season at Snow College, en route to rushing for 1,435 yards over the course of the season. The only surprising part of all of it, is that senior running back Gerold Bright had only nine carries on the night. Both Warren and Bright found the endzone, but it was Warren who led the team with 19 carries.
Utah State quarterback Jordan Love looks to throw a pass against Wake Forest during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Winston-Salem, N.C., Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. Wake Forest won 38-35. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
416 – Jordan Love’s third career game over 400 yards passing
Junior QB Jordan Love reached 400 yards passing twice last season, nearly eclipsing 500 yards against San Jose State. Both games were wins for Utah State, making this the first loss in which he’s hit that marker. It’s quite the conundrum. Utah State wouldn’t have been as competitive had it not been for Love making some tremendous throws. But, to the same effect, he threw three interceptions for the second time in his career, including on USU’s final offensive play. It was said by head coach Gary Andersen post-game that his protection from the offensive line might have played a part in that — which is a fair statement about very young group after the first game starting together. Love was constantly throwing players open and developed an instant connection with graduate transfer receiver Siaosi Mariner who recorded eight catches for 118 yards and a touchdown. Love is undoubtedly one of the best quarterbacks in the country and will continue to show that off, despite the below-average performance Friday night.
.105 – Utah State’s winning percentage on the road against non-conference opponents over the past 20 seasons
Non-conference meetings haven’t been too kind to Utah State in recent decades. Utah State has played in 57 games on the road against non-conference foes and have only managed to win six of those games. Granted, the Aggies’ struggles as a football program help contribute to the poor winning percentage. But Aggie fans will know better than anyone that except two matchups with BYU, the only win the team has managed to pull off in the past decade was at Colorado State in 2012 before USU joined the MW. More heartbreaking is the manner in which those losses have occurred: a four-point loss to Auburn in 2011, a two-point loss to Wisconsin in 2012, a three-point loss to USC in 2013, a ten-point loss to Utah in 2015, a seven-point loss to Michigan State in 2018. Utah State has positioned itself to win at the end of games and has yet to find a way to pull off a marquee victory for the program.