Aggies improve to 3-0 in MW by downing Wolf Pack

Defense wins you championships as the old cliche goes. The importance of special teams is another favorite of coaches of all levels. Utah State embodied both in its 36-10 win over Nevada on Saturday night which helped the Aggies retain control of its own destiny for a Mountain West championship.

The very first time the Aggies touched the ball, junior return specialist Savon Scarver took the kickoff 100 yards to the endzone. When asked about the significance of Scarver’s return, head coach Gary Andersen was open in how much it meant to the final result.

“No doubt. All of a sudden it was three-nothing, then it was seven-three. That moment was a big-time play, they’re always big-time plays, but that moment may have just been a little bit bigger.”

The return touchdown marked the fifth by Scarver in his career, a new program record at Utah State, passing Kevin Robinson.

Congrats to @SavonScarver, the GOAT at kick returns for Utah State. pic.twitter.com/bfa6CzXCop

— The Statesman Sports Desk (@StatesmanSports) October 20, 2019

Scarver’s record-breaking touchdown was preceded by a Nevada drive that ended up inside USU’s five-yard line, but the Aggie defense held its opponents out of the endzone, forcing a short field goal attempt. 7-3 was the score, and that wouldn’t change until the closing minutes of the first quarter when junior defensive end Justus Te’i tackled Nevada in its own endzone, giving the Aggies its first safety since 2015. 

“It was a great defensive effort by the kids, I thought the staff did a nice job of implementing some things that we haven’t shown people to this point this year,” Andersen said. “They had a chip on their shoulder tonight, and we needed it. It’s been like that in all three of our conference games. I’m proud of the way those kids played tonight, for sure.”

Utah State was able to put together one solid scoring drive in the first half, a 7-play, 39-yard drive that ended in a touchdown connection between junior Jordan Love and grad transfer Caleb Repp. But it seemed as if the offense never found its rhythm and ended the half with just 200 yards. Despite the touchdown pass, Love struggled to find his receivers, often because they weren’t getting open, which is a mystery in itself against a defense that was second-to-last in the conference before the game. Still, Love was 8-of-23 passing with 94 yards at the break and finished the game well below his average with 169 yards. The problem is difficult to put a finger on, but it is something that the coaching staff are actively trying to correct.

“You know that’s a good question and that’s again something we’re going to have to go back and dissect ourselves,” Andersen said. “We looked at that last week and didn’t look at it hard enough, right? You sit back and think what’s the little tweak that’s going to get us back to where we were earlier in the year.”

Jordan Love runs the ball and is chased out of bounds by a Nevada defender. Photo by Samuel Woubshet.

It wouldn’t be until late in the fourth quarter that Utah State’s offense would strike again. A pair of Gerold Bright touchdowns stretched the lead to 36-3 and effectively sealed a victory for the Aggies. The touchdowns came as somewhat of a surprise, Bright having only 37 yards through three quarters, but his 67-yard rushing touchdown was part of an 89-yard effort in the final quarter. The victory and career-high touchdowns is sweet, and something Bright mentioned he would celebrate, but ultimately he feels the Aggies need to perform better. 

“I don’t think the offense played well, we played well enough to win, but if we were playing for a Mountain West championship tonight I don’t think that would have cut it,” he said. “It shows that if the offense gets to clicking, what can’t we do? We haven’t played our best game offense, defense or on special teams.”

Sure, the defense may have not had its best game, and let in a garbage-time touchdown toward the end of the fourth quarter. But still, the defense unit was the focal point of success and had contributions coming from everywhere. They disrupted everything Nevada tried to do offensively, allowing just four of 17 drives to go over three plays. It’s no surprise that junior linebacker David Woodward led the Aggies in tackles, but right behind him was sophomore corner Andre Grayson who had a career game with nine tackles, one sack and three pass breakups. But humbly, Grayson deflected praise back to his front seven for making it easy for the secondary to do their job.

Utah State corner Andre Grayson (21) knocks the ball free from a Nevada player in the Aggies’ 36-10 win over the Wolf Pack on Saturday. Photo by Samuel Woubshet.

“We can always count on them to always get pressure,” he said. “It makes it really easy on us back there. As a defensive back group, we trust that they’re going to get that pressure. We know what we have to do. We know our schemes. We know where we have to be. We trust each other and we communicate before every play to make sure everybody’s on the same page. We just have fun with it.”

Currently, Utah State sits at the top of the Mountain West at 3-0, tied with Boise State, but travels to Colorado to take on a dangerous Air Force team Saturday, Oct. 26 with Mountain Division wins on the line. The Falcons are 3-1 in conference play with its most recent game being a 56-26 win over Hawaii.