USU defense shuts down Spartans, Aggies cruise to victory
Utah State came to San Jose, saw the Spartans and conquered the defending Mountain West Champions 48 to 17. The Aggies picked up their fifth straight road win after trailing by double digits this season and their ninth straight win over San Jose State dating back to 2009.
The Aggie defense was a formidable force throughout the game. In the first half they allowed only one touchdown, forced a fumble and produced four punts. Junior outside linebacker Ajani Carter forced the fumble and recovered it during a sack. The Aggies also had seven tackles for loss and 2 sacks combined to push the Spartans back 74 yards.
“Collectively the defense just played phenomenal all night,” head coach Blake Anderson said. “They gave up one touchdown on a short field… They played (a) lights out game all night.”
The defense continued their dominance in the second half recovering another fumble, an interception and forcing four punts. Carter added his third interception this season to his stat sheet when he picked off Spartan quarterback Nick Starkel. Carter nearly made it to the endzone with the help of his teammates but was downed inside the 10-yard line.
“I really should’ve house-called that, but you know I’m a little rusty with the ball in my hands,” Carter said. “I had fun man. I liked my teammates, they (were) out there hustling. I had a lot of great blocks … it was like the best day in the world.”
Utah State was able to hold the Spartans to 12 total rushing yards on 22 attempts. This comes after multiple opponents have run for over 200 yards against the Aggies. Carter said one of the Aggies’ focuses during practice this week was stopping the run.
“If a team’s gonna beat us, they’re gonna beat us throwing the ball. We’re not gonna let them run over us no more and that was the big emphasis and we worked hard in practice on stopping the run,” Carter said.
The Aggie offense was cold in the first quarter but made up for it by taking the lead with 24 unanswered points in the second and third quarters. After a Spartan field goal, the Aggies scored another 24 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters.
Utah State had a solid night on the ground picking up 147 rushing yards. Junior running back Calvin Tyler Jr. led the way with 61 yards on 21 attempts with a touchdown.
Senior wide receiver Devon Thompkins tallied 127 yards on five receptions including a long 53-yard catch in the third quarter that set up an Aggie touchdown. He continues to lead the nation in receiving yards. Fellow senior wide receiver Derek Wright picked up 50 yards and two touchdown receptions on three catches. Junior quarterback Logan Bonner credits the passing game’s success to his receivers.
“My job’s pretty easy I just give them a chance to go make a play. They make all the plays and they make me look good,” Bonner said.
Bonner became the first Aggie in program history to throw at least four touchdown passes in three straight games. He got roughed up near the end of the first half, but continued his show of grit this season and came back on.
“Logan kept getting up off the turf. I don’t know how. [He’s a] tough sucker and playing great” coach Anderson said.
Bonner racked up 263 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Highlight passes included two deep balls to Thompkins for a total of 96 yards and a 41-yard touchdown pass to Wright early in the fourth quarter. Bonner also took off from the pocket in the red zone for a 12-yard rush, setting up a five-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Bowling, senior wide receiver, on the next play. The only blemish for Bonner was a pick-six, his 10th interception this season, that he threw early in the first quarter.
The Aggie offense dominated time of possession, totaling 37 minutes on 16 drives. Even when Utah State couldn’t score, they took up time and were able to pin the Spartans inside their own 20 on three of their four punts.
“The ability to run the clock like that and maintain it and play field-position ball to some degree is something that we need to be able to do in tough games,” coach Anderson said.
The Aggies improve to 8-2 on the year, 5-1 in conference play. With this marquee win on the road, Utah State continues to prove they’re serious contenders for the Mountain West championship this season.