Crimson Tide rolls Utah State Football 55-0

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Utah State Football was shut out by No.1 Alabama 55-0 on Saturday night. 

In the locker room after the game, head coach Blake Anderson told his team that he loves them and that he was “proud of how hard they played.”

“I wish this was not an environment that our team had to be in,” Anderson said. “This was a game that you had to come play.”

The Aggies received a $1.91 million payout to play Alabama. 

The Crimson Tide was bigger, faster and stronger than the Aggies, and it showed on the scoreboard and stat sheet. 

“It didn’t feel like we were physically going to match up very well. We didn’t,” Anderson said. “I’ve seen people in the SEC come here and get treated exactly the same way.”

Last season’s Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Bryce Young, started his case to regain the honors. Young torched the Aggie defense through the air, with 195 yards and five touchdowns, and on the ground with 100 yards and a touchdown. 

“He’s really good and I have a lot of respect for him,” safety Ike Larsen said. “He deserves the hype that he gets.”

On the bright side for Utah State, the defense and special teams were consistent and made some plays. Larsen, a freshman out of Sky View High School, snagged his second career interception. 

“He’s playing like a veteran in a lot of places,” Anderson said. “He’s just gonna get better and he’s got a great career ahead of him.”

Anderson was careful with his praise and qualified it by saying Larsen is “not playing perfectly” in an attempt to avoid “his head (getting) any bigger than it already is.”

For Larsen, he felt “blessed” that he was able to perform as well as he did. He also credited his teammates and coaching staff for helping him make those plays. 

“I had to work for it— coach Banda has built trust for me and you know, just gotta keep going and keep doing what I can do in practice and prove myself to the team,” Larsen said. 

Larsen also blocked a punt in the fourth quarter. It was the Aggies’ first blocked punt since they blocked two against San Diego State in the Mountain West Championship game. 

“To get the punt block was huge,” Anderson said. “It was something we thought we could do and schemed it to get exactly the look we got and Ike stepped up and made the play.”

Punter Stephen Kotsanlee ripped off some strong punts that switched the field for USU. Kotsanlee belted a 60-yard punt and three more above 50 yards. He also landed four total punts inside the 20-yard line. 

“He kicked a few huge ones,” Anderson said. “I thought we covered punts really, really well.”

Defensive end Daniel Grzesiak sacked Young which forced the Crimson Tide to take a field goal, resulting in one of six drives that didn’t end in a touchdown for Alabama.

Additionally, the Aggies seemed to avoid any major injuries. 

“First indication is (that it’s) just all bumps and bruises,” Anderson said. “We were pretty cautious, obviously with the score where it was — didn’t feel the need to risk anything.”

The Aggies return to Logan next week to host Weber State at 5 p.m. MST.

Featured image by Bailey Rigby from the UConn game.