USU falls to Temple

Utah State suffered its third loss of the season on Saturday, falling 45 to 29 against Temple, dropping to 1-3 on the season. Utah State came into the game favored by six and a half points over the previously winless Owls.

“We came here to accomplish a goal, and we were far from that … we came out to a good start. We just didn’t finish, and that’s kind of been our story us up to this date,” said head coach Nate Dreiling after the loss. “It’s kind of a broken record, is what I sound like.”

The Aggies started the scoring on a Herschel Turner four-yard touchdown carry early in the second quarter, and just a few minutes later, quarterback Spencer Petras found Jalen Royals on a 26-yard touchdown reception to go up 14-0. 

Petras was back in action for the Aggies after missing the previous two games due to injury, throwing for 293 yards and two touchdowns. 

Temple quickly responded with a pair of touchdowns of their own to tie the game at 14. After a quick Aggie drive that resulted in a 20-yard touchdown run from Rashul Faison, Temple kicker Maddux Trujillo bounced a 64-yard field goal off the bottom crossbar and in with zeros on the clock to end the half.

Faison had 148 yards on the day, for his second straight 100-yard performance, with 130 coming in the first half alone. 

Despite outgaining the Owls by 108 yards in the first half, the Aggies went into the locker room up by just four points, leading 21-17. 

After trading punts early in the second half, things started to unravel for the Aggies in the third quarter when Temple quarterback Evan Simon found Dante Wright for a 91-yard touchdown strike on 3rd down, giving the Owls their first lead of the game. 

“That was an extremely disappointing play,” Dreiling said postgame. “Not only do you have to get off the field, but you can’t give up a 90-yard pass when a guy’s in double coverage.”

The Owls would not relinquish the lead, scoring three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to come out victorious. Utah State found the endzone just once in the second half, coming on a 29-yard reception from Petras to Jack Hestera. 

Utah State has struggled recently to take advantage of opportunities, and Saturday’s competition was no different. The Aggies had two other drives that got inside the 10-yard line, resulting in zero points. 

The first came on their second possession of the game when Faison was stuffed at the one-yard line on fourth down, turning the ball over on downs. Early in the third quarter, the Aggies found themselves in a similar position, this time on the six-yard line, knocking on the door with a chance to extend their lead. The Aggies again came away scoreless from the trip with a 29-yard missed field goal from Elliot Nimrod, his third straight miss dating back to last week. 

In addition to the missed opportunities, the Aggies again found themselves with a quick lead they could not hold on to as the game moved to the second half. 

“We’ve got to figure out a way to play at a high level all game and be able to figure out how to close teams,” Faison said on their struggles. Faison also struggled to get going in the second half after a prolific first half. “I just couldn’t find anything in the second half. Their defense started picking up the tempo. They played really well and got the best of us in the second half.”

Utah State will look to regroup with a bye week before heading to Boise next Saturday for their first conference game of the season against the Boise State Broncos.