USU’s offensive dominance not enough in a 50-45 loss to New Mexico

In the last six weeks, the Aggies have lost most of their games in several ways. On Sept. 7 against USC, Utah State was battered on both sides of the ball, suffering a 48-0 loss. The following week against Utah, the Aggies had a strong showing in the first half, leading 14-3, but were overpowered in the second half and lost 38-21. Last week against UNLV, Utah State’s offense was dominant, but their defense faltered, leading to a 50-34 loss.

Aggies Come Up Short Against New Mexico in 4th Quarter

Although this week’s game against New Mexico was different from the others, the disappointment of the USU players and coaches felt all too familiar.

“Started off hot, and we just stutter too much,” head coach Nate Dreiling said. “And when we stutter, it snowballs, and it’s the same story that I’ve said 9 million times.

The Aggies started off hot all right, scoring 17 unanswered points in the first 15 minutes and five seconds of game time. 

There were offensive players who broke records left and right. Wide receiver Jalen Royals had a career-best 11 receptions along with his 188 yards. Quarterback Spencer Petras threw for 300+ yards in his third straight game, the first Aggie to do so since Chuckie Keaton in 2012. Tight end Broc Lane had a career-high 51 receiving yards, first-year running Herschel Turner contributed a personal best 51 rushing yards, and senior running back Rahsul Faison had his first-ever two-touchdown game.

But the stuttering began with a special teams turnover, and then the snowballing followed with the Aggie’s defense losing momentum.

Utah State’s defense was near-flawless in the first quarter, forcing an interception and three consecutive punts. But early into the second quarter, returner Kahanu Davis muffed a punt, and the Lobos recovered on USU’s 21-yard line. Three plays later, New Mexico running back Javen Jacobs caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Devon Dampier, and a successful two-point conversion cut the Aggies lead to 17-8.

“We had a chance to go up big and muffed one,” Coach Dreiling said. “They got an easy touchdown out of that, and we just couldn’t hold up long enough.”

USU’s offense kept humming in the second half, finishing with a season-best 45 points. The Aggies’ defense, on the other hand, gave up five touchdowns in the second half, managing to stop only one Lobos drive. 

Utah State was holding onto a 45-43 lead with 2:20 to go in the game, but then they turned the ball over after failing to convert and 4th and 1 on their 34-yard line. Forty-five seconds later, Lobos running back Eli Sanders ran in untouched for a touchdown to take their first lead of the game. Petras then threw his only interception of the game with a minute left, an interception that would seal the 50-45 New Mexico victory.

“Obviously, what we’ve been doing the past few weeks hasn’t been working,” linebacker Jon Ross Maye said. “Sometimes you gotta take the small wins…but we’re in a position right now where we can’t afford small wins. We need wins.” 

Unfortunately for Maye, his Aggies will have to wait another week before traveling to Wyoming, where they’ll have a chance to break their six-game losing streak.