Aggies hold their own against nationally-ranked No. 6 Ducks
As hard as they try, the Aggies can’t seem to pull a football game together.
Unfortunately for the Utah State University fooball team and fans, all that has come out of this season’s games seem to be what some call “moral” victories instead of real victories.
“I don’t believe in moral victories,” said USU head coach Mick Dennehy. “I never have and I never will. We’re getting better, I think, every week, yet we’re still doing some little things enough to where we just can’t overcome them.
Even if they are doing some things wrong, the Aggies are doing enough things right to keep themselves in important games.
After playing a relatively even game, the Aggies fell behind in the fourth quarter to suffer a 38-21 loss the University of Oregon at Romney Stadium Saturday evening.
The Aggies dropped to 0-4 on the season as the Ducks moved to 4-0.
Prior to the game against Utah State, the Ducks were ranked No. 6 in the USA/TODAY and AP poll. Following the game though, the Ducks dropped to No. 7 in the country.
“We know we had a legitimate shot at beating those guys [Oregon],” Aggie linebacker Tony Newson said. “They made plays at the end and we didn’t.”
This was not the first time Utah State had an impressive showing against a nationally-ranked team this season.
Earlier in the season against 14th ranked Louisiana State University the Aggies let their presence be known until USU ran out of gas in the fourth quarter.
“We just didn’t play real good together,” Dennehy said. “Everything’s got to be clicking. We didn’t put it all together. We tried. We didn’t help one another as close as we need to.”
To the surprise of many, the Aggies were only trailing by three, 24-21 heading into the final quarter of action. The Ducks then scored 14 straight unanswered points.
The Aggies found themselves in the position to upset the nationally-ranked team three times in the final 10 minutes of play. Instead, quarterback Jose Fuentes threw three interceptions, one at the 8-yard line, one at the 6-yard line and one in the end zone.
Looking beyond the interceptions though, Fuentes played well against Oregon, completing more than half of his passes, 26 for 46, for 356 yards.
Kevin Curtis also had a nice showing as he caught 10 passes on the night for 166 yards. Curtis leads the nation in receptions.
“We gave Kevin a hard time after his first game,” Dennehy said. “He had a break out game right from the get go and we just said ‘Kevin, that’s just one game. The great ones do it week after week after week.’ I feel if Kevin Curtis stays healthy, he’s got a chance to be as good a receiver as we’ve had.”
The Ducks kept Aggie star Emmett White on a relatively short leash as he picked up 83 yards on 23 carries and caught four passes for 75 yards. White currently leads the nation in all-purpose yards.
As impressive as Duck Heisman Trophy candidate Joey Harrington was supposed to be, little fireworks were shown.
Harrington played a solid game though with 17 of 24 completions for 261 yards and two touchdowns.
“I really like to watch Harrington play,” Dennehy said.
The Duck who really got the Aggies though was running back Maurice Morris who contributed 182 yards on 22 carries for Oregon, including a 69-yarder halfway through the fourth quarter.
From the get go, the Aggies showed improvement over last week’s defensive efforts. Last week against Wyoming, the defense allowed 588 yards and only forced one punt.
Both teams remained scoreless in the first quarter due to steller defense from each side, the Aggies were first to get on the board less than a minute into the second quarter as Fuentes hit Curtis with a 32-yard touchdown pass.
The Ducks immediately came back with a touchdown, too. Harrington teamed up with Jose Line for a 24-yard touchdown pass.
After being forced to punt, the Aggies attempted to stop the Ducks again as they went for 89 yards in 11 plays. Harrington snuck the ball over the goal line after the Aggies stopped the Ducks just short of the line two plays in a row.
Seconds before the first half was over UO’s Hared Siegel kicked a 46-yard field goal that ultimately made it impossible for the Aggies to tie the score.
Ready to play catch up in the second half, the Aggies came out with two straight scoring drives.
White went 74 yards and then 2 yards for the touchdown while Fuentes hit Gary Coleman from 8 yards out for the second touchdown.
The Ducks scored in between the plays though with a 27-yard pass from Harrington to Justin Peelle.
After going 80 yards on the next possession, the Ducks possessed a 31-21 lead.
With 8:19 left in the game, it was finally clear the game was out of reach for the Aggies, as Morris broke free from a mob of Aggie defenders to run a 69-yard touchdown.
“We can play as hard as we want, but when we don’t win, it’s disappointing. We’re sick of being average. We want to win some games,” Curtis said.