Aggies late start leads to a loss
Another rocky start for the Aggies led to a 38-45 loss against James Madison University at Maverik Stadium on Saturday night.
Utah State forced five turnovers (3 fumbles, 2 interceptions), its most since 2018, and had a season-high three interceptions of their own.
The first eight plays for the Aggies resulted in lost yards or incomplete passes. In the entire first quarter, USU had one positive play from the line of scrimmage.
“As you can imagine, disappointed with the outcome, but beyond proud of that group of dudes to fight and claw back into that game and make it a game at 38-38. Would love to have found a way to finish it and win it. You can’t turn the ball over at the end of the day. We made a couple mistakes there that you can’t make. But, that game, I just told the guys, a lot of guys would’ve turned it in at halftime. That group will fight. We play hard. We just have to play better,” head coach Blake Anderson said. “Somehow, we have to find a way to come out and play better early. That’s about as bad a first quarter as you can play.”
JMU scored a 54-yard touchdown (junior WR Omarion Dollison) in the second play of the game shortly followed by a field goal kick (senior kicker Camden Wise) and a rush at the one-yard line for another touchdown (senior QB Jordan McCloud) rounding out the first quarter at 0-17.
Total yards at the end of the first lied at 180 for JMU and -22 for USU.
Utah State has been outscored 60-7 in the first quarter of their games this season, 53-0 by FBS teams and have been outgained 593-183, 472-14 by FBS teams.
The Dukes ran three yards at the start of the second quarter for a touchdown (senior WR Phoenix Sproles) before USU made their first, first down of the game.
The momentum kept rolling as sophomore safety Devin Dye intercepted the ball at the JMU 38. In a fake field goal on the fourth down, junior PK Elliot Nimrod scored USU’s first touchdown, his career-first. He scored a career-high 14 points, was 5-of-5 on extra points and 1-of-2 on field goals.
Nimrod’s 18-yard run to the end zone marked USU’s third special teams touchdown in the last eight games.
A deep pass to the right with junior WR Colby Bowman open gave USU a 63 yd touchdown followed by a 28 yd field goal by Nimrod. Bowman’s touchdown pass was USU’s longest play from scrimmage this season.
The Aggies (1-3) fought back in the second half but it wasn’t enough to recover from the first.
JMU would go on to score two more touchdowns compared to USU’s 17 points leading them into the second half
USU’s defense showed up in the second half and held JMU to 0 for the quarter.
Senior WR Terrell Vaughn made a 20 yd run for a touchdown followed by another 6 yd rush to end the third 31-38.
Junior safety Switzer grabbed his second career interception and ran for 2 yds leading to Vaughn’s second touchdown of the game.
Each side collected another touchdown in the fourth before the end of the matchup.
Junior WR Micah Davis ran 76 yards, a career high, tying the game at 38-38. Fans sat at the edge of their seats after tying the game. A fumble by JMU’s McCloud recovered by USU’s junior DE Blaine Spires left the Aggies at the USU 39 with more than half of the final quarter left to play.
The back-and-forth between sides and a 74-yard touchdown by JMU left the Aggies scrambling for another opportunity towards the end of the fourth.
USU went 35 yards in five plays before turning the ball over to the Dukes. A forced fumble by sophomore safety Ike Larsen recovered by Switzer at the JMU 45 left the Aggies in a position to score again. Two complete passes to junior RB Davon Booth had the Aggies on the seven but an interception at JMU’s goal line sealed the deal for the Dukes ending the game 38-45.
In the end, USU had 9 penalties for 80 yards compared to JMU’s 6-35.
True freshman McCae Hillstead had his first career start for the Aggies. He went 25-of-47 for 399 yards, the most in school history by a freshman in a single game along with four touchdowns. His passing yards in a single game are tied for 14th most in school history. He threw three interceptions, one of which ended USU’s chances of winning at the end of the fourth quarter.
Coach Anderson said mistakes are expected to happen for a freshman, but the interceptions are unacceptable and Hillstead will remember them more than anyone.
USU had a season-high 500 yards of total offense, including 402 passing yards, 17th-most in school history.
Vaughn caught a game-best 10 passes for 124 yards and a career-high-tying two touchdowns.
Larsen finished with a game-high 10 tackles, including 1.0 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
Dye added a career-best nine tackles including 0.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup.
Booth had a career-high 103 yards on 21 carries for the Aggies.
Even with career-high stats, the Aggies couldn’t recover from their negative 22 yards and zero first downs after the first quarter.
Up next, USU heads to UConn (0-4) in their last non-conference game. Kick-off is scheduled for 10 a.m. (MT) and will be televised live on the CBS Sports Network.