Aggies lose scoring fest 54-34
It almost looked as if the Aggies were going to come away with the upset Friday night against the No. 20 (USA/Today and AP poll) Brigham Young Cougars in front of 65,396 onlookers at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Cougars were able to capitalize on the mistakes made by the Utah State University offense though and came with the 54-34 victory.
?It was almost as if for most of the game neither defense really showed up to play,? USU coach Mick Dennehy said. ?It got into a score fest and we didn?t have a choice. We had to score every possession.?
Junior running back Luke Staley led the Cougars with four rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown, tying a BYU record.
Both Kevin Curtis and Emmett White had impressive showings for the Aggies despite the loss. Curtis finished with 11 catches and 129 receiving yards. White rushed for 144 yards on 24 carries.
?I don? t care if I don? t catch any balls. If we get a win I?m going to be happy,? Curtis said. ?I love the guys I play with and I feel bad for our team. I want us to win. That?s the most important thing for me.?
The Aggies continue to move their record in one direction as the Cougars move theirs in another. Utah State dropped to 0-5 on the year, including three losses to nationally-ranked teams such as the Cougars, and BYU improved to 5-0.
?We work every bit as hard as the teams we are playing,? Dennehy said. ?We?re not going to win games until we are ready to win games.
?I still think we are a good football team. I still think our best football is ahead of us. I still think we are going to win our share of games,? he said.
The Aggies led 27-21 at halftime, the biggest half-time lead of the season for USU, and continued to play well at the start of the third quarter.
Sophomore wide receiver Chris Stallworth made a 15-yard touchdown with 12:41 in the third quarter followed by a good PAT by Kicker Dane Kidman to widen the Aggie lead to 34-21.
The 13-point lead was not enough to hold the Cougars though as they came back with 33 unanswered points.
With eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, Staley ran the ball right up the middle on fourth-and-3 from 37 yards out to score and turn the game around for BYU.
The Aggies were unable to capitalize on any offensive drives and minutes later, Cougar Jeraro Gilford picked off a pass by Jose Fuentes and made a 62-yard run placing his team back in scoring position.
Staley scored on the 1-yard run and the Aggies found themselves in a 34-34 tie with their first victory of the year slipping through their fingers.
Cougar safety Levi Madarieta intercepted a Fuentes pass on the next Aggie drive and Staley ran the ball in from five yards out taking the lead. The Aggie offense fizzled in the final quarter of play and the Cougars continued to get on the board with touchdowns by Mike Rigell and Spencer Nead.
?We came out here and put up a good performance,? Stallworth said. ?We just couldn?t pull off the win.?