Aggies score 37 unanswered in rout of Colorado State
Utah State football dismantled Colorado State Saturday night at Maverik Stadium, winning 44-24 to cap off USU’s homecoming festivities.
Just like Aggie fans have become accustomed to, the Aggies struggled to get anything going early on. It was the fourth time this season they have been down by double digits after the first quarter.
“It’s sad to say that we’re a second-half team right now,” sophomore safety Ike Larsen said. “We’re trying to build that up to be a first-half team and be able to go all four quarters, but we’re confident in our game plans and we just stick to doing what we do.”
The defense posted an early three and out, but Paddy Turner’s punt hit the foot of Utah State’s Avion Steele and was recovered by the Rams. Another stop forced a field goal which put the Rams up 3-0.
The special teams woes were only beginning for Utah State as four plays later CSU’s Tory Horton returned a punt for a touchdown to put the Rams up 10-0 less than five minutes in.
Aside from the punt return, Horton was quiet all night. He posted season lows for receptions and yards and left the game early after taking some solid hits from the Utah State defense.
After an interception and score for the Rams, the Aggies were able to flip the field after a Stephen Kotsanlee punt downed the Rams inside their 5-yard line. They got a desperately needed stop and were able to start a drive at the Colorado State 38-yard line. They would ultimately come up short of the end zone but got on the board with a 43-yard field goal by Elliot Nimrod.
The Rams took the kickoff and began yet another methodical drive downfield. They drove 35 yards on nine plays in three and a half minutes before quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicholosi took a shot at the end zone which was picked off by Cache Valley’s own Ike Larsen. The Aggies were unable to capitalize on the turnover as Legas promptly threw his second interception of the night.
“Watching film, I expected there to be enough separation to be able to put it right on the receiver, so that’s what I was trying to do at the start,” Legas said. “The DB’s made two really good plays that I hadn’t seen all year on film…so I saw what they were doing and how they were playing it and adjusted.
The Utah State defense, which had been stout all half, was able to hold CSU to a three and out and the Aggies took over on their own 11. They orchestrated an eight-play, 89-yard drive which included a 37-yard reception by Micah Davis and was capped off by a 22-yard touchdown run by Davon Booth to bring the Aggies within one score.
But the Aggies didn’t stop there, as Ike Larsen recorded his second interception of the night to set the Aggies up with excellent field position once again. The Aggies would go all in on the ensuing drive with a “royal flush.” The drive consisted of five plays, three of which were receptions to junior wide receiver Jalen Royals. The first two were for gains of 27 and 11 yards, respectively, before a 24-yard strike from Cooper Legas found the endzone to tie the game at 17.
Elliot Nimrod had a shot at a 41-yard field goal with eight seconds left in the half but missed wide left and it was a 17-17 tie at halftime.
The Aggies came out of the break with a vengeance, going up 14 points immediately. On the third play from scrimmage in the second half Legas connected with Terrell Vaughn for a 67-yard touchdown. The reception was good for career-long touchdowns for both Legas and Vaughn and put the Aggies up seven only 15 seconds into the half.
The Aggies were back in the endzone less than three minutes later when Legas connected with Royals for a 51-yard touchdown. For Royals, who had three touchdown catches in the second half against Connecticut a week ago, the score was his fifth in as many quarters.
The Rams threatened late in the third with an extended 15-play drive into the USU red zone, but Devin Dye punched the ball out of the hands of Dallin Holker at the USU 14 and Seni Tuiaki recovered the fumble for the Aggies to extinguish the threat and the Aggies were up 31-17 after three quarters.
Utah State’s offense was not done yet as Cooper Legas threw a career-best fourth touchdown, connecting with Micah Davis for a 19-yard touchdown to put the Aggies up 37-17 after Nimrod was unable to convert on the point after.
After a pair of penalties called on USU graduate senior Michael Anyanwu for a total of 30 yards, CSU’s Kobe Johnson broke into the endzone for the Rams first score in 46 minutes of gameplay.
With five minutes left in the game, Colorado State’s Dane Olson was called for roughing the kicker after a near block of Stephen Kotsanlee’s punt. Kotsanlee suffered what coach Anderson says is a season-ending injury to his right leg and was carted off the field.
“[Steven] is just an unbelievable kid,” Anderson said. “You hate to see his career or at least the season end that way… but he’ll come back strong, that’s just who he is.”
The penalty granted Utah State an automatic first down, and on the ensuing play, Davon Booth rushed 48 yards for a touchdown to cap off the 44-24 victory.
The Aggies improved to 3-3 on the season and 1-1 in Mountain West conference play. They will turn their attention to their next matchup, a 6:00 p.m. home kickoff against Fresno State on Friday. The Bulldogs are ranked #24 in the country but suffered a loss to Wyoming in Laramie on Saturday.