Another money game slips away
Aggie kicker Josh Thompson pushed a 37-yard field goal right with six seconds left to give Wisconsin the 16-14 victory over the Aggies in Madison, Wis., on Saturday.
Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton led the Aggies down the field from his own 32-yard line with 1:38 left in the game. The sophomore connected with wide receiver Cameron Webb on a 36-yard pass to get to the Badger 15 and set up the attempt.
“We made up enough ground. That ball is on the 19-yard line, right middle,” said Utah State head coach Gary Andersen. “The snap’s good, the hold seemed to be good. We’ve got to make that field goal.”
Offensive center Tyler Larsen said Webb has proven himself throughout training camp.
“He’s a playmaker,” Larsen said. “We knew we had to feed the stud and that’s what we did and he came through in the end.”
The Utah State defense stopped Wisconsin on key red-zone third downs twice early in the game. Badger kicker Kyle French missed a field goal and had a point-after-touchdown attempt blocked, leaving four points off of the scoreboard.
“We should have beaten a Big Ten team,” Andersen said. “We walked in here expecting to beat Wisconsin.”
Badger sophomore punt returner Kenzel Doe took a punt 82 yards back to pull the Badgers within 14-10 with 7:06 left in the third quarter, which turned the momentum back to the home team.
“We weren’t able to overcome that,” Larsen said. “The offense wasn’t able to put another touchdown in there. So really, it’s not just all focused on one person losing the game. It’s the whole entire team concept.”
Utah State drew first blood five minutes into the game on a 39-yard pass from Keeton to running back Kerwynn Williams to take the 7-0 lead.
Keeton struck again after a Wisconsin field goal with an 11-yard pass to receiver Matt Austin to go up 14-3 just before halftime.
Keeton finished with 18 completions on 34 passing attempts for 181 yards and a pair of touchdowns to go along with 75 rushing yards.
The Aggies did not score in the second half and converted six times in 19 third-down situations throughout the game.
“We have not run the ball effectively and we’ve been absolutely putrid on third down,” Andersen said. “We have got to be able to manage the chains and put ourselves in positions and stay out of third-and-long.”
Utah State earned 127 yards on the ground – double the average Wisconsin has allowed this season.
“We tried our best,” Larsen said. “Some plays they get us, some plays we got them.”
Defensively the Aggies were led in part by junior linebacker Zach Vigil who had 22 tackles, a sack and forced a fumble that led to seven points for USU.
Badger running back Montee Ball had 37 carries for 139 yards.
“That’s good defense, period,” Andersen said. “You’ve got a back like that and you hold him where he is. I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the football. I thought we got underneath their pads, I thought we were tougher than they were, I thought we played a very, very physical nature of the game.”
Ball’s lone touchdown in the third quarter proved to be the game winner.
The loss is the fourth heart-breaker in as many years against top-tier programs.
“To be real frank I’m tired of coming into these situations and walking out with the same feel,” Andersen said. “It doesn’t feel very good.”
The Aggies fall to 2-1 with what could have been the program’s signature win and first 3-0 start since 1978. Utah State will travel to Colorado State to play the (1-2) Rams on Sept. 22.
“Adversity is going to strike at some point. Not a lot of teams in the country will go undefeated,” Andersen said. “Our number one goal is to win the WAC. We’ve been saying that since January 7. This game ha
s no bearing on that other than how we react.”
– tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @Stuckiaggies