Bested by Ute brother
LOGAN – Utah State suffered their second season loss on Saturday, falling 38-21 to Utah. This is the Aggies’ second loss to a top-13 opponent in as many weeks.
“We have to do more on our part with coaches, the players, everyone,” said Utah State head coach Nate Dreiling after the game. “It really comes down to handling the little details and doing it consistently.”
Utah State was in the game early, scoring on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Bryson Barnes to tight-end Broc Lane to go up 7-3. After a quick three-and-out forced by the Aggie defense, Barnes connected again, this time with Jack Hestera from 12 yards out to extend the lead to 14-3.
“We had confidence from the start of the game. We knew that if we played at a high level the whole game, good things would happen,” said Aggie running back Rahsul Faison on their quick start. “We prepped really hard. We watched a lot of film. We were very confident.”
Faison led the Aggies with 119 yards on the ground on 19 carries, notching his third career 100-yard rushing game.
After a Utah touchdown midway through the second quarter, the Aggies had the ball looking to extend their lead when Ute corner Cameron Calhoun intercepted a Barnes pass intended for Aggie Otto Tia on the Utah 15-yard line.
Five plays later, true first-year student quarterback Isaac Wilson found Caleb Lohner for an 11-yard touchdown pass to put Utah up 17-14. Utah would take the three-point lead into the locker room.
The Aggies kept a lid on the Utah offense in the first half, allowing 81 yards on 18 carriers to the Ute backs and keeping Wilson uncomfortable. Utah ran for 81 yards in the first half, and Wilson was 12-22.
Utah received the second-half kickoff and took control of the game, scoring on each of their first two possessions out of the break to go up 28-14. Wilson and the Utah offense found their groove in the second half, running the ball at a clip of six yards per attempt and Wilson completing eight of 11 passes.
Despite finding themselves in a quick hole coming out of the break, the Aggies had a chance to get back in the game in the second half. They pulled to within one score after Barnes punched it in from one yard out to make it 28-21 late in the third quarter.
Aggie safety Jordan Vincent intercepted Wilson on a tipped ball on the ensuing Utah possession. He returned it to the Utah 27, giving the Aggies excellent field position and an opportunity to tie the game at 28. Vincent finished the game with 12 tackles, his third straight game with double-digit tackles.
USU ultimately could not capitalize on the turnover and came up with zero points from the takeaway after Elliot Nimrod missed a 43-yard field goal, his second miss of the game.
“I think Elliot Nimrod is going to be real upset about his game tonight, but he shouldn’t be,” said Dreiling. “He’s still one of the best kickers, I think, in the country, and he’s going to bounce back.”
After the missed USU field goal, Utah took possession and quickly capitalized on the Aggie mistake. The Utes marched down the field, fueled by a 64-yard run from Micah Bernard, and scored a touchdown, converting on a fourth and two on the goal line to go up 35-21.
The Aggies couldn’t climb back in the fourth quarter and fell to their in-state foe 38-21.
After a tough loss last week, Utah State changed its offensive and defensive approach for this week’s matchup. The Aggies typically run a flashy, up-tempo offense and an aggressive eight-man defensive front, which was on display against Utah this week. Against USC just a week ago, it was a slowed-down offense and a conservative 5-3-3 shell that was quickly scrapped in the lead-up to today’s game.
“It was for me, quit talking to the offense,” Dreiling said on the change in approach. “I told the offensive coaches ‘Hey, let’s slow this thing down’ versus [USC], and that was not how they do things…I stayed out of their way, and it opened some doors for them.”
Despite the loss, Utah State still has plenty to build on moving forward. After getting shutout against USC, they scored 21 points against Utah and found themselves in a good position to win on multiple occasions.
“We’re getting closer, but no one’s interested in moral victories,” Dreiling said.
Faison also felt improvement from his squad after the loss. “We just had too many highs and lows; we’ve got to stay at a high level to beat good teams like that.”
Utah State will look to bounce back next week as they take on Temple on the road.