COLUMN: Life lesson No. 36 for Aggie football program
For the 36th time in the past four years, the USU football program showed that being close – though it may be good – isn’t good enough.
However, Saturday’s 30-28 loss to the Fresno State Bulldogs can’t be blamed on Brent Guy.
It can’t be blamed on USU’s offense.
Some blame may be put on the USU defense (namely not being able to tackle FSU’s Seyi Ajirotutu before he went out of bounds to stop the clock with two seconds left in the game).
The main blaim is on the fact that the Fresno State Bulldogs had the last possession and that freshman kicker Kevin Goessling knocked in a ridiculous 58-yard field goal as time expired.
I’m going to side with Guy on this one – sometimes life throws you curve balls (or 58-yard field goals) – and that’s just the way it is.
“Football gives us lots of lessons in life, and this was a tough one to swallow,” Guy said. “Until the clock says zero, anything can happen. I’m proud of our guys, but it’s the same pain of losing it the other way. I just hope they learned a lesson.”
It’s unfortunate the Guy-led Aggie football program has had to learn 36 such lessons in the past four years.
Energy bursts from nowhere?
It’s also unfortunate the Aggies didn’t play with the same energy and execute on offense with the same precision in their previous six losses.
Where did Saturday’s energy come from?
USU junior offensive guard Brennan McFadden only said it was because the team was more excited.
“That’s the reason the team played better,” McFadden said. “They were moving the ball just like they were moving it in practice.”
Whether the Aggies can keep up such a performance is anybody’s guess. The team has been too inconsistent to make a sound judgement on that one.
Goessling’s gut-punch kick
There was nobody with a wider smile after the game than Goessling. His kick from 58 yards out (a Bulldog school record) had enough leg to be good from 68 yards.
“I was a little nervous,” Goessling said. “Kickers save games, they don’t win games. That was awesome.”
Even Bulldog players were amazed as they left the field. Bulldog senior quarterback Tom Brandstater, who threw fir 257 yards, could only say, “Wow,” as he made his way toward the locker rom.
Wow, indeed.
Goessling was money for the Bulldogs. Not only did he win the game, he also made a 43-yarder and a 44-yarder in the final quarter.
It’s little wonder FSU head coach Pat Hill had so much confidence in him.
“We thought if we could get under 60 yards we had a chance, because we know he can kick it 60 yards.”
Given that the kick was such a long ways away, Guy said he would accept the same situation again.
“If they would have asked me, ‘Would you take a 58-yarder? I would,” he said. “That was the same field goal kicker who was basically blamed for two losses – one in the Wisconsin game, and one in the Hawaii game.”
Now, instead of being blamed for a loss, Goessling has his team one win away from being bowl-eligible. Meanwhile, USU is again left with the all-to-familiar, “What if?” to think about.
Sammy Hislop is a senior majoring in public relations. Comments can be sent to him at samuel.hislop@aggiemail.usu.edu