Cornhuskers whomp Aggies in first half
If score was only kept in the second half, the Utah State football team would have only lost by one point to Nebraska.
Since two halves make a whole though, both had to be counted and the Aggies lost to the No. 9 University of Nebraska Cornhuskers 44-13 Saturday.
Because of the difference in play in halves, it seemed as if the 250th consecutive sell-out crowd at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb. witnessed two different games.
The first half was like a fireworks show on Nebraska’s part, scoring 37 points in 30 minutes of play.
The second half was a defensive struggle, as Nebraska scored only seven points, which came with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Utah State kicker Dane Kidman was able to make two field goals in the fourth quarter for the Aggies.
“The second half was probably a little more frustrating for us compared to the first. We had bad field position the beginning of the second half, and we didn’t help ourselves in not being able to get the ball out,” said Nebraska Head Coach Frank Solich in a press conference following the game. “I am proud of the way the kids finished the game. I thought they came out in the second half and played hard every down,”
Said Utah State Head Coach Mick Dennehy: “The disappointment is that we did to many too many things wrong. What I think hurt us and didn’t give us a chance to ever really be in the game was too many turnovers, too many short-field drives in the first half and we didn’t do a real good job of adjusting to Jammal (Lord).”
Huskers quarterback Lord beat the Aggie defense by completing 6 of 12 passes for 105 yards and running the ball 9 times for 59 yards. Lord scored a total of four touchdowns, throwing for two and running for two more.
Turnovers became a big problem for the Aggies as well as for quarterback Jose Fuentes who threw three interceptions, two of which went to explosive All-American candidate cornerback DeJuan Groce.
Besides turnovers, the Aggies had protection problems and struggled with penalties. Utah State allowed six sacks and were penalized 10 times for 71 yards.
“We just beat ourselves tonight,” Fuentes said. “Any team that puts itself in first-and-15 and second-and-20 is going to have problems. Nebraska did a good job of covering (Kevin) Curtis tonight. Playing against a team like this is going to help us in the long run.”
Fuentes finished the game completing 16 of 38 passes for 214 yards with the 3 interceptions and throwing a 26-yard touchdown pass to Curtis in the first quarter.
Curtis finished the night leading all receivers with 6 catches for 102 yards and the touchdown. “Nebraska definitely has a good defense,” Curtis said. “They have a lot better defense than we have played against, especially up front. We came out slow and got down early, and it was hard to come back against a team like this.”
The Nebraska defense not only recorded six sacks and three interceptions, they also held the Aggies to 68 yards rushing.
“Any time we can come out and get quite a few sacks and get things going defensively, that’s a plus for us,” said Nebraska rush end Chris Kelsay. “A defensive line works as a unit more than people think, and some of the sacks I got tonight were shared by some of my teammates and I have to give credit to them.”
Kelsay led all defenders with two sacks and anchored the defensive unit.
Utah State was able to hold Nebraska to 418 yards of total offense, but 288 yards came on the ground.
“I think we defended them well at times during the game and other times we looked pretty bad,” USU linebacker Robert Watts said. “We put ourselves in some tough situations, being pinned deep in our own territory. In the second half, we came out more relaxed played our own game instead of being caught up in the whole hype of the crowd. We played with more confidence and like we can play. We just need to put it together for a whole game instead of a half.”
The win improves the Huskers record to 3-0 as Utah State drops to 0-2.
The Aggies will have the opportunity to put it all together Saturday as the Idaho State University Bengals travel to Logan. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.