Cougar comeback stuns Ags
Even with starting running back Marcus Whalen out with an injury, the BYU running game made an impact.
Behind an overpowering ground attack, BYU (3-2) swung the momentum in the second half, coming back from a 27-point deficit to defeat Utah State (1-5) 35-34 Saturday at Romney Stadium.
“I’ve been with some good comebacks before, but this one we came the furthest back,” said BYU Head Coach Gary Crowton. “I’ll tell you one thing, this is one sweet victory.”
Aggie Head Coach Mick Dennehy said, “It’s a pretty dang bitter pill to swallow. I thought our kids played their hearts out and BYU did everything [it] had to do to get back into the game. It’s a heck of a win for them and it’s a pretty darn tough loss for us.”
Freshman running back Curtis Brown led the Cougar attack, picking up 217 yards on 33 carries and scored three touchdowns.
“When the momentum is not going your way, it’s a little hard to get going, and I don’t know if we tried too hard to make a big play, but that momentum started going their way and we couldn’t get anything going,” said Aggie wide receiver Kevin Curtis.
The first half of the game though was dominated by Utah State. The Aggies entered halftime with a 27-point lead after cornerback Jerome Dennis returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown.
“I thought we played as good as football as we’ve played here in a long, long time in the first half,” Dennehy said.
After being intercepted on their first two possessions, the Aggies scored first on a 21-yard field goal by kicker Dane Kidman and ended the first quarter up 3-0.
Only four seconds into the second quarter, tailback Richard Watson scored from 1-yard out and the Aggies went up 10-0.
Running back James Samuel would score next for the Aggies, breaking through the right side of the line and sprinting past the secondary for a 73-yard touchdown run, putting USU up 17-0.
BYU answered on its next possession, capping an 80-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run by Brown.
Leading 17-7, USU would strike again on a 14-yard touchdown run by Curtis. It was Curtis’ first rushing touchdown of the season. A field goal on their next possession put the Aggies up 27-7.
With four seconds left in the half and BYU trying for a last-second score, quarterback Bret Engemann lofted the ball downfield, resulting in Dennis’ interception and a 34-7 Aggie halftime lead.
“We were fired up going into halftime with that big play,” said Aggie safety Mike Rosencrans. “It’s tough to go out and see it all fall apart in front of your eyes. We just didn’t do what we needed to do and they came back on us.”
On its way to a comeback, BYU scored on its first four possessions of the second half.
“I just told the guys at halftime that we still believed in them, they just need to go out there and play one series at a time and then good things will happen,” Crowton said.
To open the half, Brown scored his second touchdown on a 1-yard run, and then on BYU’s next possession, scored again with a 32-yard run.
Using a little flair on its next possession, BYU ran a double reverse, but instead of running the ball, wide receiver Toby Christensen threw a 17-yard strike to receiver Jason Kukahiko for a touchdown.
The Cougars’ final score was an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Gabriel Reid to put BYU ahead 35-34.
With under a minute in the game, Utah State made one last-ditch effort, but the game ended with a fourth down interception.
The Aggies finished the game with 460 total yards, 331 passing and 129 rushing. BYU had 269 rushing yards and 312 passing yards for 581 total yards.
Samuel was the leading rusher for the Aggies, carrying the ball four times for 88 yards. Watson had 11 carries for 31 yards.
In addition to Brown’s yardage for BYU, wide receiver Reno Mahe carried the ball four times for 32 yards and caught five passes for 102 yards. Receivers Gary Coleman and Curtis led the Aggies, each with four catches for 68 yards.
“This is the first game we’ve ever came together as a whole, like a heart,” Dennis said. “We came and we played our hearts out, but sometimes things don’t fall your way, but we made a huge step. Look forward to us in the future coming together and putting two halves together.”
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BYU running back Logan Deans tries to break the tackle of a Utah State player Friday. (Photo by John Zsiray)
Utah State´s Jesse Busta tries to stop BYU´s Curtis Brown Friday night at Romney Stadium. (Photo by John Zsiray)