Cox does OK in first start for Utah State
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah State quarterback Travis Cox has his hands full this season, and Thursday’s 40-20 loss at Utah was just the beginning.
Despite a couple of plays he wishes he could take back, all-in-all things went OK for the Hyrum native.
“I can definitely get a lot better,” Cox said. “I feel a lot better about myself just to get on the field and know how it feels. It was a good learning experience.”
Cox scored his first career touchdown on a seven-yard run in the third
quarter. It was the first rushing TD by a USU quarterback since Jeff Crosbie
rushed 12 yards against BYU two years ago.
Cox also threw his first touchdown pass since the 2001 season against Weber
State. He attempted 41 passes, completed 19 and had one interception. Cox
finished with 280 passing yards, the longest being 50.
Quotable
“The first thing I looked at in the locker room was a bunch of sad faces, but
actually we just beat a good team that has a chance to win their conference,”
said Utah Head Coach Urban Meyer.
Did you know?
* The Aggies have played every school in the Sun Belt Conference, with the
longest history dating back to 1916 against Idaho. The schools have played 29
games against each other. In 2002, Utah State played Middle Tennessee and the
University of Louisiana-Monroe for the first times.
* Because most of the games this season were scheduled prior to Utah State’s inclusion in the Sun Belt, the Nov. 15 home game against Troy State will count as a conference contest.
* This year will be the first time the Aggies will have a chance at a bowl game since it became an independent after the 2000 season. The last time Utah State played in a bowl game was a 35-19 loss to Cincinnati at Boise State in the Humanitarian Bowl in 1997.
By the numbers
39,697 – attendance at Thursday‚s contest. The game was anticipated to be a sellout (45,017). The last time Utah had a sellout against Utah State was in
1999 (45,224). Last season Romney Stadium was a sellout when the Utes came to town (30,757).