Dramatic win helps send seniors off
The fat lady seems to be in a trend of making belated appearances at football games played by Utah State.
For the fourth straight game, the USU football team played a game decided in the final minute as USU squeaked by the New Mexico State Aggies 32-30 Saturday afternoon at Romney Stadium.
USU’s last four football games have been decided by a combined seven points, with two of its contests being decided on the final play of the game.
Saturday’s game against the NMSU wasn’t decided on the last play of the game, however. There were a whopping 18 seconds left on the clock when Aggie free safety Jamar Glasper recovered a New Mexico State on side kick to seal the victory.
“We continue to have a propensity to make things way, way more interesting than they need to be,” said USU Head Coach Mick Dennehy. “That’s the kind of games we’ve been playing.”
Although the Aggies from the North might give Dennehy a few more gray hairs during the game’s waning moments, he said the outcome was more than worth the extra stress.
“More importantly than anything else, our guys played well enough that we deserved to win this game,” he said.
Cooley, cool under pressure
While Dennehy pointed out many USU players who played solid games, one player who really stood out was tight end Chris Cooley.
“I thought we played very, very well, but when you think about who played really well individually, he’d probably be the first guy to come to mind,” Dennehy said.
The junior from Logan enjoyed a career day, catching a career-high six passes for 60 yards – all of which came in the first half.
When asked about his first half success, Cooley said NMSU’s style of defense bodes well for the opposing team’s tight end.
“Looking at the game plan coming into the week, with their [the NewMags] coverage, I kind of figured I was going to catch quite a few balls,” he said.
More important were the situations in which Cooley caught the ball. Four of his receptions came on third-down situations, including a 6-yard touchdown catch on a third-and-goal play early in the second quarter.
“I knew coming into the game that I was going to be a huge target on third-down [plays],” Cooley said. “I know a lot of times like on third-and-five, I’m one of the easiest guys to throw the ball to because I’m right in front of him [Aggie quarterback Jose Fuentes].”
Running up a storm
Heading into the game, NMSU Head Coach Tony Samuel said he was worried about containing Fuentes and senior wide receiver Kevin Curtis. But the USU running game?
While both Curtis (seven catches for 111 yards) and Fuentes (299 yards passing) posted solid numbers, it was the Aggie running game that made the biggest difference, Dennehy said.
“Our running game is what made a difference in this football game,” he said. “That really makes me feel good. That says to me that we’re going to have a chance, I think, in every single game.”
Utah State gained a season-high 182 yards on the ground at a clip of 5.8 yards per carry.
“We’ve always had it in us, it’s just we’ve always been a bit shaky,” said junior tailback James Samuel. “We just sucked it up today and did what we could.”
Samuel and redshirt freshman Richard Watson both enjoyed big games, picking up at least 60 yards apiece. Both Samuel and Watson also found pay dirt as Watson scored USU’s first touchdown, while Samuel added a one-yard TD plunge in the second quarter.
As Samuel and Watson continue to find their niche in the Aggie offense, Samuel said he feels they can be a lethal one-two punch.
“If we’re both ready, it will be hard for teams to stop us if we call the right running plays,” he said.
Third down, no problem
For a team who had been successful on 28 percent of its third-down conversions coming into Saturday’s game, USU didn’t play the part.
The Utah State Aggies went a perfect 8-of-8 on third-down conversions in the first half, and 9-of-14 for the game. In addition to its success on third down plays, USU went 2-of-2 on fourth-down conversions, both of which led to USU scores.
Quotables
“It’s really a pleasure to play this team [NMSU]. We’ve played them twice in the last three years, and they’ve been two unbelievable games. They play hard. They play the game the way it is supposed to be played.”
– USU Head Coach Mick Dennehy said about playing New Mexico State.
“I thought the students did a great job. There weren’t as many of them as I would have liked to have seen, but the ones that were here did a hell of a job.”
– Dennehy said when asked about the lack of fan support.
By the numbers
12,291 – Attendance for Saturday’s
game. It was a season low.
2,519 – Career receiving yardage for
Aggie wide receiver Kevin Curtis.
186 – Yards rushing for USU – a new
season high.
23 – Wins by USU over NMSU in 27
meetings between the two teams.
15 – USU seniors who played their final
game in Romney Stadium.
9 – Number of rushing TDs for NMSU
QB Paul Dowbrowski this season.
8 – Third down conversions for USU in
eight attempts in the first half.
5 – The winning streak of NMSU, USU
snapped with Saturday’s victory.
3 – Number of seasons Utah State LB
Jesse Busta has recorded at least 100
tackles.
1 – Number of times USU punted in
Saturday’s game.
-jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu