FINALLY USU defeats Utah in overtime, breaking a 15-year losing streak
It’s been 15 years since Utah State beat Utah in the battle of the brothers.
During that stretch, the Aggies dropped 20 of 22 games, including seven by 15 points or more. Sounds like your typical older brother beating up on his younger sibling, but the Aggies got back in the win column against the Utes with a 27-20 win Friday.
Finally, redemption. The younger brother is holding his own.
“It’s a huge win for the program,” head coach Gary Andersen said. “It’s something that we had our eyes set on for a long, long time and we were able to accomplish it. Obviously, it’s a big, big win.”
The repercussions and significance of the win are far reaching.
For starters, the fans are believing again, as demonstrated by the thousands of students and fans that rushed the field after the game. That’s what these in-state games mean to the fans. The optimism and excitement among Aggie faithful is at a level that hasn’t been seen since USU beat a Steve Young-led BYU squad in the 1980’s – if ever.
After 20-plus years of heartbreak, countless last-second losses and a consistency of getting their hopes up only to have them dashed at some point during the season, Aggie fans have something to have confidence in.
And it’s not just the fans that are pumped with hope and aspirations. The players are as well.
“Seeing everybody rush the field was incredible,” said sophomore quarterback Chuckie Keeton. “We know we have a good team, but we know we have to play to that caliber that we are. We haven’t gotten there yet, but all we can do is set our goals and set them high.”
So while the fans are savoring the biggest win in recent history, the players are looking hungry for more. Keeton added that while the win over the Utes was a big one, it was not the signature win that the Aggies are looking for. That win, Keeton said, would be a bowl win.
The game against Utah taught the country a lot about this year’s squad and the status and up-rising direction of the program. The excitement and energy in the locker room and press conference after the game was electric, to the point that Andersen was temporarily left at a loss for words.
No longer is Utah State a team to overlook, a team to take for granted. The Aggies are up-and-coming, establishing themselves as a force.
For example, the USU defense held a Utah squad that scored 41 points the week before to just three in the first half Friday. And when the game got tight and Utah had a chance to take the lead, the defense stiffened to deny the Utes, who never held a lead for the entire game.
“Last year we really didn’t have an identity. We had great linebackers, but as a defense we didn’t have an identity,” said senior linebacker Bojay Filimoeatu. “This year, our d-line is there, our cornerbacks are playing well, and our linebacker corps is probably the heart of our defense. This year we do have an identity, we want to take that field and each and every individual is prepared.”
Perhaps the biggest thing ab
out the game, however, was the perseverance and determination the Aggies showed. After dropping four games last season by a touchdown or less in the final quarter, this youthful squad persevered and did not self-destruct the way they did last season.
Andersen was pleased with how far the players have come in the nine months since the bowl loss to Ohio.
“I was excited the way that they continued to play,” Andersen said. “Adversity kind of struck, and it struck two or three times, and we knew it would tonight. The way the kids hung in there and executed, it went back and forth.”
But while the Aggies received their first Associated Press poll vote since 1966 for the win, the game more significantly served as the defibrillator for jump starting the oldest rivalry in the state.
After 15-plus years of one-sided contests, the Aggies showed that they have reached the next level and are ready to compete with the Utes and the Cougars for the title of best team in the state. The “little brother” is past puberty and done getting picked on.
“We talked four years ago about trying to make these games be rivalries and they were a long ways away and it was important to the kids,” Andersen said. “For us honestly to be able to step up and say that the BYU football game and Utah State, and the University of Utah and Utah State football games are rivalries… we’re excited to continue to move down the path.”
–curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @curtislundstrom