Football debrief: The good, the bad and the ugly of Idaho

By JAKE IPSON

In the Utah State versus University of Idaho game on Saturday, there were plenty of the bad and the ugly throughout the game. The game started off ugly due to bad weather that became even worse.  As the snow began to drop, so did the Aggie passes.

    The Good: Looking for something good in the game, one play stood out from the first quarter. The Aggies ran a fake punt play on a fourth-and-seven from the Idaho 29-yard line. Kicker Peter Caldwell tossed the ball to quarterback Diondre Borel who was lined up as a receiver. Borel then completed an 11-yard pass to linebacker Bobby Wagner for a Utah State first down. The Aggies came out of the gate playing aggressive football. In the first quarter, the Aggies were two-for-two on fourth down attempts. Kicker Peter Caldwell went 2-2 on field goals in the game.

    The Aggies running game looked good at a combined 139 yards. Utah State’s rushing attack was led by running back Derrvin Speight with 80 yards, but it was a team effort on Saturday. Running back Kerwynn Williams rushed for 17 yards in the game but also contributed 74 yards in punt and kick returns and added eight yards receiving on three catches. Both Utah State and Idaho ran the ball 37 times. The Aggies were more successful on the ground and outgained the Vandals in rushing by 27 more yards.

    The Bad: Throughout this game there was plenty of bad, which is usually the case when the only scoring was two field goals in the first half. Utah State was held scoreless in the second half.  USU’s passing game struggled. The snow did not start falling until the second half, yet Borel was 7-of-15 in passing for a total of 37 yards in the first half. Granted, the weather was cold but that didn’t stop Idaho QB Nathan Enderle from going 12-15 for 140 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Both touchdowns thrown for Idaho were against the defense of Curtis Marsh, although he did have one pick that saved another score.

    The passing game would have excelled if the receivers had held on to the passes. There were several pass plays that saw the ball fall through the hands of the receivers. Borel finished the game 14-of-35 for 103 yards and two interceptions.

    The Ugly: Not only was the weather ugly on Saturday, so was the Aggies’ red zone offense. The final stats show Utah State scoring 2-2 in the red zone, but those were field goals. At the end of the first quarter, Idaho attempted an on-side kick that USU recovered on the Idaho 40, but they failed to secure a touchdown on the drive. The Aggies benefited from two Idaho penalties, including a personal foul that gave the Aggies a first and 10 from the 12-yard line, but settled for a field goal, their second and final score of the game.

    It was hard to see the senior Aggies leaving their final game at Romney Stadium with a loss. The seniors have one more chance to wear Aggie blue on Dec. 4 when they go to Boise to face the Broncos.

– jake.ipson@aggiemail.usu.edu