Football fights hard falling to Fresno
Utah State fought hard and fell in the last minutes after an even matchup with previously ranked Fresno State University.
Both teams entered the matchup 1-1 in Mountain West play while Fresno sat at 5-1 overall and USU at 3-3. The Aggies came off a hot homecoming win against Colorado State while Fresno suffered a loss to Wyoming.
“Clearly disappointed with the outcome, but not disappointed in the guys at all. That’s the most complete game we’ve played all year against a really, really good football team” head coach Blake Anderson said. “We had opportunities to win it and didn’t. They made the plays they needed to.”
The Bulldog’s recent loss to Wyoming came after a 14-game winning streak, their second-longest winning streak in program history.
The Aggies defense started off stronger than they have, forcing a three-and-out after kickoff. The Bulldogs returned the favor with the same and it wasn’t until halfway through the first quarter that the ball moved down the field.
At 6:19, Malik Sherrod rushed 6 yards for Fresno State’s first touchdown of the game.
Quick plays by Utah State ran them down the field for a deep left 29-yard touchdown to junior WR Jalen Royals at 3:42. The touchdown marked USU’s second first-quarter touchdown of the season.
The Aggies then forced another three and out and made it to the 36-yard line before the first quarter. This pause marked the first time this season the Aggies have come out of the first quarter not trailing behind.
A quick rush by senior quarterback Cooper Legas left the Aggies on the 40 with a first down. Junior RB Rashul Faison then picked up a short pass and ran in for a touchdown, only for it to be called back due to a personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct setting the Aggies back 30 yards.
Junior RB Davon Booth rushed 17 yards but the Aggies had to return the ball after they failed to come back from the penalty.
At 12:05 in the second quarter sophomore safety Devin Dye hit his career-high two pass breakups.
Fresno slowly moved the chains down the field getting a first down on the four and threw it in for a 7-yard touchdown by Tre Watson at 2:45. The conversion marked 7 for 10 on third down for the Bulldogs.
Legas passed 32 yards to sophomore RB Robert Briggs and rushed to the FSU 10 before hopping out of bounds. A penalty on sophomore OL Aloali’i Maui forced the Aggies back to the USU 43.
Coming back from the penalty, the Aggies broke out from the same patterns and Legas through deep left to Royals for a 52-yard touchdown at 1:00, his seventh reception touchdown in the past three games. Of the seven, five have been more than 50 yards.
Freshman DE Paul Fitzgerald’s team-leading fourth sack of the year stopped FSU and ended the first half 14-14. The score is the second game of the season ending the half in a tie.
Royals marked his third straight hundred-yard receiving game and senior LB MJ Tafisi left the half with 11 tackles, his fourth game with double-digit tackles and the ninth of his career.
The even team matchup at the half was proven not only in the score but in most other stats as well.
Halftime stats:
First downs – USU 13 FSU 12
Rushing attempts – USU 22 FSU 20
Receptions – USU 11 FSU 14
Receiving yards – USU 162 FSU 154
Passing yards – USU 162 FSU 154
Punts – USU 3-41.3 FSU 3-31.0
Penalties – USU 5-54 FSU 1-5
Not quite reaching the red zone, junior Elliott Nimrod kicked a successful 37-yard field goal moving the Aggies up by three. The kick marked 7-of-9 this season and in his career on FG attempts for Nimrod, including 3-of-4 from 30-39 yards.
Fresno State wasted no time getting back down the field rushing 46 yards for a touchdown by Sherrod at 9:51.
Helping the Aggies down the field, Faison rushed 11, then 3, then 2, and another 2 before an incomplete pass forced the ball back to FSU on their 34-yard line.
Leaving two receivers wide open, Logan Fife passed deep to the left complete for 23 yards to Erik Brooks caught at the USU 35. Shortly followed by a double pass, Jaelen Gill sent the ball 19 yards to Tre Watson for a touchdown leaving it at 28-17 at 4:51.
The energy went up from the team and the fans after a 28-yard pass to Micah Davis caught at the FSU 35 only for it to be brought back down when Legas through an interception to Devo Bridges at the FSU 30, intended for Terrell Vaughn, the first interception of the game.
The third quarter ended on a high note for the Aggies as Legas threw 10 yards to Davis, pausing at the FSU 44.
The second play of the final quarter shrunk the score gap after a 43-yard pass to Vaughn and a 10-yard rush for a touchdown, followed by a fake pass and a two-point conversion by Royals.
It was the second successful two-point conversion this year with the other against Iowa State.
With 9:50 left in the fourth, FSU was forced to kick on the 16-yard line instead of going for it on the fourth down. A successful three points by Dylan Lynch brought the Bulldogs up to 31.
A pair of first-downs plus a 38-yard pass to Vaughn put the Aggies in a comfortable spot where Legas through to Faison for a 24-yard touchdown moving past the Bulldogs for the first time in the game at 32-31 with 4:42 left on the clock. It marked Faison’s second career touchdown.
Last week’s game had three receivers with 100 yards or more and Royals and Vaughn kept the tradition alive this week, Royals with 125 yards and Vaughn with 119.
In the final minutes of the game, Sherrod rushed 11 yards for a touchdown. When USU got the ball back, they made it to the FSU 43 before throwing it into the hands of FSU’s Morice Norris Jr. at 0:55 seconds.
Draining the clock out, the game ended with Utah State 32 and Fresno State 37.
Coach Anderson complimented Legas saying it was his best game of the season. He totaled 363 passing yards and three touchdowns marking 10 touchdown passes in the past three games. Legas has now had back-to-back 300-yard passing games giving him two 300-yard games this season and three in his career.
Utah State finished with 568 yards of offense (205 rushing, 363 passing) for its fourth game this year with more than 500 yards. Its 568 yards tonight are its third-most of the season.
After forcing 11 turnovers in the last three games, Utah State broke the pattern and had zero turnovers against Fresno. Tafisi had a career-high 17 stops, Vaughns now has three 100-yard receiving games this year and four in his career and junior S Anthony Switzer tied his career-high for the third time this year with 10 tackles.
The Aggies record now sits at 1-2 MW and 3-4 overall. The team will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 21 at San Jose State University.