Heartbreaking loss
Special teams has been a concern for the Utah State football team since training camp, this year. Lackluster special teams play cost the Aggies a few games during the 2010 season, as well.
This time was different, however. If it weren’t for two well-executed special teams by a very talented and very athletic Auburn team, who are the defending BCS Champions, the Aggies could have notched what arguably would have been the biggest victory in team history. Despite leading the Tigers 38-28 with about three minutes remaining, the Aggies managed to drop their 14th consecutive home opener with a final score of 42-38.
“You guys have to understand how athletic Auburn is,” USU head coach Gary Andersen said. “If you cannot see that out there on the football field, understand that this is the SEC and the tremendous athletes they have out there on the football field. It is not an excuse in any shape or form, it is a credit to them and their recruiting that they’ve done in their program.”
True freshman Chuckie Keeton was spectacular in his career debut as an Aggie. Keeton was 22-of-31 and passed for 221 yards. In front of 80,000 hostile fans, the true freshman didn’t commit a turnover and was sacked only once.
“I thought the offense was basically exceptional all day long,” Andersen said. “They did exactly what they had to do to win the game. Special teams and defense at the end did not.”
After a 3-and-out series to begin the game, Keeton orchestrated three consecutive touchdown drives. The third touchdown of the game — a one-yard rush by junior Robert Turbin — gave the Aggies a 21-7 lead, midway through the second quarter.
“He did a great job,” Turbin said. “You’re talking about an 18-year-old true freshman who is coming straight out of high school and not only playing at the Division I level, but being on the road and playing against the defending BCS National Champions. To perform the way he did just shows that he has a great career ahead of him.”
After Keeton orchestrated those three drives is when the special teams problems began for USU.
Freshman running back for Auburn Tre Mason took a Josh Thompson kickoff 97 yards the other way to trim USU’s lead in half, which contributed to Auburn’s total of 257 kickoff-return yards.
“They have tremendous people running down on kickoffs,” Andersen said. “They have tremendous people on kickoff return. I could go on and on and on.
“Auburn has some special men in their program and you have to understand that,” he added. “We played 20-reps especially on the defensive side of the football, and we hung in there. But we gave up a kickoff return that was huge.”
Auburn took the lead late in the third quarter when junior quarterback Barrett Trotter found junior wide receiver Travante Stallworth open for a 39-yard touchdown pass.
Keeton worked his magic again and led the Aggies on back-to-back touchdown drives, for a 38-28 lead.
Auburn scored with a little more than two minutes remaining the contest and faced an onside kick situation. Once again, the Aggies could not execute special teams. Auburn recovered the kick and scored the go-ahead touchdown.
“Guy makes a great play,” Andersen said. “It’s a great kick on an onside kick. The guy rises above us and gets the ball. Is it right? I’m not saying it’s right. Could we have done better? Yes, we could have.”
The Aggies’ next opportunity to notch their first win of the season will come Saturday, Sept. 10, when they face in-state rival Weber State. The Aggies are confident they will be resilient and bounce back.
“The biggest thing we are going to take away from this game is, we are done taking moral victories and are almost there,” Andersen said. “There is none of that. We expected to come in here and play very well. We expected to put ourselves in a good position late in the fourth quarter. We will build from it and learn from it. We will know exactly where we sit, and I expect this to be a very good football team.”
—ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu