Homecoming Domination: Love throws 5 touchdowns to lead Utah State past UNLV 59-28
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Last season in Las Vegas, the Utah State football team capped off a victory over UNLV by scoring 38-straight points. Saturday afternoon at Maverik Stadium, the carnage continued as the Aggies dominated the Rebels in a 59-28 homecoming victory.
After Utah State started the game with a missed 27-yard field goal and a three-and-out from deep in their own territory, it was the Rebels getting on the board first as senior running back Lexington Thomas punched one into the endzone to put the Rebels up 7-0.
That may have been the highlight of the day for Rebel fans, however.
The lead didn’t last for long as the Aggies went on to score touchdowns on their six ensuing drives. Four of the six-straight Utah State touchdowns took less than one minute off the clock.
“After that, I think the offense just really took off. Both offense and defense,” said sophomore quarterback Jordan Love of the team’s resurgence after going down 7-0. “We were putting up points real quick and the defense was getting us the ball back. I think after that the game was kind of over.”
Tim Carpenter USU Senior wide receiver Ron’quavion Tarver catches a pass from sophomore quarterback Jordan Love in USU’s 59-28 victory over UNLV
The Aggie special teams got on the board for the third time of the season in the second quarter, as true freshman wide receiver Deven Thompkins blew past the line to block a punt from the UNLV 16 yard line, which was then recovered by sophomore safety Baron Gajkowski who ran it in for a touchdown.
The Aggies went into the locker room with a 42-7 lead at halftime after out-gaining the Rebels in total yardage 360-185.
“It just shows when our offense gets rolling, we can get rolling and put up points in a hurry. It was fun to be out there,” Love said of the team’s first half performance. “Most the plays we were calling, we were executing them, they were working, and we were getting good yards on them. It’s just a testament to the whole offense.”
Love in the first half completed 15-of-20 passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns.
In the third quarter, Love again found the endzone through the air, this time connecting with senior wide receiver Ron’quavion Tarver for his fifth passing touchdown of the afternoon. That tied a program record, and was only the 10th time in history an Aggie quarterback has thrown five touchdowns in a game.
Tim Carpenter Sophomore quarterback Jordan Love drops back to pass in USU’s homecoming game against UNLV. Love threw for 332 yards and five touchdowns in the Aggie victory.
“It’s a good feeling, but that’s just what we’re supposed to do,” Love said of the accomplishment. “Gotta go out and put points up, doesn’t matter if we run it or throw it. It’s just a testament to the O-line being able to pick up different blitzes and keep me safe, and receivers getting open and being able to finish and catching the ball.”
That was all the action the sophomore would see, however, as freshman quarterback Henry Colombi came in with 4:19 in the third quarter and led the Aggie offense the rest of the way.
While UNLV was able to put three more touchdowns on the board in the second half against a squad of mostly second and third-string players for USU, it was too little too late. A 37-yard rushing touchdown late in the third quarter by Colombi capped off the 59-28 victory.
This performance marked just the second time in program history that a USU team has scored more than 50 points in a game three times in a season. The Aggies entered the game ranking second in the nation in points scored, averaging 50.2 points per game.
The Aggie defense recorded a season-high 7.0 sacks to go along with 11 tackles for a loss. Sophomore linebacker David Woodward recorded 3.0 sacks and 3.5 TFL’s along with a team-high 12 tackles, becoming the first FBS player this season to record three or more sacks and double-digit tackles in a game.
Tim Carpenter “We knew if we stopped the run early, they would have to throw on us, and we knew that we’d have a pretty good chance of getting a lot of sacks if we did that,” Woodward said. “We have a pretty good pass rushing team this year.”
Wells attributed much of his team’s success in this game to the mindset and preparation they carried throughout the week leading up to the game.
“I slept good the last couple of nights because of what we did Monday through Thursday,” he said. “They came in at 6:30 Monday morning ready to roll, and I’m proud of them. They put in good work this week.”
With the victory, the Aggies move to 2-0 in conference play, sitting alone atop the Mountain Division standings. Their 5-1 start is the best start for a USU team since 1978.
“It’s big to us to play really good and find a way to win in Maverik Stadium, and to do that again this week is great,” Wells said. “We’re trying to be undefeated at home, so it’s another step in that direction.”
Utah State will continue conference play next week in Laramie, Wyoming, as they take on the Wyoming Cowboys. The game will kick off Saturday at noon.
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