Louisiana letdown; USU offense stagnates in loss
After dominating Brigham Young University at home, coach Gary Andersen and Utah State were looking to show that their success in the spotlight was no fluke. The team was also looking to show that they could put together back-to-back wins for the first time in Andersen’s tenure, and win an all-important conference road game. The Aggies had a chance to do all that and more when they traveled to Ruston, La. on Saturday, facing off against a Louisiana Tech team which began the year 1-4.
But, after Saturday’s 24-6 loss to the Bulldogs, the Aggies are still looking for all those things. Managing just 195 yards of total offense (including just 73 passing yards) the Aggies reverted back to their old ways against Western Athletic Conference foes, struggling to generate any momentum after giving up 14 unanswered Bulldog points to begin the game. Following the game, Andersen said that his team was simply outplayed by a better Louisiana Tech team, and that the Aggies failed to bring the necessary level of intensity and focus to play after last week’s historic win over BYU.
“They were better than us,” Andersen said of the Bulldogs, who entered the game on a four-game losing streak. “They outplayed us. We have to realize that every Division I football game is hard to win. Until that happens, we’re going to have our difficulties.”
The game was especially indicative of USU’s struggles on the road under Andersen. The Aggies have only won a single game on the road in Andersen’s year and a half at the helm, and for the second time this season, his team failed to play a competitive game away from Logan. Just as in a week-four loss to San Diego State, Utah State began the game on the wrong foot, and was unable to recover following a first-half Louisiana Tech surge.
The outlook didn’t look so bleak on USU’s first drive of the game. Led by running backs Derrvin Speight and Kerwynn Williams, Utah State picked up five first downs on a drive that eventually stalled at the Tech 23-yard line. Yet Peter Caldwell’s 40-yard field goal attempt sailed wide, giving the Bulldogs the football and denying USU much-needed momentum.
Louisiana Tech wasted no time. Working with former backup Ross Jenkins at quarterback, the Bulldogs drove 76 yards in 12 plays to deal the Aggies an early blow. Jenkins and Tim Molton got the scoring started when the former connected with the latter for an 11-yard score. Molton had a career day for Louisiana Tech, rushing for 93 yards on just eight carries and adding another 34 yards receiving.
“Tim had a great week at practice and he came up big with a touchdown reception on the first drive,” said first-year Tech coach Sonny Dykes, who got his first career win against a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team with the victory. “Molton was able to give us a spark on offense today.”
Tech’s offense, which had struggled with turnovers and consistency during the first five games of the season, found unexpected life against the Aggies. Louisiana Tech totaled 427 yards against USU, averaging 5.9 yards per rush and converting 7 of 15 third-down attempts. According to Jenkins, the Tech offensive explosion came from confidence gained during the team’s first-quarter success.
“We had several good drives tonight,” Jenkins said. “Once we start making a couple first downs we start getting a little bit better feel for the offense and you can tell.”
Utah State linebacker Bobby Wagner said the Aggie defense failed to maintain its pregame intensity following the first Tech scoring drive. More concerning for Aggie fans, however, was Wagner’s statement that the Aggies failed to “show up” for the away game.
“We didn’t come out ready to play, and it showed,” Wagner said. “They gashed our defense. There were a lot of missed plays out there, and I put a lot on myself.”
Wagner was at a loss for why the team failed to maintain the intensity gained during a week of upbeat practices following the BYU win, and said USU’s players have to learn to play better on the road.
“We have to bring the same intensity,” Wagner said. “It seems that our intensity has been different at home than it’s been on the road. We had a solid week of practice. The scheme put together by the coaches was great. We just didn’t execute on the field.”
Wagner led the Aggies with 15 total tackles, including seven solo. Despite the 24 points allowed by USU, the biggest disappointment of the game was the play of the Aggie offense, which never looked in sync. Suffering from dropped passes, protection breakdowns, and penalties, Utah State’s only scores came via the foot of Peter Caldwell, who connected from 40 yards out during the second quarter and 22 yards during the third. A week after leading the Aggies to a win over BYU, USU signal caller Diondre Borel had an unspectacular outing against Tech, throwing for just 73 yards and being sacked three times.
For a Tech team which suffered second-half defensive breakdowns in losses to Navy and Texas A&M, the ability to keep Utah State out of the end zone was a major accomplishment.
“The defense was outstanding today,” Dykes said. “It was very exceptional for us to keep Utah State out of the end zone. I thought our defense tackled well and played good fundamental football.”
Tech was led defensively by linebacker Adrian Cole, who finished with 12 total tackles. Defensive lineman Matt Broha was dominant against Utah State’s offensive lineman, finishing the game with two tackles for a loss and a sack. While he gave credit to Tech’s defensive gameplan, Andersen ultimately bore responsibility for the offenses’ inability to put points on the board.
“The bottom line is football is about execution and we didn’t execute,” he said. “It’s about taking advantage of opportunities and making plays, and we didn’t take advantage of the opportunities to make plays when they were presented to us.”
“It was a very, very disappointing day,” he said.
Now 2-4, the Aggies return to Logan for a bye week in which the team will have time to heal and regroup before taking to Merlin Olsen field at Romney Stadium against Hawaii on Oct. 23.
– adamnettina@gmail.com