Mighty Ducks
Caleb Taylor picked off Oregon quarterback Justin Roper in the red zone on the Ducks’ opening drive, but, unfortunately for the Aggies, that was not a sign of things to come. The Ducks scored on five consecutive possessions in the first half and set a school record with 688 total yards including 408 rushing, as Oregon rolled to victory, 66-24.
Oregon jumped out of the gate moving the ball quickly inside USU’s 20-yard line before Taylor’s interception. As well as losing the ball on the possession, the Ducks lost starting running back Jeremiah Johnson to a shoulder injury after he ripped off a 37-yard run on his first rush of the game.
Utah State took over after the interception inside their 10-yard line. Three straight rushes left USU less than a yard away from a first down, but deep in their own territory the Aggies were forced to punt.
Roper led the Ducks down the field again, but this time the Aggie defense stiffened. On third-and-13, the Aggies forced an incomplete pass to put Oregon in a punting situation.
However, as is the case so often, the Aggies hurt themselves on the play. Roper was hit late on the play, the penalty gave the Ducks 15 yards and a fresh set of downs to work with. A few plays later Roper found receiver Terrance Scott in the end zone, giving Oregon a 14-0 lead just 10 minutes into the game.
“It came down to making tackles, basically,” said Taylor during the post-game radio interview. “We missed a handful of tackles today that could’ve been for losses or short gains. We’re going to have to go into next week’s practice and correct those things.”
Though it was the big plays that hurt the Aggie D, the Aggie offense didn’t do much to help the defense early on, gaining only one first down in the opening quarter. After multiple three-and-outs, a change arrived in the form of sophomore quarterback Diondre Borel. Aided by a long pass to senior wide receiver Otis Nelson and a roughing the passer penalty on the Ducks, USU finally began to find some momentum.
Borel lead the Aggies on a five-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a touchdown. Borel connected with running back Curtis Marsh on a 15-yard strike, cutting the lead to 21-7.
“Diondre came in and moved the ball well,” said Aggie head coach Brent Guy. “He showed a little more maturity today by standing in the pocket and taking a hit instead of flushing, which he’s been doing in the past.”
Oregon was again unstoppable on their next two possessions. LeGarrette Blount found the end zone for his second touchdown of the day, and Scott took an end-around 51 yards for his second score as the ducks built a 35-7 lead. Blount finished with 132 yards rushing on 18 carries to go along with his two TD’s.
The Aggies weren’t about to give up.
After electing to punt on fourth-and-1 near midfield, the Aggies were able to pin Oregon deep in their own territory. That’s when, on back-to-back plays, the defense had their best series of the night.
Defensive tackle Casey Davis was able to drop Oregon back-up quarterback Jeremiah Masoli for a sack. On the very next play Masoli mishandled the snap and it bounced into the end zone. Defensive lineman Antonio May fell on the ball for the Aggies, giving them their second touchdown of the game.
After holding Oregon to a field goal to end the half, the Aggies trailed the 18th-ranked Ducks, 38-14 at halftime.
Out of the intermission USU moved the ball well on their first few plays. The drive stalled, though, and the Aggies were forced to punt. Punter Peter Caldwell, kicking into a stiff wind, kicked his first of many poor punts in the third period, managing only a 15-yarder.
Aided by good field position, Oregon scored on all three of its possessions in the third quarter, and the Ducks defense continued to stifle the Aggie offense as Oregon extended its lead to 59-14.
“They wore us down physically,” Guy said. “We didn’t help ourselves a lot in the first half, and our defense played a lot of snaps.”
In the fourth quarter the Aggies showed some moxy by not giving up. A 33-yard field goal by Caldwell and a 1-yard pass from Borel to wide receive Otis Nelson showed the Aggies competitiveness as they outscored the Ducks, 10-7 in the final period.
After opening with the season with two road losses, the Aggies get to return home to the friendly confines of Romney Stadium. They host in-state rival Utah Saturday at 6 p.m.
Bright spots, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel
• One week ago two crucial turnovers cost the Aggies momentum and possibly the game, USU won the turnover battle on Saturday despite facing a much tougher opponent in their second game of the season. Not only did the Aggies did not turn the ball over against the Ducks, but the USU defense was able to grab two takeaways on the day, including Antonio May’s touchdown.
• QB Diondre Borel seemed to separate himself from senior Sean Setzer and should find himself as the starter in the Aggies home opener next week. Setzer did not have a bad game statistically, completing 7-of-11 passes for 60 yards, but struggled to get rid of the ball under pressure. The elusive Borel was able to avoid the rush while completing 16-of-24 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns.
• Otis Nelson had a career game. The senior wide receiver from West Valley City caught a career-high seven passes for a career-high 72 yards. Nelson also caught a 1-yard touchdown on the day. This is good for the Aggies who are looking to replace the production of former wide receiver Kevin Robinson, now in the NFL.
• Despite the lopsided loss the, Aggies held their heads up and remained competitive. After falling down big, USU continued to show fight unlike some former Aggie teams have done in the past.
• The Aggie offense looked improved from game one. Even though much of their success came against the Ducks backups, Oregon’s backups would start for most WAC teams. The offense should continue to improve – especially when conference play starts.
• Finally, this team should continue to gain confidence from playing together. Starters are emerging from the different position battles, and as they continue to gel, productivity will increase.
-t.olsen@aggiemail.usu.edu