Myers falls to Air Force once again
This time last year against Air Force Kent Myers had his record day – 364 yards, 25 of 47 attempts and four touchdowns. In fact, it was the most Utah State had thrown the ball all season and the most yardage in total since the year prior.
But just like last year, Myers’ performance was again overshadowed by a 27-20 loss at the hands of the Falcons.
“That’s a hard loss,” said Utah State head coach Matt Wells. “I hurt for those kids in that locker room. That locker room is really devastated right now; it may be the quietest I’ve ever heard since I’ve been here.”
Wells said his game plan was focused around throwing the ball, putting Myers in center stage and the junior signal caller responded in a big way. He finished the day in similar fashion to his stat-breaking showcase going 29 of 47 for 360 yards and two touchdowns – one through the air and another on the ground. Myers’ carried the Utah State offense, accounting for all but 42 yards in the game.
“I thought Kent competed,” Wells said. “I am very, very proud of his effort and his competitive spirit down the stretch.”
That’s not to say Myers’ day was perfect however. The man in Aggie blue also threw an interception, had two fumbles and was sacked six times. For the second time in two years, Myers and the Utah State offense accounted for more than 400 yards and two touchdowns but fell to the Falcons by a single touchdown.
“There are some things I could have done better,” Wells said, “and some things I wish Kent would have done better tonight. Overall I think all three phases of play failed us tonight.”
A bright spot for the Aggies was Ron’Quavion Tarver who was Myers’ favorite target. The sophomore wide out had his way with the Falcons’ secondary – tallying 143 yards on just nine catches, both of which are career highs. Andrew Rodriguez had seven catches for 64 yards and Rayshad Lewis caught three for 52 yards – 43 of which came in one touchdown catch.
But ultimately it was Utah State’s inability to handle the Falcons’ rushing attack that did the Aggies in. Coming into week four, Air Force led the nation in rushing yards per game and continued to turn to the ground game against their Mountain West rival. The Falcons ran the ball 52 times accounting for a total of 213 yards and two scores on a 4.1-yard average.
Air Force quarterback Nate Romine got in on the action notching five completions, 113 yards and scored his second passing touchdown of the season with a 12-yard pass to Ryan Reffitt.
“There’s not much I can say to motivate the guys after a loss like this,” said linebacker Alex Huerta, who had a career high 13 tackles. “Our goal is always to keep opponents to below 21 points and tonight we failed to meet that goal. It’s frustrating.”
The Falcons remain atop the Mountain West standings along with fellow undefeateds Boise State and San Diego State. Meanwhile, the Aggies fall to 2-2 and find themselves in a four-way tie for fourth place in the conference.
Utah State will travel to Idaho on Saturday to take on the 3-0 Boise State Broncos with kickoff scheduled for 8:15 p.m.
Injury Notes
Senior running back Devante Mays went down with a knee injury on his first play of the game. Mays left the field on crutches and his status is unknown.
Starting junior safety Dallin Leavitt got wrapped up in a gang tackle and his ankle was rolled up on by a teammate. He also left the field on crutches and his status is unknown.
“It’s hard for me as a coach to see any of my players go down with an injury,” Wells said. “I know the time and dedication those kids put in, so it doesn’t matter who it is, my heart breaks for a kid when he gets injured. Certainly [Leavitt and Mays] are the best players at their positions and it hurts to lose them.”
Tight end Wyatt Houston (leg), quarterback Kent Myers (head), Ron’Quavion Tarver (head) and Tonny Lindsey (leg) all went out with injuries but later returned to finish the game.