Robinson breaks record in USU loss, Aggies 0-9 for first time ever

Kevin Robinson continues to be the good news for the Utah State football team.

Unfortunately, still no victory for the 0-9 Aggies.

With 259 all-purpose yards in Saturday’s 38-27 loss at Fresno State, Robinson became the all-time leader in all-purpose yards at USU. With 6,058 yards in his USU career, Robinson broke former USU standout Emmett White’s 5,872-yard mark.

Coming into the game, the Aggies were looking to solve two straight weeks of third-quarter woes. They found a solution against the Bulldogs as they outscored them 20-7 in the second half, but it was too little, too late. The Bulldogs collected their sixth win of the season to make themselves bowl-eligible for the eighth time in nine years. The Aggies are 0-9 for the first time in program history.

The Bulldogs scored three minutes into the first quarter on a Ryan Mathews 16-yard run. Their next score was 10 minutes later.

“We still need to get the first quarter straightened out,” Aggie Head Coach Brent Guy said in a radio interview. “That’s what is frustrating to me. We keep spotting these good teams 14 points.”

USU got on the board after its first play of the second quarter. Running back Jacob Actkinson ran 17 yards for a score to cap off a six-play, 58-yard drive.

It would be USU’s only points of the first half. In the meantime, the Bulldogs went on to score three more times-two touchdowns and one field goal to lead 31-7 at the break.

3RD-QUARTER AWAKENING

Before the game started, the Aggies won the coin toss. In an attempt to solve his team’s third-quarter offensive woes, Guy chose to defer receiving the ball until the second half.

It worked.

On their first drive of the final half, the Aggies drove 62 yards in five plays-including a 43-yard run by senior quarterback Leon Jackson III. On the sixth play of the drive, a 27-yard field goal by Peter Caldwell was blocked by the Bulldogs’ Ben Jacobs.

The Aggies didn’t throw in the towel. On the sixth play of the Bulldogs’ next drive, Aggie safety James Brindley intercepted a pass from Bulldog quarterback Tom Brandstater.

Then, on the first play of the Aggies’ next drive, Jackson found Robinson wide open for a 44-yard touchdown pass.

Fresno State’s Clifton Smith fumbled the ensuing kickoff return. The Aggies recovered at the Bulldog 31-yard line but could only manage a 46-yard Chris Ulinski field goal out of it.

The score cut the Bulldog lead to two touchdowns.

“If we get down by two touchdowns, nobody gives up,” said Aggie running back Derrvin Speight, who ran for 71 yards on the day. “That’s the big difference I’ve seen between this year.”

The Bulldogs bit right back.

This time it was A.J. Jefferson taking the ball back on the kick return. He knocked the Aggies on their rear with an 88-yard touchdown return.

“That really hurt,” Speight said. “We got down there and it was like we started a little bit too late, but you can’t really say nothing about it.”

A Peter Caldwell 40-yard field goal and a Rob Myers 23-yard touchdown reception would be the Aggies’ final points.

“I said to them in the locker room, ‘Why do we want to spot everybody 14 and play from behind?'” Guy said. “‘Let’s just go toe to toe from the first snap and see what happens. We can’t spot any team, with the way we’re playing right now, 14 points on the road and fight your way out of it. You have to have a lot of breaks go your way.”

-samuel.hislop@aggiemail.usu.edu