Run game powers Utah State to win over Colorado State
The Utah State Aggies have won 20 of their last 21 games when a player has rushed for over 100 yards.
That trend continued Saturday night at homecoming for USU as sophomore quarterback Kent Myers ran the ball for 191 yards leading the Aggies to a 33-18. In his first game this season, Myers set the Utah State school record for most rush yards by a quarterback.
“I think the offense played really well,” Myers said. “I’m just excited to see what else we can do. With this being the first game, I’m excited to see what’s up next … Anything for the team, if we’ve got to run the ball, I’ll run it. If we need to pass the ball, I’ll pass it.”
Myers crushed the old record of 121 that was held dually by Chuckie Keeton and Tony Adams.
“I thought he played very well,” said USU head coach Matt Wells. “Kent will be the first to tell you, it was receivers downfield blocking. It was the offensive line. Coach Heupel called a good game. He played well.”
Offensively USU had 435 total yards with 298 coming on the ground.
“With my legs, my feet and my speed, I knew going into this game I would have an opportunity to do something like this,” Myers said. “Credit to the offense and the offensive line. The blocking they had up front — it really helped me out with giving me a lot of space.”
That’s the most rush yards the team has had since it ran for 313 yards last season against San Jose State. Much of the Utah State yardage was gained on big plays.
“Explosive plays help move an offense down the field,” Wells said. “They are a big part of our offense. It always jump starts, and offense to be able to get chunk yardage plays.”
Through the first three games, the Aggies had six total plays that went over 20 yards. During the game against Colorado State, the USU offense produced eight plays over 20 yards. Only two of the USU big plays were through the air while the ground game unleashed six big plays on the ground.
The run game that seemed to be missing in the first three games was firing on all cylinders for the Aggies’ first conference game.
Not only did Myers run for a career-high and school-record total, Devante Mays averaged six yards per carry and had 60 yards on his 10 carries. LaJuan Hunt also got in on the big-play action and broke off a 33-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that helped USU put a finishing stamp on the game.
The strong run-game performance isn’t only helpful for the offensive side of the ball, but it also gives the Aggie defense a chance to rest.
“The offense playing like they did,” said linebacker Kyler Fackrell, “kind of forced Colorado State to play from behind. It’s a huge advantage for us as a defense. It helps keep us off the field too, it’s huge.”
Fackrell and Wells agreed that a strong offensive performance helps the defense be more aggressive.
“It’s pretty solid,” Wells said. “I think what it came down to was being able to take that two-score lead. That 16-point lead really allowed us to pin our ears back. We went after it and tried to make them a little more one dimensional.”
— kalen.s.taylor@gmail.com
Twitter: @kalen_taylor
Check out our gallery from the game here.