Second half surge leads USU Football over New Mexico State
Utah State once again showed they’re a second-half team, overcoming a halftime deficit to win 35-13 over the New Mexico State in Las Cruces on Saturday afternoon.
USU (7-2) entered halftime down 13-7 after trailing in almost all major indicators, including total yards, first downs, total plays, turnovers, and time of possession.
The Aggies from Logan would adjust coming out of the break, scoring touchdowns on four straight possessions and holding New Mexico State (1-8) scoreless in the second half.
After getting out to a slow start, quarterback Logan Bonner ended the day throwing for 359 yards and completing 23 of 32 attempts. Bonner also threw for four touchdowns on the day, which is the second straight game Bonner has reached that mark.
The most significant performance of the afternoon would yet again come from senior wide receiver Devin Thompkins, who pulled in nine passes for a career-high 215 yards and two touchdowns. Today was the fifth straight game Thompkins eclipsed 100 yards receiving and his seventh 100-yard game overall this season.
After struggling in the first half, Utah State received the second-half kick and scored in just 55 seconds on a 54-yard connection from Bonner to Thompkins to take the lead. That would prove to be enough as the Aggie defense held the home Aggies scoreless the rest of the way.
Utah State continued to add on, with Justin McGriff and Derek Wright adding touchdown catches of their own, and Elelyon Noa found the end-zone from four yards out.
“Proud of the win, not proud of how it looked.” Utah State Head Coach Blake Anderson said. “We played very uninspired football in the first half…but very proud of the way the guys responded.”
The energy level certainly adjusted coming out of the half, which quickly turned the game around for Utah State.
The USU defense kept them in the game during the first half, allowing just 13 points despite allowing 237 first-half half yards. They showed pressure all game long, and after struggling to keep the New Mexico State quarterback Jonah Johnson in the pocket in the early going, they ended the day with seven sacks and 14 tackles for loss.
After the game, senior safety Hunter Reynolds said that the difference in the second half came from “just playing with a little more urgency and just executing better.”
With the 215 yards today, Thompkins now sits at 1,314 receiving yards for the season, just 217 yards behind the Utah State single-season record with at least four more games to play this season. The senior wideout achieved another significant milestone this afternoon, as he became just the 11th Aggie to pass 2,000 career receiving yards.
“That guy comes to play,” Anderson said. “He’s one guy I don’t ever have to encourage. Just get out of his way and let him go.”
USU will continue their quest for a mountain division title next week as they take on San Jose State in San Jose.