Special teams: good, bad and ugly
On a night when the Aggies’ special teams looked … well, special, it was a special-teams blunder that sealed the Aggies’ 23-20 loss Saturday night.
Special teams outgained the offense 273-253.
With two Peter Caldwell field goals and an 82-yard Kevin Robinson kick return for a touchdown, they outscored the offense 13-7.
They kept the Aggies in the game during a first half where, Head Coach Brent Guy said, the rest of the team looked “so awful.”
In the end, it wasn’t the big plays the special teams made that were most crucial – it was something as simple as fielding a kickoff that made a Homecoming and Western Athletic Conference victory only a dream.
“(Special teams) kept us in the game the entire football game,” Guy said. “Special-teams-wise, we felt like we could make some plays, until the last one, obviously. That was one that you never expect to happen. You’ve got a young kid, doesn’t see the ball come down, lets the ball hit the ground. That can never happen on kick return, ever. Even if it’s the last kick, it can’t happen anytime.
“We’ve worked a lot on those short kicks,” Guy added. “We’ve got to field that football. We’ve got to fair catch it and field it. We’ll get it at midfield, and we’ve got plenty of time to take shots or at least get it in position for Pete (Caldwell) to be able to kick a field goal and tie it and send it to overtime.”
But well before the ball fell out of the sky with 56 seconds left in the game and bounced into the hands of a Spartan special teamer – ending the Aggies’ hopes of overtime, or better – it was a special teams play in the second quarter that started USU’s scoring and brought Romney Stadium to its feet.
The play, the 82-yard streak up the sideline by Robinson, put the Aggies on the board and brought them within two of the Spartans at 9-7.
Robinson said SJSU kicker Jared Strubeck lined up different on the kick, prompting Robinson to adjust the alignment of his blockers. Then, Robinson picked up a few good blocks by his wedge and followed fellow returner Aaron Lesue up the sideline. After a little shake, Robinson lost Strubeck and outraced everyone to end zone, finishing it all off with a dive from a few yards out.
“It was just me and the kicker, and that’s my job, it’s to beat him,” he said. “And I figured if I beat him I could score, and that’s what happened.”
Although that return was big, Robinson wasn’t done. He racked up 223 yards, including 144 on kick returns.
Breaking through a big hole, Robinson also looked like he was going to take a punt back for a score with 1:01 left in the first half, but he was tackled after a 53-yard return to the Spartan 35-yard line. But, after the return, any hopes of an Aggie score heading into the half were dashed when USU quarterback Leon Jackson III threw into a crowd of SJSU defenders and was picked off by linebacker Matt Castelo.
But Robinson wasn’t the only Aggie returner to set Utah State up with great field position. Lesue took a kick back 50 yards following a second quarter Spartan touchdown. The Aggies would capitalize on Lesue’s return when Caldwell hit a 22-yard field goal to bring USU within a touchdown at 16-10.
Caldwell, a true freshman, was another standout for the Utah State’s special teams. He was two-for-two on field goals – also connecting from 37 in the second quarter – and perfect on extra points.
Even though Guy was pleased with the field goal kicking, ultimately, the Aggies needed more than that to win the game.
“Pete’s doing a great job,” Guy said. “It’s just the problem is, if we score touchdowns instead of those field goals we got on the board, we’ve got a different ballgame tonight down in the red zone.”
-da.bake@aggiemail.usu.edu