Troy proves too much for Utah State
A slow start plagued the Aggies in their 49-21 loss to Troy State on Saturday when the Trojans opened up to a 35-0 halftime lead, scoring on their first two possessions of the game.
The 35-point deficit USU faced was the second largest this season after Utah posted 41 points in the first half of that game.
The loss for Utah State dropped its record to 2-3 and 1-1 in conference. Troy improved to 3-2 and 1-1 respectively.
“I don’t think anyone is going through this league undefeated,” head coach Mick Dennehy said. “I think that whoever goes to New Orleans will have one loss. I don’t think that you’re going to be able to go to New Orleans with two.”
The Aggies did reel off 21 unanswered points in the second half.
“I’m happy that the kids didn’t just roll over and give in,” Dennehy said. “Our guys knew going into this game what the magnitude of this game was. I believe that they knew what it was going to take to win it. We didn’t show up to play. We don’t seem to respond unless our backs are up against the wall.”
The first Aggie score came with just over four minutes left in the third quarter when Travis Cox found a streaking Raymond Hicks for a 42-yard touchdown toss.
That 42-yard touchdown pass by Cox was the fifth game in a row he has thrown at least one touchdown and 15 of the last 16.
“He was hot and cold today,” Dennehy said about Cox. “I thought we moved the ball at times early in the game, but we didn’t finish, whether or not he was getting frustrated, or what happened, I really don’t know. He’s a fifth-year senior, and if we’re in a funk, he needs to pull us out.”
Cox did throw three interceptions in this game upping his season total to nine. Cox has thrown two or more interceptions in four of the five games this season and the three on Saturday ties his career record set last year against Arizona State.
“We had a couple of young guys making big plays,” Troy linebacker Robbie Farmer said. “And that is what you have to do as a defense, is to step it up. We did that in the first half. We kind of slacked off in the second half. We missed some tackles and they made some big plays. The no-huddle, I think, got us a little tired.”
After the Hicks touchdown, the Aggie defense stopped Troy and forced them to punt. Kevin Robinson returning the punt found a crease and returned it 90-yards for a touchdown.
“I didn’t get hit until I saw that I only had two big guys in front of me,” Robinson said. “One grabbed me but I got past him. I just ran hard from there.”
Running back Chris Forbes capped off the 21 unanswered points with a one-yard touchdown run, first rushing TD of his career, after the Aggies forced Troy to punt. Utah State marched 73-yards on eight plays and never saw the end zone the rest of the game.
“In the first half, we doubted ourselves,” Hicks said. “Then, when we moved the ball we saw that we could play. At halftime, the coaches got on us and we decided that we knew we could play with them. Now every game is a must-win situation and every game will be a dog fight.”
As the Aggies prepare for the Western Athletic Conference, games against Troy will be less prominent in the future. The teams held nothing back in what could be their final meeting.
DeWitt Betterson, running back for the Trojans capped off the scoring for both teams with 4:48 left on the clock with a 44-yard rush for a touchdown.
Utah State back-up-quarterback Leon Jackson saw some time in Saturday’s game, but it wasn’t where most people would expect to see him. Jackson kicked an 11-yard and 57-yard punt after starting punter Ben Cheat went down with an injury.
Cox led the Aggies in rushing on Saturday attempting 19 runs and gaining 43 yards. He is the first Utah State quarterback to lead the team in rushing since 1994 when Matt Wells rushed for 29 yards on 13 attempts against BYU.
The 49 points Utah State gave up to Troy is the most since Louisiana-Monroe scored 51 points in a double overtime win against the Aggies in 2002.
-kcaustin@cc.usu.edu