MA-Football v Air Force-19

Underappreciated All-Stars: USU vs. Air Force

Football is often referred to as the ultimate team sport, yet we often only focus on a handful of players as the key to a recent victory, and even among those players we only recognize a handful of plays. In reality, there are countless numbers of players and unseen plays that are absolutely crucial to a team’s success, yet these rarely receive the recognition their play deserves. Every facet of the game has these underappreciated all-stars, and this column seeks to recognize them. After every Aggie game, we’ll take a look back, win or loss, at the unheralded players responsible for Utah State’s success. These are the Underappreciated All-Stars.

Tipa Galeai’s blocked kick

I have yet to see a highlight package from Saturday’s game that dwells longer than three seconds on Tipa Galeai’s block, yet it undoubtedly was one of the most important plays of the entire game. With the score tied at 14, Air Force’s 40-yard field goal represented a chance for the Falcons to take the lead before halftime in anticipation of receiving the second half kickoff. Had the kick been made, it’s not difficult to imagine a timeline in which Air Force goes up 24-14 early in the second half and begins to dictate the remainder of the game.

These are the reasons you put someone like Galeai on the field goal block unit. His ability to quickly bust through a block, in addition to his length and athleticism, make him an ideal candidate to line up at the center of the unit.

How many players in Utah State history are making this play? Galeai’s combination of length, athleticism, and burst are incredibly rare and on Saturday night, it swung the game. It’s tough to remember a play in the second quarter being that pivotal, especially after a hectic second half that saw USU and AF score a combined 39 points, but Galeai’s contribution on special teams shouldn’t be overlooked.

The 3rd-down stop from Justus Te’i

Utah State’s defense was much improved in defending the triple-option than in previous seasons, but they still struggled at times during Saturday’s game. Air Force pieced together six separate drives of at least 10 plays, including four in the second half. Even the most impeccable defenses will struggle to fully stop an option attack, and I don’t think I’m alone in saying I feared that USU would succumb to the grueling ground game of Air Force when the defense took the field up only 35-32 late in the fourth quarter.

Starting at their own 29-yard line, the Falcons had already converted two third downs on their attempt to either tie the game or take the lead. Facing a 3rd-and-3 at Utah State’s 42-yard line, the most likely outcome seemed to be Air Force converting for a first down and entering into field goal range.

Then Justus Te’i made possibly the biggest play of his career.

Worthman has a lane there on the outside. Only Jontrel Rocquemore is free of a block on the right edge, and with a pitchman available to AF’s Arion Worthman, he’ll be forced to make a decision to cover one of the two, allowing the second option, be it Worthman or the pitch, to likely gain the first down. But Te’i makes a quick decision. The left side of the offensive line collapses in as DE Devon Anderson darts inward to stuff any inside run possibilities. This creates a gaping hole on the left side with only Te’i, Rocquemore, and Deante Fortenberry in any position to cover it.

Te’i bolts as soon as the hole emerges, and instead of staying back and trying to cover a lane, he attacks. Gunning straight for Worthman is a risk, but Rocquemore reacts to Te’i’s aggression by plastering onto the pitchman. Te’i then finishes off the play by wrapping up Worthman so well, a pitch isn’t possible.

Pushed back to 4th-and-5, Air Force is forced to punt away its best chance to tie or take the lead. It speaks to USU’s depth on defense that one of the biggest plays of the game was made by a player who didn’t even start. It speaks even more about the defense’s depth that head coach Matt Wells trusted Te’i enough to have him in on the crucial third down play. And Te’i responded by making what amounted to the game-clinching tackle.

Gerold Bright’s 70-yard touchdown run

Utah State has already tallied four touchdown runs over 50 yards or more. That penchant for hitting the home run is not solely due to USU’s stable of running backs, rather the entire team doing their job. On this instance, the offensive line does an impeccable job (which has also been a consistent occurrence) of getting on blocks and allowing Bright to reach the second level before meeting a defender.

But if only the offensive line makes blocks, then runs of 50 yards or more will still be hard to come by. Those plays require also the tight ends and wide receivers to move into the second level of the defense and remove the secondary from being able to corral the runner. On this play, that’s Jalen Greene on the outside.

The playcall here dictates the receivers to run routes that are designed to remove a defender from the play. Two Falcon defenders are taken out by following a pair of Aggie receivers to the opposite sideline. Greene’s route is to retreat several yards, as if waiting for a quick screen or swing pass. Ideally, the cornerback responsible for Greene should jump this route and then be out of position to tackle Bright.

The Falcons’ corner doesn’t fully take the bait, staying back once he realizes no pass is coming to Greene and residing in the very lane Bright is already barreling towards. This is where Greene reacts quickly, moving to seal an edge for Bright to get to the corner. The defender, already off-balance, is in no position to fight Greene’s block and gets flattened, in the process creating a hurdle for the safety to clear in order to get to Bright.

With one impromptu block, Greene removes both the cornerback and safety responsible for minimizing the damage for any run on their side of the field. Bright then has a cleared runway and gets to the endzone virtually untouched. The offensive line, followed by Greene’s block, is the biggest reason why.

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