USU comeback falls short, Wagon Wheel returns to Provo
Utah State lost the battle for the Old Wagon Wheel to in-state rival Brigham Young 34 to 20. The Aggies hung in with the No. 13 ranked Cougars, but couldn’t take a lead throughout the game. This is the second loss in a row for Utah State as they drop to 3-2 on the year.
The Aggies brought the game within seven with 9:52 left in the game after quarterback Logan Bonner found Devon Thompkins for a 28-yard touchdown reception. Thompkins had a career-high nine receptions for 125 yards, his third career game with more than 100 yards.
The Cougars answered with a monster, 67-yard rush on the first play on the drive from Tyler Allgeier. A few plays later, Allgeier rushed into the endzone to go up 34 to 20. This ended up being the final score as quarterback Andrew Peasley threw an interception on the Aggies’ last drive when he replaced Bonner after an injury. Jakob Robinson, a former Aggie, recorded the interception for the Cougars.
There is some concern for Bonner who left the game in the fourth quarter with what seemed like a leg injury. Coach Anderson said it was a hyperextension, but that trainers seemed to think there was no significant structural damage. He will be evaluated further.
Utah State had a couple of opportunities to take control of the game in the third quarter when they trailed 24 to 13. Brigham Young’s starting quarterback was injured and the Cougars’ offense stalled as a result, however, the Aggie offense couldn’t take advantage of three stops by the Aggie defense. The offense punted, turned the ball over on downs and then punted again during the third quarter. The second drive was the closest to scoring, with the turnover on downs coming on a fourth and one rush attempt inside the Cougar 35-yard line.
Additionally, the Aggies’ first drive of the game ended in an interception, which was the second week in a row this has happened. The Cougars scored on the drive after the turnover and held the lead for the rest of the game.
This is the second victory in a row for BYU over Utah State. The Cougars beat the Aggies 42 to 14 in 2019. This year’s contest was a much closer battle, despite BYU being ranked in the top 15 nationally.
“We competed a lot better in this game for sure, for sure. We played throughout the whole game. It wasn’t that bad of a loss,” said Thompkins.
Head Coach Blake Anderson promised Aggie fans that he plans to make the rivalry even more competitive in the future.
“Our fans can know this, they were bigger and stronger than us today, but that will not last. We will recruit our tail off, we will develop our tail off and we will make this a battle every stinkin’ year. And this is one we won’t forget,” said Coach Anderson.
Marcus Moore, senior defensive tackle, had a career-high nine tackles. He feels confident that the Aggies can improve from this loss because of their mindset.
“There’s grit in this team,” Moore said. “The little things that we need to fix are fixable. So we will be able to get those things taken care of.”
The Aggies have a bye next week then they will travel down to Las Vegas to take on the UNLV Rebels on Oct. 18.