USU Football: Aggies even record at .500 in late-night shootout
HONOLULU — Utah State survived a late comeback attempt from Hawai’i to collect its fifth victory of the season on Saturday night 41-34.
“I will never ever take a win for granted, especially on the road,” head coach Blake Anderson said.
Cache Valley native, safety Ike Larsen was instrumental in the Aggie win. He picked off Hawai’i quarterback Brayden Schager twice, taking one to the house on a 36-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter to put the Aggies up 41-24. He also recorded two tackles-for-loss and a sack.
“Every week he keeps getting better,” Anderson said. “The pick-six came at a huge time.”
After the pick-six, the Rainbow Warriors responded immediately with a 69-yard touchdown run from running back Tylan Hines, which featured some video evidence that may suggest he dropped the ball before crossing the goal line, but the score counted and cut the Aggie lead down to 10.
After a three-and-out from Utah State, Hawai’i had another chance to score with just over three minutes left in the game. UH traversed the field in less than two minutes, but was stopped at the goal line. Safety Hunter Reynolds brought Hawai’i running back Nasjzae Bryant-Lelei for a two-yard loss on second down and goal from the Aggie one-yard line with 1:18 left in the game. The stop forced the Rainbow Warriors to spike the ball and kick a field goal to cut the Aggie lead to 41-34.
The crucial tackle-for-loss was just one part of Reynolds’ stellar performance. He also had an interception, a pass breakup and nine tackles.
“He had a missed tackle he would have liked to have back, but he made up for it with the turnover and a lot of smart, smart plays,” Anderson said. “To me, he’s maximized his career. He’s getting looks by the next level, which is awesome, and I think he gets them because he’s so efficient, and he’s so smart and he just always ends up in the right spot. ”
Together, Reynolds and Larsen were a force to be reckoned with in the backfield for the Aggies.
“We have a lot of good chemistry,” Larsen said. “It’s nice to be able to know that he can trust me and I can trust him and just have each others’ back.”
Quarterback Cooper Legas and running back Calvin Tyler Jr. led the way on offense with solid performances. Legas threw for career-highs with 238 yards and three touchdowns on 16 completions from 25 attempts.
Tyler recorded his fourth game over 100-yards in the last six games as he racked up 113 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.
“I said I was going to come with it this game. No matter what, I was going to stay locked in,” Tyler said. “It felt great.”
Tyler also showed up in the passing game hauling in three receptions for 50 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown on a wheel route.
“He’s playing extremely well,” Anderson said.
The Aggies tied their 2021 total for tight end touchdowns as Josh Sterzer and Broc Lane both caught their first career touchdown reception. Sterzer snuck past two Hawai’i defenders to score from 68 yards out on USU’s second play from scrimmage, while Lane hauled in a 16-yard pass in the endzone for six.
“When we play our game — the football we know how to play — that’s when things happen like that for us,” Tyler said. “Feel like we got back to ourselves tonight.”
Placekicker Connor Coles was also productive as he drilled 21-yard and 42-yard field goals.
The Aggie defense was a mixed bag. Despite forcing three turnovers and seven tackles-for-loss, they gave up 541 yards and 34 points. It was not just one issue either. Hawai’i had a balanced attack with 235 rushing yards and 306 passing yards. The Rainbow Warriors also had four explosive plays over 30 yards, including a rush for 69 yards and another for 43 yards.
With a 5-5 record, USU will have to limit big plays on defense next week as they seek bowl eligibility.
Utah State returns to Logan to host San Jose State on Saturday at 7:45 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on Aggie Radio 92.3 FM.
Featured image by Paige Johnson from the New Mexico game.