USU football bowl eligible again
It took a blocked extra point, a fumble recovery in the end zone and the return of a former starter, but Utah State fought its way into the win column Saturday with a 31-27 comeback victory over Nevada.
The comeback secured the Aggies’ bowl eligibility for a record fifth straight year.
“It was an unbelievable team win,” said USU head football coach Matt Wells. “We are still trying to figure this team out, but one thing they are not is quitters.”
The win was somewhat unconventional, featuring two non-offensive touchdowns and the unexpected return of senior quarterback Chuckie Keeton. Regular starter Kent Myers recorded just two passes in the game before a shoulder injury forced him to take an early exit. Keeton provided 109 yards through the air and 52 yards rushing in relief, with no touchdowns and one interception.
“Chuckie Keeton made a lot of plays on third down today,” Wells said. “That is one of the most important attributes you can have as a quarterback — how you play on third down. He extended drives, made plays with his feet and played a heck of a game.”
Utah State struggled early, allowing an ugly pick-six score in the first quarter and a 2-yard touchdown run by Nevada quarterback Tyler Stewart halfway through the second. Always with a propensity for big plays, Aggie wideout Hunter Sharp returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.
With two missed chip shot field goals dampening USU spirits earlier in the half, Sharp’s score provided a momentum boost for the Aggie faithful — one that soon shifted back into Nevada’s favor as running back James Butler began slicing through USU’s rush defense.
Butler managed a 33-yard score just before halftime to extend the Wolf Pack lead, then followed it up with an even bigger 60-yard touchdown run less than a minute into the third quarter.
“Everybody was poking their heads in the wrong gaps and trying to do other jobs,” said senior linebacker Kyler Fackrell.
The Aggies found themselves down 27-7 with a little less than a half of football to play, their lone score a special teams touchdown and the offense one huge question mark.
Running back Devante Mays was the answer.
With just over nine minutes remaining in the third, Mays followed up a slick 12-yard reception by sophomore back LaJuan Hunt with a 5-yard touchdown run. Three minutes later, Mays flipped on his inner beast mode setting and rumbled through three defenders for a 35-yard gain, downed just short of the goal line. Untouched, Mays walked in his ninth touchdown of the season the next play.
“He was very impressive,” Wells said. “He isn’t 100 percent — most guys at the end of November aren’t — but he battled. He had to be the bell cow today, and he ran behind his pads.”
Mays’ third multi-touchdown game of the year had USU down just 27-21 entering the fourth quarter.
Of course, in a game where the offense and special teams had each reached pay dirt, USU’s defense would not be denied.
After a big Nevada stop forced the Aggies to punt, USU’s special teams managed to down a perfectly placed kick at the 1-yard line. The Wolf Pack snapped the ball in the shadow of their own goal posts, then fumbled it away for Fackrell to recover and score the go-ahead touchdown.
“It was huge,” Fackrell said. “The last two weeks have been rough, and I think both the offense and defense delivered at the end of the game. Both phases were good and special teams was huge, with the kick returns and the punts downed on the two and the one that set up the fumble.”
Fackrell now leads the nation in recovered fumbles with five, his most recent effort possibly saving the Aggies’ entire season.
“That was a win we needed as a team,” Keeton said. “We had been down since San Diego State, but being able to come back and win just showed that we can knock down these walls. I’m proud of the guys in the locker room.”
— logantjones@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @logantj