USU football feasts on its first win of the season on Thanksgiving
Utah State football carved up the New Mexico defense on Thursday night to take home a Thanksgiving victory, the first of the season for the Aggies, by a score of 41-27. Sophomore quarterback Andrew Peasley sauced all over the Lobos and stuffed the New Mexico defense with a career-high 118 yards rushing and 239 yards passing.
In the first start of his college career, Peasley breathed some much-needed life into the USU offense after a hugely disappointing opening four games. The sophomore was the catalyst in many fruitful drives for the Aggies in the second half. Utah State trailed 13-6 at the half, but Peasley led the team an unprecedented series of three straight scoring drives in the third quarter.
“I thought the offense came out driving the ball, just like we prepared for,” Peasley said. “It’s a really good feeling to be successful as a team, not just the offense, but everyone. A win feels really, really good.”
It all started with a 36-yard connection between Peasley and receiver Justin McGriff on a wide-open post route that looked eerily similar to the pattern that McGriff ran just a few weeks ago when he dropped a pass in the endzone against Fresno State. On the next drive, Utah State went 69 yards in just four plays which ended with a 26-yard strike from Peasley to senior receiver Savon Scarver, who broke through the seam to find himself open in the endzone. The third quarter offensive explosion was capped off with a 25-yard pass-and-catch in which tight end Carson Terrell bounced off a tackle at the line of scrimmage and was able to escape to the sideline to put the Aggies up 27-13.
The offense may have been finished scoring, but on the Lobos’ next possession the Aggies forced a fumble and were able to scoop-and-score from 14 yards out, all thanks to Nick Heniger and Shaq Bond who forced the fumble and Kina Maile picked it up and took it to the house. Utah State was rolling, and for the first time this season, had all the confidence and momentum on its side.
“It’s hard to win football games, but any time you can do it as a team in all three phases – offense, defense and special teams – it’s a great feeling,” said interim USU head coach Frank Maile. “I’m proud of our guys. They continue to stay focused and stay hungry. The preparation was awesome this week; they did a great job staying locked in with all the ups and downs that we faced. I couldn’t be prouder to be in charge of this team right now. I love these guys and I’m grateful I’m in charge of them for the time being.”
New Mexico fought back in the fourth quarter and closed the gap to 34-27 with 7:08 left in the game, and the Aggie offense cooled down after the pyroclastic display in the third quarter. This was never a worry for Frank Maile, but something to improve on going forward.
“The fourth quarter got a little bit tighter than we wanted it to,” Frank Maile said. “Ball security was an issue. We have to continue to harp that and how important that is in winning football games. We gave up too many touchdowns on defense, but finished the game the right way with a takeaway.”
Two major plays helped secure the win for Utah State, showing a rise through adversity that hadn’t been shown earlier in the season. After nearly being sacked to force a fourth down punt, Peasley took off scrambling and burst through the New Mexico front seven and past the secondary for a 62-yard score. On the next drive, as New Mexico was driving, third-string quarterback Connor Genal threw a long ball that floated over the receiver and into the hands of freshman safety Luke Marion and the Aggies were able to run out the clock from there.
Utah State will have six days to prepare for its next opponent, Air Force, which comes to Logan Dec. 3 for another Thursday night Mountain West showdown.
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—sports@usustatesman.com