USU Football knocks off CSU in dramatic fashion
Utah State came out on top, 26 to 24, after a back-and-forth conference showdown with Colorado State. The Aggies held onto a slim lead to defeat the Rams at home and improve to 5-2 on the season.
“As ugly as it was at times, we held on and we got the win,” Head Coach Blake Anderson said.
The game boiled down to a last-minute drive by Colorado State. Utah State clung to a two-point lead 26-24 after they punted with less than 50 seconds left in the game. The Rams went 61 yards in seven plays to set up a game-winning kick. They were out of timeouts and made a quick substitution to set up a 42-yard field goal attempt. Junior placekicker Cayden Camper missed wide-left as the clock ticked down to one second. Following the miss, the Aggies kneeled to secure their victory.
“You could tell, obviously that I think, that there was some miscommunication that played in our favor,” Anderson said. “It kinda happened so fast, it was almost like it didn’t happen. It was like ‘wow he just missed it.’ It was a little bit of a blur, big sigh of relief.”
The Aggies kicking game was key in their victory. Senior placekicker Connor Coles rebounded from a rough performance last week where he went 0-3 on field goals at UNLV. In this game, he put on a strong performance scoring more than half of the Aggies points, including nine unanswered points on three straight field goals to build a 23 to 14 lead during the second and third quarters.
“I’m extremely grateful to my coaches and my teammates for sticking with me through last week,” Coles said. “There was nobody that was telling me how bad I did against UNLV. I think they knew that I knew that needed to be better and they trusted me that it would be better. I did everything this week to make sure that you know I wouldn’t let the team down again.”
He set career-highs in both field goal makes, with four, and points with 14. Coles drilled two field goals over 40 yards long, along with two shorter kicks, and made his two PATs.
“It feels really good to help the team in the way I did. I’m confident that down the road we’re gonna be having more extra points and less field goals, but I was really happy to be able to hit my four tonight and get the win,” Coles said.
“I thought he did a phenomenal job,” Anderson said. “He was very confident all night. Every time I looked to him, he said ‘coach I got it, I got you.’ It was great to see him respond the way he did.”
The Aggies made several big plays in the first half. After punting twice and throwing an interception, Utah State crossed the goal line first when junior quarterback Logan Bonner found senior wide receiver Derek Wright for a 25-yard touchdown pass. The Aggies got this possession after junior cornerback Michael Anyanwu forced a Ram fumble in the red zone. Anyanwu also recovered a pooch kick to give the Aggies a last-minute drive in the first half that ended in a field goal.
“When that ball was kicked, and it was placed perfectly… I saw it on the ground and got the ball and [landed on that grenade],” Anyanwu said.
Wright scored both of the Aggies’ touchdowns, the second coming on a 38-yard touchdown reception. The two touchdown receptions tied his career-high.
The Aggie defense had a solid first half forcing two turnovers, a fumble and an interception, and allowing only two touchdowns. In the fourth quarter, the defense got a crucial stop on fourth down when Colorado State made their way to the Aggies’ 35-yard line, preserving a 23 to 14 Utah State lead. Senior defensive end Nick Heninger and junior defensive tackle Phillip Paea made the tackle. The Aggies also made the Rams punt on four different occasions.
Utah State’s offensive line struggled to keep Bonner protected throughout the game. The Rams recorded eight sacks and even forced Bonner out for a play after he was briefly injured. On the other hand, the offensive line paved the way for 111 total rush yards, including an 18-yard rush by sophomore running back Elelyon Noa.
“We gave up negative plays enough to take ourselves out of the position to maybe put this game away quite early. It would’ve been nice to go on that last drive and know a touchdown or field goal is not gonna beat you,” coach Anderson said.
Utah State hosts Hawaii next week on Saturday, Oct. 30.