USU sacks the Spartans: Aggies vs SJSU 2012
The 2012 Utah State football season is filled with classic games both won and lost by the Aggies. It remains one of the greatest, and arguably the best, seasons in the program’s 100-year plus history. One game that is overlooked in favor of the overtime win over Utah or the lamentable loss to Wisconsin is the defensive gem that was USU’s 13-sack performance in a 49-27 road win against San Jose State on Oct. 13, 2012.
Only four teams have ever taken down the opposing Quarterback more times in a single game than USU in this outing. TCU holds the record with 15 sacks against Nevada on Sept. 9, 2000 and both Duquesne and North Dakota picked up 14 in a game in 1998 and 2001, respectively.
Nine different Aggies recorded a sack on that day in mid-October 2012, four of those players had two sacks. All told it resulted in 102 lost yards for the Spartans. Because of the way sacks were recorded, Spartans QB David Fales (who is currently a member of the New York Jets), is shown to have rushed the ball 14 times for -98 yards, with one positive rush for four yards in the second half to save him from the negative century-mark rushing (“negative century-mark” being a phrase no one should ever really have to write).
What’s funny about this game is that, despite the shellacking Utah State’s front seven gave Fales, he was incredibly resilient, having a far more statistically productive game than his victorious counterpart, Chuckie Keeton. Fales had 467 yards passing (sixth-most in SJSU history at the time) with three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 76.0 completion percentage. The USU secondary didn’t quite perform up to snuff in this game. And had Fales not had to pick himself up off the turf 13 times, he may have eclipsed 600 yards passing.
One other thing to note beforehand is that this 2012 SJSU team isn’t like the laughing stock teams all-too-often produced by the Spartans. This team finished the year ranked No. 21 in the AP poll with an 11-2 record, their only losses being to eventual Rose Bowl winners, Stanford, 20-17 in Week 1 and to USU in Week 7.
Throughout the entirety of the 2012 season, David Fales was sacked 26 times. Half of those came during this single game. Later, Fales would say “getting sacked that many times was frustrating” and would credit the Aggies for how prepared they were to face the potent SJSU passing attack. This singular stat — 13 sacks in one game — is a small part of USU history, but a memorable part of a great season.
So here we go, let’s dive into each of the 13 sacks that paved the way for Utah State’s victory, pausing between each one for some boring context, things like touchdowns, field goals and big plays from Keeton and Kerwynn Williams.
Sack #1
1st & 10 — SJSU 25 — 15:00 1st Quarter
Yes, the very first play from scrimmage, the first timed down of football in this mauling was a sack. Fales’ woes began early and, obviously, returned often.
Junior linebacker Jake Doughty, hardly a pass rusher with just three career sacks between 2010 and 2013, crept up to the line of scrimmage and blew by the interior O-linemen. SJSU center, Reuben Hasani feebly attempted to pass the blitzing Doughty on to his right guard, Nicholas Kaspar, but the latter was already fully occupied with Elvis Kamana-Matagi. All Fales could do was brace himself and accept the sacking.
Despite the ignominious start to the drive, SJSU would take the ball inside the USU 10-yard line. They wound up settling for a field goal but drew first blood in the game, taking nearly five minutes off the clock on a 12-play drive. Not be outdone, the Aggies, in response, used 13 plays to go 86 yards in four minutes, ten seconds and unlike their Spartan counterparts they finished with a touchdown, a Chuckie Keeton 17-yard pass to Chuck Jacobs.
Sack #2
1st & 10 — SJSU 19 — 5:52 1st Quarter
Once again, the Spartans started off a drive on the wrong foot. But unlike the first sack, this one should be credited to the secondary. On his initial drop-back, Fales caught a glimpse of cornerback Will Davis blitzing in his peripheral vison and panicked. He abandoned the pocket, running from his pursuers to the momentary safety of the right side of the field. Unfortunately for him, there was no one open. Instead, all he had in front of him was the soon-to-be-well-known Kyler Fackrell. The freshman linebacker had dropped back into coverage, but seeing the scrambling Fales, chased down the poor man leaving him in a curled-up heap for the second time that quarter.
Sack #3
3rd & 15 — SJSU 28 — 5:52 1st Quarter
We haven’t even left the same drive as the second sack and the Aggies were already back for more. SJSU more or less recovered from Fackrell’s first sack thanks to a 17-yard completion from Fales to Jabari Carr, but the Spartans were then backed into a 3rd and 15 thanks to a couple of fruitless plays and a false start penalty from the offensive line. And that wouldn’t be the last gaffe by the O-line on this drive.
On this particular play, USU rushed just four players, the Spartans had six men in the box to protect Fales — all five offensive lineman and running back Tyler Ervin. This enormous numerical advantage would go completely wasted as two of the four Aggie rushers were bearing down on Fales almost from the snap itself.
Nevin Lawson, who would eventually record the sack, lined up in the slot over a wide receiver, showed no sign of doing anything other than covering the man in front of him. But on the snap, he immediately sprinted toward Fales. This disguised blitz was a perfect call as the offensive line executed a slide left block coverage with Ervin sliding right to block anyone who came free on that side. This meant that right tackle, Jon Meyer, felt comfortable letting Fackrell go unblocked because Ervin was there. But while letting the 250-pound Fackrell go one-on-one against a 177-pound running back was questionable, letting both Fackrell and Lawson free with just that 177-pound back to block both would only lead to one result: a 10-yard sack and the end of the drive.
Failing to match what they had on the first drive was bad enough for SJSU, but losing yardage on a drive that started inside their own 20, combined with a short punt, left the Aggies just 53 yards shy of the end zone and they would march all 53 of said yards to take a 14-3 lead (Keeton completing his second TD pass of the day, this time to matt Austin) just shy of the end of the first quarter.
Sack #4
2nd & 12 — SJSU 15 — 0:38 1st Quarter
Utah State got to Fales on both the first play of the quarter and the last. Fales got trigger-shy on a pass to Kyle Nunn (and was also bumped by his running back), pulled the ball down and soon faced the wrath of the defensive line. Jordan Nielsen got credit for the wrap-up though Zach Vigil probably should have been given his props too as he had Fales’ leg cradled in his arms to help with the take-down.
Following a failed screen on the 3rd and 13, the Spartans punted and the Aggies took over at midfield. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Kerwynn Williams took the ball 50 yards for a rushing touchdown. But we don’t need to look at that run, let’s go to the next sack.
Sack #5
2nd & 10 — SJSU 47 — 12:29 2nd Quarter
SJSU, down 21-3 early in the second, came into this play having given up at least one sack in all three of its offensive possessions and the fourth drive of the game wouldn’t break that streak. And just like several of the previous sacks, the Spartan pass protection simply broke down.
Bojay Filmoeatu ran essentially unimpeded through the SJSU O-line and to the defenseless Fales. Theoretically, three different Spartans could have at least slowed him down: right tackle Meyer, right guard Kaspar and the blocking running back Ervin. Of the three, Ervin gave the most effort, but we’ve already noted how little challenge Ervin is to Aggie defenders.
Following this fifth sack in four SJSU possessions, Utah State would score its fourth touchdown in its own four possessions. Keeton’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Travis Van Leeuwen would be his third on the day. Immediately following that TD toss, Keeton was 13 of 16 passing for 165 yards and the three touchdown passes. The rest of the way he was a somewhat more tame 13 of 19 for just 108 yards with no more touchdowns.
The gap between sacks five and six also represents the largest time between sacks. It would be nearly 12 minutes of game time before Fales went down again with the ball in his hand. SJSU took full advantage of this with drives of 75 and 54 yards that netted the Spartans a touchdown and field goal to make the game 28-13 as we reach our next checkpoint.
Sack #6
2nd & 3 — USU 26 — 0:43 2nd Quarter
This play is almost a mirrored version of sack No. 3 as Lawson blitzed from the slot. The main difference is SJSU didn’t call a slide protection to either side and the RB wasn’t on the blitzing side. But that didn’t mean the tackle wasn’t any less overwhelmed. David Quessenberry barely kept Fackrell away from Fales but Lawson once again had a free run at the poor QB.
The Spartans were undeterred by this seven-yard setback as Fales completed a 13-yard pass to convert the 3rd and 10. One play later, Fales his Noel Grigsby for a 20-yard touchdown and the half ended with USU up just 28-20 after holding a 28-3 lead. Luckily, Utah State are the Aggies and not the (Atlanta) Falcons and wouldn’t blow the lead entirely. On the opening drive of the third quarter Williams thought to himself that a 50-yard touchdown run wasn’t impressive enough decided to run for an 86-yard touchdown. And he did, putting USU up by double-digits permanently.
SJSU’s first drive of the second half was a three-and-out, no sacks necessary. On the Aggies’ next drive, Keeton capped off a 68-yard drive with a 28-yard rushing touchdown for a 42-20 advantage.
Sack #7
1st & 15 — SJSU 20 — 9:55 3rd Quarter
For the third time in the game, the Spartans would begin a drive by giving up a sack. But on this play there weren’t any major gaffes. The Aggies rushed four men with no blitzes or stunts. SJSU’s center, Hasani, had his man, defensive tackle A.J. Pataiali’i, lined up perfectly to block him. Hasani then gave the world a clinical example of the olé block, simply letting Pataiali’i waltz through Hasani’s “block” and tackle Fales before he could even process his downfield reads.
This sack wouldn’t have too much of an impact as a 14-yard run and 21-yard pass by SJSU quickly and easily got them out of its jam. And 10 plays later, the Spartans were inside the Utah State 10 yard line with a chance to cut down the lead…
Sack #8
4th & 5 — USU 7 — 5:42 3rd Quarter
Down 42-20 the Spartans need a fourth down conversion to keep their hopes alive and maybe punch the ball in since they went to the trouble of going 58 yards to make it to the Aggie seven yard line. Instead they gave up their second sack of the drive.
And wouldn’t you know it? Hasani is back with his olé “blocking,” this time letting Al Lapuaho go through unimpeded and Fales again barely has time to glance downfield before he has to face down a defensive lineman running full speed at him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHZXtpnEbD4
USU went three-and-out on the next possession, one of three times in the second half. The Spartans then went on to score their final touchdown of the game at the end of a 62-yard drive. Fales connected with Grigsby for a second time for the TD. Utah State’s next drive ate up some yards but ended with a Matt Austin Fumble, recovered by SJSU.
Sack #9
1st & 10 — SJSU 49 — 0:16 3rd Quarter
This is the fourth time SJSU will give up a sack to start a drive and somehow, it’s not the last. And remember the play were the Spartans had six blockers to four Aggie rushers and let two guys completely through? Well, SJSU wanted to top that. On this play, seven blockers are present, adding a fullback to the regular five O-linemen and one running back. Even with this fortress of pass protection, three Utah State rushers are upon Fales within two seconds of him taking the snap. Oddly enough, the last man to get his hands on Fales, defensive end Connor Williams, was the man to bring him down.
SJSU wound up going three-and-out and USU would do the same on their next drive.
Sack #10
2nd & 7 — USU 27 — 9:08 4th Quarter
Leading up to this sack, the Spartans were actually doing really well. Fales completed 4 of 6 passes for 39 yards and had his offense inside the USU 30-yard line. And then things quickly began to fall apart, starting with this sack on second down.
This sack was the second sack which ought to be credited to the secondary and their blanketing of the wide receivers. Fales had plenty of time, at least compared to many of his other drop-backs. When he couldn’t find a man downfield, it was only a matter of time and Jordan Nielsen brought Fales down with some help from Filimoeatu and Pataiali’i, though the latter two weren’t given credit on the stat sheet.
Sack #11
3rd & 15 — USU 35 — 8:25 4th Quarter
To this point, Utah State had recorded two sacks in one drive, but hadn’t gotten back-to-back QB take-downs. This play changed that fact. A 3rd and long, an obvious passing down, is a golden chance for a defensive end to attack an offensive tackle. Zach Vigil, the man who would finish second on the team in sacks for the season, had been quiet on this day of QB takedowns. But no longer. Vigil took full advantage of a clear pass-rushing opportunity and burned the right tackle, wrapping up Fales for a textbook sack.
Though this set up 4th and 22 for the Spartans, they would convert it with Fales completing a 14-yard pass to Carr who lateraled the ball to Chandler Jones who took it an additional 13 yards for the first down. SJSU made it all the way to the USU 9 yard line before our next sack comes up.
Sack #12
3rd & 4 — USU 9 — 6:08 4th Quarter
Two sacks in one drive wasn’t enough for USU, nor was back-to-back sacks. Apparently it also wasn’t enough to stop the Spartans on this drive who insisted on making it inside the Utah State 10 yard line yet again to give themselves some hope in a 42-27 ballgame that had enough time left for the host team to mount a stunning comeback.
Connor Williams didn’t exactly get a good jump off the line. He was still trying to figure out the defensive play call and pushed teammate Kamana-Matagi aside, presumably into the proper position, and never got down into a proper stance before the snap. Still, he took on the left guard, Jones, and slipped by him to chase down Fales. Williams nearly blew the great opportunity by not cleanly tackling the QB, but he kept an iron grip on Fales’ jersey long enough for Kamana-Matagi, the same teammate he pushed aside, to come and help finish the play.
SJSU went for it on fourth down but Fales underthrew his man, Grigsby, in the end zone. Fittingly, he was under pressure when making the throw. USU’s next drive was a three-and-out.
Sack #13
1st & 10 — SJSU 35 — 3:39 4th Quarter
At long last we’ve reached the end. Utah State’s offense wasn’t quite done, as Williams would add a 12-yard rushing touchdown to his already impressive day, but the defense would crown its performance with not just an ordinary sack, but a strip-sack. A play that not only robbed Fales of the ball, but of the last remaining shreds of his dignity.
Fackrell, who spent much of the day as the second or third man to the QB after recording his first sack in the first quarter, ripped through the attempted block from Quessenberry as if the latter were a blocking pad held by an assistant coach. Poor Fales never saw the 6-foot-5 train of doom coming and the ball popped right out of his hand. Fackrell enjoyed some extra fortune with the ball bouncing right into his waiting hands, giving him not only a sack and forced fumble on the play, but also a fumble recovery.
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— sports@usustatesman.com