Utah State delivers record-breaking performance in 62-24 win over San Jose State
14 days ago in a game against New Mexico, the Utah State football team set a program record for most total yards in a game with 704.
That record didn’t last long.
Saturday afternoon at Maverik Stadium, the Aggies shattered that record, eclipsing it by 100 yards as they moved the ball for 804 total yards in a 62-24 victory over San Jose State.
After exchanging three-and-outs on each teams’ first possessions, it was the Spartans who made their way onto the scoreboard first. A low snap caused a rushed punt by USU junior punter Taylor Hintze. The ball rolled a few yards across the turf before SJSU freshman safety Tre Jenkins scooped the loose ball and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown.
USU Football vs San Jose on Novemeber 10, 2018, the last home game of the season. USU wins 62-24.
The Aggies quickly followed that up with a score of their own on a seven-play, 68-yard drive capped off by a 42-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Jordan Love to sophomore wide receiver Jordan Nathan.
USU fans remained on the edge of their seats through much of the first quarter, as the Aggies exchanged blows with the Spartans in a 10-7 first quarter slugfest.
“There are standards that we’re going to hold internally with the coaches and the players, and I don’t think we played up to our standards early in the game,” Utah State head coach Matt Wells said of the team’s slow start.
Then, the onslaught began.
The Aggies finished the first half on a 38-3 scoring run, including a stretch of four straight possessions which ended in a USU touchdown during the second quarter.
By halftime, Utah State had outgained SJSU 453-115, allowing just 17 Spartan rushing yards. The Aggies went to the locker room holding a 38-10 lead.
“A lot of teams get tired this time of the year,” Wells said. “They get physically tired, they get mentally tired, and our guys continue to drink the Kool-Aid a little bit. They keep buying in.”
Love’s afternoon ended when he earned a well-deserved rest after throwing his fifth touchdown of the game, his second time accomplishing the school record-tying feat this season. He completed 32-of-42 passes for a career-high 491 yards, the third-most yards in a game by an Aggie quarterback. From there, true freshman quarterback Andrew Peasley led the Aggie offense the rest of the way.
Junior running back Darwin Thompson also did his part contributing to the Aggies’ record performance, going off for 255 combined rushing and receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Photo by Megan Nielsen
“Watching Darwin run, it’s like every single time he gets the ball I’m like ‘I can’t believe it.’ Same with every time Jordan throws a ball, it’s phenomenal,” said USU senior safety Jontrell Rocquemore.
The 804 yards by Utah State marked just the third time this season an FBS team surpassed the 800-yard milestone. The Aggies are also the only team in the nation with two or more 700+ yard performances.
“I’m always amazed,” Love said of this season’s offensive performances. “It’s really just a fun thing to be a part of. To be able to do stuff like that every week, I mean, it’s really just fun. It’s a testament to what we do every week (in practice).”
Following last night’s Boise State victory over Fresno State, the Aggies now control their own destiny to a potential conference championship and an opportunity to host the MWC title game on Dec. 1. USU went 6-0 at home this season, outscoring opponents by a combined total of 357-128.
“It means so much to us,” Rocquemore said of the team’s unblemished home record. “We take a lot of pride playing at home. To go 6-0 is really a great completion of what we wanted to do.”
The Aggies are now 9-1 on the season, and a perfect 6-0 in conference play. Only five other teams in program history have exceeded nine wins in a season.
While this has been a season full of record-setting performances and this is perhaps one of the most dominant Aggie teams in program history, Rocquemore said they are far from finished.
“Coming off of these games, the one thing I really think about is how much better we can be, how much things we can fix, how much things we need to work on,” he said. “We can get so much better.”
Utah State’s season continues next Saturday, as the Aggies head to Ft. Collins, Colo. to take on the Rams of Colorado State. Kickoff for the game is set for noon.