Aggies blown out in Baton Rouge
LSU covered a 28.5-point spread in its 42-6 victory over Utah State in Baton Rouge on Saturday morning. And maybe that’s all that the Aggies should remember of this game before moving on in the quest for a Mountain West title.
In the first half, Utah State put forth a solid effort, coming a mere handful of unlucky bounces away from being tied with the No. 5 team in the country at halftime. Down 7-0 midway through the first quarter, Cameron Haney intercepted a Joe Burrow pass — only Burrow’s second pick of the season. USU started the ensuing drive just seven yards from paydirt. But that drive went backward as Jordan Love was sacked on third and goal, leaving the Aggies to settle for a 30-yard Dominik Eberle field goal.
On the Tigers’ ensuing drive following Eberle’s field goal, Burrow was halted behind the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-one, turning the ball over to Utah State on downs. After driving down to the LSU 30 yard line, Love found tight end Caleb Repp wide open down the field for what might have been a touchdown, but the Utah grad transfer dropped the pass and once again Eberle trotted out onto the field to give USU three points rather than seven, this time coming from 47 yards out.
Utah State wide receiver Deven Thompkins (13) bobbles a pass for an incompletion under pressure from LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton (1) in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Those failed chances and a few others gave LSU all the time it needed to pull ahead and away. At halftime, the Tigers led 21-6 and by the end of three, Ed Orgeron and crew had the game in the bag at 35-6.
Burrow set a school record for LSU by throwing for 300 yards in his fourth consecutive game. The senior signal-caller finished with 344 yards and five touchdowns, plus the pick, on 27-of-38 passing. Love, on the other hand, had one of the worst games of his collegiate career. He completed just 50 percent of his passes — 15-of-30 — for a mere 130 yards (his third-lowest total in any game he’s started) with zero touchdowns and three interceptions.
Love’s struggles were only the start of Utah State’s offensive ineptitude. The team gained just 159 yards all night, 70 of those coming from two plays, and were 1-of-12 overall on third down plays. On the ground, USU gained less than one yard per carry with 22 rushes for only 19 yards.
“We got stomped on offense,” USU head coach Gary Andersen said. “Couldn’t run the ball. Couldn’t throw the ball. You name it, we couldn’t do it.”
LSU quarterback Myles Brennan (15) is tackled on a carry by Utah State linebacker Kevin Meitzenheimer, right, and defensive end Tipa Galeai in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The lone bright spots in Saturday’s beatdown were just about exclusively on the defensive end. Despite giving up 600 yards for the first time since 2012, the Aggies played a decent game, forcing multiple turnovers and, at times, forcing bad plays out of the Heisman candidate Burrow. Junior linebacker David Woodward recorded 16 tackles, 11 solo, plus a sack for the Aggies with fellow linebacker Kevin Meitzenheimer posting a career-highs in tackles with 14 (12 solo) and two forced fumbles.
By the second half, however, the defense had spent too much time on the field. LSU commanded time of possession in the game, controlling the ball for more than 41 minutes of the 60-minute contest.
The loss sends the Aggies to 3-2 on the season and to an all-time record of 0-22 against AP top 10 teams and 0-11 against the top five. USU’s next chance to redeem this loss will be on Oct. 19 when the team hosts Nevada at Maverick Stadium.