Aggies rout Stony Brook for first win of season
In its opening game of the season at Maverick Stadium, Utah State was almost flawless, throwing down a 62-7 win over Stony Brook Saturday night.
Utah State’s first drive of the game, a 10-play, 54-yard affair, wasn’t exactly an indication of an explosive offense More like a slow burn that ends up re-igniting after it takes in more and more oxygen. But after a field goal and a fumble on the first two drives, the Aggies ripped off five straight scoring drives to end the first half. The score was 34-0 by the break, effectively sealing away any hope the Seawolves might have had in keeping it a close game.
A major factor in the Aggies’ success was junior quarterback Jordan Love, who bounced back from a three-interception game last week to throw for 294 yards on 25-34 passing, one touchdown and zero picks.
“He is a special quarterback and he stays so steady in that moment, takes what’s there,” USU head coach Gary Andersen said, “The offensive line allowed Jordan to get the ball out in a timely manner. They all executed at a high level. It’s awesome for Jordan to have weapons. We try to recruit the most dynamic players that you can recruit at those skill spots, and it’s great to put that group together.”
Love wasn’t short of weapons. Junior running back Jaylen Warren had another superb game rushing with 105 yards on just nine rushes and even caught two balls for 27 more yards.
In all eight Aggies were involved in the passing game before Love’s night was over early in the third quarter. Graduate transfer receiver Siaosi Mariner caught the lone touchdown from Love and the two continued to develop a strong connection in just their second game together with Mariner reeling in five receptions for 73 yards. Fellow grad transfer Caleb Repp and sophomore Deven Thompkins were both favorite targets of Love’s in the game and even after he exited the game, Thompkins continued to shine.
“The receivers are selfless as a crew. It was also great to see there’s no one out there counting catches,” Andersen said. “They’re excited when their opportunity comes to make a play. We caught the ball extremely well and we made some big plays. You can’t just be a guy that catches the ball downs. You have to catch the ball and make something happen. We have numerous guys that were able to do that tonight.”
Sophomore receiver Deven Thompkins evades a defender on his way into the endzone, scoring Utah State’s first touchdown on a 45-yard punt return. Utah State won its home opener 62-7 against Stony Brook Saturday night.
The young receiver/punt returner truly stole the show. Thompkins scored Utah State’s first touchdown on the game, taking a punt back 45 yards to the endzone. But as the game progressed, his electricity amplified. A 45 yard pass completion, a 10 yard touchdown in which he went one-on-one with the opponent and shook him out of his socks. A game like this is what lifts a player higher in the depth chart and gives them confidence to keep improving. And that’s what the team was focused on after last week’s disappointing loss.
“We felt a lot more electrifying tonight, I think everybody – we had a bad taste in our mouths after last game, you know,” Thompkins said. “We left three touchdowns out there that could have won us the game, it was like against Wake Forest we came out there and played as well as we could, it just wasn’t good enough.”
Unlike the Wake Forest game, Utah State held its own on defense, and vastly improved from the week prior at defending the pass and tackling. Again, the Aggies shuffled around its secondary to fill the whole of inexperience and injury, but there was a pleasant surprise at the cornerback position in freshman Cam Lampkin.
“You know it’s just wild — Cam’s composure,” Andersen said. “I think he came in with a lot of confidence and a lot of belief and as he continues to grow and develop, he’ll gain a lot of knowledge when he watches this film. But he wants it all, he wants all of it coming back – he wants to study the film, he wants to learn how to play, he wants to be in the moment. A week ago he was learning how to get on an airplane for the first time with his team.”
Good tackling and superior coverage led to a better product for the Aggies. Last week, Wake Forest gained 579 yards on offense and ran the ball 58 times. On Saturday, Stony Brook was only able to gain 263 yards and rushed the ball nearly half as many times as the Demon Deacons last weekend. In the process, Utah State broke a couple school records on Saturday night. The Aggies were constantly driving and ended up converting 35 first downs. Also the team has had an unprecedented run of scoring over its past three home games, scoring over 60 points in each contest.
Utah State will rest and recover next week on its first of two byes of the 2019 season, before traveling to San Diego to face the Aztecs on Sept. 21.