Utah State handles New Mexico to clinch spot in MW Championship
Utah State Football will play for the Mountain West Conference Championship after routing New Mexico 35 to 10. Utah State’s win and Boise State’s loss to San Diego State gave the Aggies the Mountain Division crown and a berth to the title game. It’s the Aggies’ first division title since 2013.
Players on the Utah State sideline celebrated their ninth win of the season and chance at a conference title by showering head coach Blake Anderson with a Gatorade bath.
“Me personally, that Gatorade bath is a little premature,” Anderson said. “Yes, we got to the game. I don’t want to be satisfied with getting to the game, I want us to go win the game. But, it’s hard to even put into words how satisfying this season has been with this group of guys considering all they’ve been through last season.”
Collectively and individually, Utah State set and tied many records on their Friday afternoon win in Albequerque. For the first time in school history, the Aggies are 6-0 in away games.
Quarterback Logan Bonner tied two big Aggie passing records in his marquee performance through the air. Bonner’s career-high five touchdown passes tied the school record held by five other former Aggies. Chuckie Keeton, one of the other record holders and current Aggie running backs coach, congratulated Bonner on the sideline.
“As soon as I threw the fifth one, (Keeton) came up to me and said ‘Welcome to the club.’ And he was like ‘I might have to get in your head a little bit. I don’t want you to break it.’ It was fun. It was a good moment between me and him,” Bonner said.
Bonner’s last touchdown pass was also good for his 32nd on the season, tying the school record set by Jordan Love in 2018. Bonner tallied up 306 yards for five touchdowns on 16 completions. He exited the game during the last play of the third quarter after he fell on a fumbled snap. He was clutching his lower abdomen when he walked off the field. Coach Anderson isn’t concerned about Bonner.
“I think Bonner will be fine,” Anderson said. “He did take a shot and it just didn’t seem smart to put him back out there with the clock like it was and the game in hand. Probably could’ve gone back although I thought he took a shot that he shouldn’t have taken. Knowing him, that dude [will] be ready.”
Bonner had few words to say about his health.
“Yeah I’m okay,” Bonner said.
Wide receiver Deven Thompkins set a new school record for most receiving yards in a season as he passed Kevin Curtis’s 1,531 yards from 2001.
“He deserves it. I mean he works so hard. He deserves to be in every accolade he’s in. And there are some awards that I feel he should’ve been up there, but that’s okay. We’ll keep fighting,” Bonner said.
Thompkins still leads the nation in receiving yards, but Western Kentucky’s Jerreth Sterns is only 42 yards behind him with a game in hand.
The Aggie defense was dominant. They limited the Lobos to 186 yards of total offense. They recorded 12 tackles for loss, pushing back New Mexico 53 yards. The Lobos were only able to score 10 points, and seven of them came on a garbage-time touchdown.
“Our defense was able to set the tone early which I think definitely kept the momentum on our side and helped propel our offense to score points,” defensive end Nick Heninger said.
Heninger forced two fumbles, recovered a fumble and recovered a muffed punt. He also had a season-high 10 tackles.
After a slow first quarter, Utah State’s offense took control of the game in the second quarter and never looked back. The score was 28-0 at halftime and the Aggies tacked another touchdown on in the third quarter for good measure.
Bonner found four different receivers for his five touchdown passes. Wide receiver Derek Wright grabbed two of them, one from 76-yards out. He finished with 150 yards on four receptions. Wide receiver Brandon Bowling also found the endzone. Bonner found Bowling for a 36-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He finished with three receptions for a total of 75 yards. Sixth-year senior wide receiver Jordan Nathan caught his first career touchdown. Nathan scored from 39-yards out for the Aggies’ first score in the second quarter. Justin McGriff, a junior wide receiver, also got on the board. He totaled 10 yards on his lone reception for a touchdown.
“I love to spread the ball around. Nothing made me happier than seeing (Nathan) catch that ball and then J Griff get one late,” Anderson said. “Try to give back to the guys that give so much to the program. They’ve been unselfish all year.”
The Aggies’ rushing attack was balanced and unselfish. Four guys recorded at least 29 yards for Utah State as they collectively put up 116 yards.
The Aggies will travel to Carson, California to take on San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference Championship on Dec. 4.