Utah State takes down Nevada to move to 5-4
On Nov. 8, the USU Football team played University of Nevada, ending 51-14. There were three touchdowns in the first quarter, the first made by Brady Boyd by catching a complete pass for 53 yards. The theme of the game was to honor and appreciate veterans, with military family members stepping out onto the field to honor their son who had fallen. New USU President Brad L. Mortensen also stepped out, getting his own jersey and thanking the crowd for the opportunity to be president.
“I’ve coached at a lot of places. There’s something about the stadium, our fans, our student section, the HURD, the connection. Our players feel it. I feel it,” said head coach Bronco Mendenhall. “It’s a beautiful place to play and to express gratitude [for] making Maverik Stadium a cool place to play and a true home field advantage.”
Utah State had a total of 522 yards and 377 passing yards with 145 rushing yards.
“I can’t say it’s a breakthrough, but I can say it’s a significant step today,” Mendenhall said. “The coaches have been working on it, the players have acknowledged it and there’s a period of buildup before there’s a breakthrough.”
According to the USU Athletics, sophomore quarterback Anthony Garcia became the only player with multiple passing and receiving touchdowns this season.
“Our league is full of parity, and records are records, but anyone at any time in this league on any Saturday can win,” Mendenhall said. “I like our chances already looking forward to preparing for the next opponent.”
Boyd also had a career-high tying two touchdowns with a career high of 117 yards receiving on five catches.
“We’ve kind of started slow. It was a big emphasis to come out and start fast, stay ahead, and it’s just the way it worked out,” Boyd said. “We were really intentional this week about staying ahead, so I think that first drive really carried the momentum that we kept the entire game.”
Overall, Boyd was the receiving yard game leader for USU with 117 yards, 5 receptions and 2 touchdowns.
By halftime, the score was 41-0 for the Aggies until the third quarter when Nevada made its first touchdown. It wasn’t until the last quarter that Nevada made its final touchdown, with USU making a field goal.
The next game is scheduled to be in Las Vegas against UNLV on Nov. 15, with just one more home game after.
“It’s no secret that we got some of the top dogs in the conference coming up, so putting on a performance like this gives us momentum that we can carry through these last three games,” Boyd said.