Utah State vs BYU: By the numbers
10 – The Number of Utah State Players That Had a Reception
The Aggies game on Saturday against the University of Brigham Young was rough, there’s no getting around that, but if there is one positive statistic that can be taken from this game, it’s that 10 players had a reception, totaling 29 completions, for the Aggies. That’s a number that the Aggies haven’t been able to reach since their home opener against the porous Stony Brook defense in which they had 14 players with receptions, totaling 25 completions (Sports Reference).The Aggies had come close in their matchups against Louisiana State University and conference rival San Diego State, reaching nine players with a reception in both games. As for Utah State vs BYU, sophomore receiver Deven Thompkins, graduate-transfer Siaosi Mariner, and graduate student tight end Caleb Repp tied for the team-high in receptions at five.
28 – The Margin of Defeat
Having allowed only 24 points a game going into the matchup, it was expected that the Aggies would be able to hold a BYU offense playing its second-string quarterback Jaren Hall to a reasonable total. However, the Aggies allowed 42 points and 643 yards to be put up against them, the second highest total points and highest yards against of the season, which brought their average points per game up to 26.4, a significant jump from 22.2 points per game they allowed in the 2018 season. The reason for the lackluster play of the Utah State defense may have been because of junior linebacker David Woodward being out due to injury. In his absence, the Cougars were able to make plays in the middle of the field that would have come to a dead stop otherwise. The team tried to fill the gap left by Woodward, 23 players made at least one tackle in the game, but it was too big of a hole to fill, and the Cougars ran and passed straight through it.
93 – David Woodward’s Final Tackle Total
Junior linebacker David Woodward had a fantastic season up until this point, he had a near league-leading 93 tackles through seven games; unfortunately, for Woodward and the Aggies, he suffered an undisclosed injury prior to the Aggies match against Brigham Young University. Confirmation came late in the game and in a post-game interview with Utah State head coach Gary Anderson that Woodward would be out for the rest of the season. Woodward will end the season with 93 tackles, five of which were for loss, two sacks, four forced fumbles and one fumble returned for a touchdown. If he had stayed at that pace, he was on track for 172 tackles, a number that would have been the top season result in Utah State program history.
3 – The Number of Interceptions thrown by Jordan Love
Junior quarterback Jordan Love had a very conflicted game on Saturday night. While he was at times outstanding, he also had a few moments that were anything but. In his night against the Cougars, Love threw three interceptions. Love has only thrown that many interceptions in a game, two other times in his collegiate career, in Utah State’s August 30th game against Wake Forest this season and October 14th, 2017 against Wyoming. In fact, in the 2018 season, Love only threw six interceptions, meaning that in the game against the Cougars, Love threw for half the interceptions he threw in the whole of the 2018 season. There is no denying that Love is an exceptional talent, he’s done things on the field that seem to defy explanation, but there is also no denying that he is currently struggling to read opposing defenses, and it’s showing. It’s showing on the field, it’s showing in the box score, and it’s showing in the results.
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