Utah State vs. BYU: By the Numbers
5.3 – Average yards per carry by the USU offense
Last week, in a column I wrote entitled “Things to watch for in Utah State vs. BYU,” I wrote:
“In this game I’m looking for (Utah State) to figure out how to consistently pick up five or six yards with very few short or minimal gain runs. If they can do that, I think the Aggies win.”
I don’t say this to toot my own horn (okay, maybe just a little bit), but Utah State did exactly that. After only running the ball 24 times against Air Force, the Aggies had 42 rushing attempts in this game to go for 5.3 yards per carry. Keep in mind, this is a pretty sound rushing defense. They held their first five opponents to an average of 4.1 yards per carry, including Wisconsin (4.7) and Washington (5.0). In the first half, USU only had 13 running plays which averaged 3.3 yards per attempt, but with a firm lead on the game, the focus turned to the run game in the second half when they ran it 29 times with 6.2 yards per attempt. This also allowed them to possess the ball for 18:28 as opposed to 12:44 in the first half.
23 – Rushing yards by BYU running backs
Who was BYU’s leading rusher against Utah State? Who knows? Anybody? It was backup quarterback Zach Wilson. The true freshman came into the game on BYU’s final drive, and with one 26-yard run nearly doubled their game total (the Cougars had 14 rushing yards before he came in.)
All week leading up to the game, it seemed like the conversation was centered around “can Utah State stop the BYU run game?” A few weeks ago in their massive upset win over Wisconsin, the Cougars ran for 208 yards, and looked deadly doing so. I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t one of my main concerns for the Aggies as well, but Coach Patterson and the USU defense did their homework. The running back duo of Lopini Katoa and Squally Canada rushed for 24 and -1 yards respectively, while the Aggie defense came together to earn one sack and five tackles for a loss. Last season, teams rushing for 39 yards or fewer in a game went 7-62.
21 – Points off of turnovers for the Aggies
I don’t think Utah State fans fully know or appreciate how good the Aggies have been at creating turnovers the past couple of years. This year, they currently rank seventh in the nation with 13 forced turnovers. In 2017, they finished sixth in the nation with 29. There is a ballhawk mentality on this defense, and in this game it came up big. Let’s look at each of USU’s three turnovers and how they influence the game.
First, it’s BYU’s second offensive drive. The game is scoreless, but the Cougars have crossed into Utah State territory with the ball on the 39-yard line and they’re going for it on fourth-and-one. If they get this conversion, who knows what happens. Instead, everyone’s new favorite Aggie player Tipa Galea’i makes a ridiculous athletic play to intercept the ball and run it the other way for six.
Next, it’s the first play of the second quarter. USU is up 14-0, but BYU has the ball, again near midfield. Mangum fires a short pass back to the line of scrimmage to his tight end who is immediately blasted by David Woodward, then Chase Christiansen recovers the fumble while sliding to the sideline. Now USU is starting with the ball on the BYU 35 and moves quickly downfield for a score which may have been huge, especially considering that the Cougars scored their first touchdown shortly after.
Finally, it’s the end of the third quarter. BYU finally had a drive on which their offense looked competent to make the score 35-13, then forced a USU three-and-out to maintain a glimmer of hope. They’re looking decent after moving the chains a couple of times and moving into Aggie territory, when Jontrell Rocquemore gets through unblocked to force then recover a fumble by Mangum. The Aggies then score to go up 42-13 and effectively put the game away.
125 – Penalty yards by Utah State
As well as the Aggies played in this game, it’s still hard to not feel like they could have played a lot better. I know, no Aggie fan is going to complain about a 25-point win over BYU, but this could be an area of focus for the team moving forward. All of last season, only 20 games were won by a team which racked up 125 penalty yards or more. The Aggies are also the 23rd most penalized team in the nation, averaging 72 yards per game. Before Friday, Utah State had only done it twice in the past ten years. Lots of penalties is often a sign of aggressive play, which is of course something every coach pushes for, and many of USU’s penalties on Friday were relatively inconsequential. Where it gets alarming is on a drive like BYU’s first touchdown drive during the second quarter. The Aggie defense gifted the Cougars 35 yards on three penalties to let BYU essentially start the drive from its own 12-yard line to the 50-yard line.
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