Utah State wins first-ever WAC football title
Things have never been better for Utah State football.
With their 48-41 victory over then-No. 19 Louisiana Tech on Saturday, the Aggies were voted one of the Associated Press Top-25 teams in college football.
“It’s another very special moment for the kids and for all the coaches,” said Utah State head coach Gary Andersen. “It’s a big accomplishment. It is something that hasn’t happened for a long time.”
The win wasn’t an easy one. Even after jumping out to a 17-3 halftime lead, Utah State used two interceptions to keep La. Tech out of the endzone.
Senior safety Will Davis and junior linebacker Jake Doughty each picked off Bulldog quarterback Colby Cameron’s attempts at a score.
“I think he had played that play before it happened,” Andersen said of Doughty. “We were in a position to play the percentages and we were fortunate to make that play.”
Andersen said those two turnovers were key.
“There were some keys moments when you look back, but the turnovers were big,” Andersen said. “To win the turnover battle in that situation was big and especially the way they came, it was great to win the turnover margin convincingly, which is a big step.”
Utah State red zone defense has been exceptional all season long.
“Yeah, we’ve been a good red zone defense, the kids have got a lot of belief,” Andersen said. “I go back and credit a lot of that to the players and the coaches in that setting.
Quarterback Performance
Sophomore quarterback Chuckie Keeton quietly set the school record for touchdown passes when he found senior tight end Kellen Bartlett in the end zone in the second quarter. The previous record was 24 set by Jose Fuentes in 2001.
Keeton was named WAC Player of the Week for his performance.
Keeton ranks fifth all-time at USU in single-season pass completions with 237 and ninth all-time with 343. With his 461 yards of total offense Saturday, the Cypress Creek, Texas, native broke Diondre Borel’s single-season record of 3,343 yards set it 2009.
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The best part about it for Aggie fans? This kid is a sophomore.
“He made good decisions with the football and ran the ball well,” Andersen said. “He is a special young man and he is a tremendous football player. It’s more than just his athletic ability, which we all know, we all know what kind of kid he is and the importance for him to win. It was special for him to see his dad there and his parents after the game. That was their belief when they were at the BYU game when we were recruiting Chuckie and all that came together, it was a special time for Chuckie and his family.”
Running over the Bulldogs
Utah State put up more than 300 yards rushing against La. Tech.
Running back Kerwynn Williams had 163 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win, putting him in reach of breaking 2,000 all-purpose yards this season Saturday against Idaho.
Andersen said the offensive line made Williams’ job a lot easier against the Bulldogs.
“I thought the offensive line probably had their best game of the year, which they needed to,” Andersen said.
– tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @StuckiAggies