WEB EXTRA: USU tops ISU in dramatic Homecoming tilt
IDAHO STATE Bengals 27 , UTAH STATE Aggies 28
LOGAN – Three fourth-quarter touchdowns by senior Emmett White pushed Utah State University to a dramatic 28-27 come-from-behind victory over Idaho State Saturday afternoon.
The Aggie (1-5) defense, riddled for 248 yards and 27 points in the first half, held ISU (3-3, 1-2) scoreless in the second half to enable the win. ISU mishandled a 47-yard field goal attempt with 6:05 remaining and had a long pass intercepted with 57 seconds left in the game, nullifying a chance to steal the win in front of 20,875 Homecoming fans.
But the win did not come easy for USU, as the Division I-AA Bengals pushed the Aggies around the field for the bulk of three quarters and nearly spoiled the chances for the Aggies to have a winning season — for the second year in a row. Last season, ISU topped Utah State 27-24 in the final game of the season to drop the Aggies to a 5-6 season.
White’s second TD in the final stanza came after Nathan Barber picked off a Doug Baughman pass and returned it 29 yards to the 16-yard line. Four plays later, White scampered 4 yards to make the score 27-21 and gave USU a chance for the first time in the game to smell a posible victory.
White, sixth in the nation in rushing, also caught a Jose Fuentes pass and made a 19-yard run in the fourth quarter for scores.
Kevin Curtis, grabbing 100-plus receiving yards for the fifth game this season, gave USU’s its first score of the game on a 58-yard pass from Fuentes, the long play of the season for the Aggies. But that play came with only six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
In the first half, ISU, with precision passes from QB Baughman, dominated the Aggies, holding USU to 163 yards and zero points. Bengal defensive end Jared Allen had an interception and touchdown, as well as a fumble recovery, to power the visitor’s defense.
Aggie QB Fuentes was interecepted on the last play of the first quarter, leading to a Bengal score on the first play of the second stanza, a 26-yard strike from Baughman to Charles James.
With just under two minutes left in the half, ISU would score again on a 20-yard pass to Jermaine Anderson. USU found the end zone with 13 seconds remaining in the first half when Curtis scampered in on an 8-yard run, only to have the play nullified by an illegal formation call, leaving USU with a 27-0 halftime deficit.