Sloppy but surely... Aggies win 31-19 at CSU

Oh how far we've come...

Not long ago, a game played as sloppy as that one by the Aggies would have resulted in a double-digit loss, all sorts of regret and lingering thoughts that we might not even win three games that season.

Here we are now though where we mostly played poorly, finished -3 in turnovers, made a handful of other mistakes, yet are still coming away with a double-digit victory on the road. Oh, and we're 3-1.

Things didn't start out all too bad for USU though. The defense was absolutely dominant in the first half and the offense got off to a nice start with a touchdown on its first drive. Colorado State only managed 10 yards of total offense in the first quarter while the Aggies jumped out to a 10-0 lead.

The Rams got one big run for 27 yards that accounted for nearly half of their first half offense, while USU was doing things like busting out a 19-play, 85-yard scoring drive. The Aggies nearly capped off another scoring drive too that would have put them up 24-0 going into halftime, but Matt Austin got a little careless carrying the football and the Rams poked it loose just short of the goal line.


THE SECOND HALF
Not the first half was flawless, but it was solidly dominant for USU. The second half was pretty much a slop fest, with the Aggies getting outscored 14-19.

To CSU's credit, they started making some plays in the second half both on the ground and in the air. They've got the talent to threaten, but the Aggies gave up way more than they should have.

 That problem appeared to all start on the defensive line too. When the game started, the Aggie defensive line was obliterating everything the Rams tried to do. It was a beautiful sight! Things tapered off in the second quarter though, and really the defensive line didn't get any real pressure on Garrett Grayson until late in the fourth quarter.

Add in a few holes in pass coverage and a couple would-be interceptions that got dropped, and the Rams were able to claw their way back into the game a little bit.

Things even got a little bit scary when USU had a second consecutive drive end in a Chuckie Keeton interception, giving CSU the chance to bring it to a 17-6 score.

Big response by USU though when Kerwynn Williams knocked out two personal records on a one run, racking his longest single run of 58-yards and reaching a career-high in rushing yards for a single game. It was an emphatic response that the Aggies needed, and couldn't be more fitting than having it come from Williams. Dude had an absolute MONSTER of a game Saturday!

After the Rams put together another scoring drive, this time for a touchdown, USU made a couple more big plays to answer. This time it was Chuck Jacobs busting out a 55-yard kickoff return to set up a scoring drive capped off by 15-yard run by Joe Hill.

It was still sloppy from there, but that score pretty much put the game out of reach. Utah State is 3-1 now, and even though there's stuff to work on, this is a pretty excellent start to the season.

NOTES

• Today was a little bit redemptive for the special teams. Josh Thompson got a field goal on the board, Tyler Bennett was good in punting the ball and the coverage teams were all solid. Cap it off with the big return by Jacobs, and this was a big step in the right direction for everyone.
• Zach Vigil kept his reign of terror going with seven tackles, three TFLs and two sacks... Un-freaking-real. He's now second on the team in total tackles on the season, while leading the pack in tackles for loss and sacks.
• Chuckie Keeton wasn't quite as epic out there today though. He still completed at a high percentage, but his downfield throws weren't on point tonight. The two interceptions were both pretty bad too. The second one especially was horribly under-thrown. Had he gotten that ball to Van Leeuwen there, that play goes for 40+ yards, if not a touchdown.
• Watching CSU play made me continue to not miss Dave Baldwin. CSU still got their points, but Baldwin was usually good for a handful of those, just never when it counted.
• Will Davis had as clear a shot at an epic pick-six as you'll get but dropped it. Really really badly want to see him actually come down with one of these picks he's so close on.
• Solid games again for McKade Brady and Brian Suite. Those two have been fantastic so far this year. Brady is leading the team in tackles through four games, while Suite is tied for third.
• Jake Doughty... You are a bad, bad man!!! What a hit on that kickoff. I would give anything just to have heard the sound that kicker made after getting hit like that.
• Joe Hill is like a touchdown machine. Dude just keeps on scoring!!

Player of the Game: Kerwynn Williams

From start to finish, Kerwynn absolutely murdered it tonight. He's just got a knack for making guys miss on tackles from him, evidenced by the picture when both of those guys looked to have him sandwiched. He ran right on through for his first touchdown of the night. Williams finished the game with 205 rushing yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns. Weird that we kept giving the ball to the guy averaging better than nine yards per carry. That's something Baldwin was never down with in the past. Williams also caught three passes for 22 yards. Amazing game!!!