Sack-religious: Aggies ride school-record sack total to 49-27 win

After a 6-3 loss where the USU offense wasn't able to get much of anything going and the defense didn't log a single tackle for loss, there was plenty of redemption to be had for Utah State. The victims of that redemption turned out to be the Spartans of San Jose State.

In one of the WAC's biggest conference games this season, the Aggies got everything back on track, and might have even cranked things up to previously unseen levels, showing more what this team is capable of.

Things didn't start off so great for the Aggies, allowing SJSU to put together a 12-play, 67-yard drive that resulted in a field goal, and the first points allowed by USU in the first quarter all season.

USU bounced back strong though with a 13-play, 86-yard drive of its own to go up 7-3.

Then the Aggies struck again. 14-3
And again. 21-3
And one more time. 28-3.

Utah State mercilessly dominated an entire quarter of football, and on both sides of the ball. Offensively, they seemed to be doing whatever they wanted, and on defense the Aggies completely dominated the line of scrimmage.


Things got uncomfortably close in the second quarter, with USU letting so much of the momentum they'd built, slip away in the Spartans' favor. And it really seemed to directly correlate with the amount that USU was blitzing David Fales. When the Aggies tried pulling back into coverage, the Spartan passing game was able to take advantage, but when the pressure was on, everything fell apart for Fales and company.

SECOND HALF
After losing all the momentum in the world and going into halftime with only a 28-20 lead, USU seemed to fix everything at halftime.

For the first time all season against an FBS opponent, the Aggies did better than either a turnover or a three-and-out with their first possession of the second half. And as far as the WAC standings are concerned, they couldn't have picked a better time to finally rectify that issue. They NEEDED to score there and get some momentum back, and that's exactly what happened.

The defense brought the pain too, holding the Spartans to a three-and-out on their first possession. And after the offense drove down and scored on its next possession to go up 42-20, things were solidly back in control for the Aggies.

It seemed from that point on, Utah State's blitzing completely took over the game. San Jose State got a touchdown late in the third quarter with the aid of a couple questionable calls, but with the Aggies comfortably in control on both sides of the ball, a 1-0 start to the WAC was pretty much locked up.

LOOKING AHEAD
There are basically three crucial games in the WAC this year; Utah State at San Jose State, Utah State at Louisiana Tech and Louisiana Tech at San Jose State. I'm doubting any of these three teams lose a conference game to any other WAC team. And with that said, USU is 1-0 in these big games now, which is toughest for the Aggies having to go on the road for both of their big ones.

Getting a win on the road to start off the WAC schedule is a huge step forward toward a WAC title. Now as it is, SJSU is playing catch up, and LA Tech still has the task of going on the road at San Jose State to try and pull out a win.

Things are looking pretty damn good for the Aggies now.

NOTES

• As stated before, pressuring the QB was the game-changer for USU's defense. A school-record 13 sacks will suffice for backing up that claim.
• A season-high 49 points scored and a season-high 27 points allowed. A big part of that is due to the fact that SJSU had a lot of opportunities with the ball. USU didn't take long to score on most of their drives, while San Jose needed to sustain drives for the most part. Pass defense could use some improvement, but hopefully this will serve as a learning experience.
• Jake Doughty had another monster game, setting the tone early with a sack on the first play from scrimmage. Gotta make that interception in the end zone though when you get hit in the hands like that. Could have crushed that glimmer of hope that the Spartans had really early if he'd pulled that one in.
• Chuckie Keeton had a hell of a bounce back game with 273 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a TD, which somehow was his first rushing score of the year.
• Kerwynn Williams was a monster once again, as we all kind of knew he would be against most teams this year. At one point he had 155 rushing yards on only seven carries. After grinding out most of the fourth quarter with short gains, he still finished with 176 yards on 15 carries and three touchdowns.
• Touchdown catches for each one of Matt Austin, Chuck Jacobs and Travis Van Leeuwen. More of that please!
• While we're throwing around offensive Kudos, Matt Wells, well done today good sir! Today it seemed like the offense kept on playing to strengths and exploiting holes in coverage. More of that please!
• In maybe the least surprising thing ever, McKade Brady had double-digit tackles... again... Dude is the epitome of a ballhawk.
• Nevin Lawson had an up and down kind of game. He's an awesome tackler in the open field, as well as fantastic on that corner blitz. In coverage though, he still seems to have some lapses. He can stick to guys like crazy, but making a play from there still isn't coming easy for him. Whether it's instigating too much contact with his man, or just missing the ball like he did on that one touchdown, Lawson seems to perpetually be almost dominant.
• And what in the holy hell was up with those fumbles that seemed to just be given back to San Jose?? Two times they fumbled, USU recovered, and without even a review or explanation, the ball was given back to SJSU. One looked like an obvious fumble too, and the replay clearly showed USU come up with the ball, but the official just spotted the ball and let the drive continue. It was baffling.
• Four different players had multiple-sack games... That is unreal!!
• Dave Aranda... What can you even say? Dude has brought a hell of a lot to this team. Such a great addition to this staff by Gary.
• Defensive line... All of you... Absolute hell of a game gentlemen!!! You made that line of scrimmage yours.

Player of the Game: Kyler Fackrell

The reigning WAC Defensive Player of the Week made about as strong of a case as you can for repeating with that honor. On top of a team-high 11 tackles, Fackrell added two sacks, a pass break-up, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. This is a guy who was pretty damn good while he was just getting his feet wet in college football. Now, halfway through his freshman year, Fackrell is an absolute defensive force out there. Given that USU won a crucial in-conference game, LA Tech is currently getting crushed, and nobody else in the WAC is really all that meaningful, Fackrell's game should be a lock for Player of the Week again. Stay tuned on this kid Aggie fans... Superstar in the making!!