WAC CHAMPS!!!!! Aggies beat La Tech in OT

A late arrival and some light rain didn't stop a couple hundred Aggie fans from greeting the 2012 WAC football champions as they got off that plane. Beating BYU in 2010 was incredible. The win over Utah this season brought Romney Stadium to its most epic of levels ever. But this win over Louisiana Tech and this WAC title represent the biggest thing to happen to Utah State football during the incredible rise of this program.

Utah State came out looking primed for a blowout against La Tech on Saturday, scoring on its first offensive play and holding one of the best offenses in the country to only three first half points.

Colby Cameron threw his first interception of the year to Will Davis in the end zone to kill La Tech's last chance at a first half touchdown. Then USU opened up the second half with a short scoring drive to go up 24-3, then recovered a botched ball on the ensuing kickoff which resulted in three more points. With Chuckie Keeton picking apart the Bulldog defense without a shred of mercy, the blowout looked to be on at that point...

But La Tech is in the top 25 for a reason. They're a very good football team, and one capable of scoring a lot of points in a very short span of time, and that's exactly what they did.

After the USU field goal, the Bulldogs put touchdowns on the board on the next four possessions, while the Aggies only reached the end zone twice, bringing the game to a 41-31 Aggie advantage. The biggest of those was the kickoff return to the house that really gave the Bulldogs some swagger to carry back into this game.

Then La Tech put together a 14-play, 69-yard drive that looked like it was about to bring the game within only one score. But in what has to be considered among the biggest plays of the year, and really USU football history, Jake Doughty picked off Cameron for a second time, once again in the end zone. The squashed a drive that likely would have made a difference at the end of regulation that would have killed this whole party of ours. It was amazingly the only possession that the Bulldogs had in the second half that didn't result in points.

Still, the Aggie offense wasn't able to get first downs, while the Bulldogs' offense couldn't be stopped. That doubt we used to have about close games crept back into things as the Aggie lead closed to only three points with the Bulldogs rolling on all the momentum. A La Tech field goal as time expired sent the game to overtime. The title that once looked comfortably in hand, now looked to likely be doomed.

But those days of USU letting the close games slip away seem very much over. This team knows how to get it done in the clutch. Overtime is USU's time.

OVERTIME
There's really not even that much to say. Utah State came out like a new team in overtime. Three handoffs to Kerwynn Williams, and the Aggies had a seven point lead.

La Tech's possession wasn't detailed either. A two-yard run, five-yard pass and an incomplete pass set up the USU defense needing to make one more stop to win the WAC. On 4th and 3, La Tech handed off to Ray Holley up the middle. Once again, it was Doughty with the heroics, making the stop to clinch the victory and WAC championship for Utah State!!!

WORK LEFT TO DO...
A share of the WAC title is wrapped up for the Aggies. That much we know. For the outright WAC title, Utah State still needs to take care of business against Idaho next Saturday. Idaho is 1-10, so make what you will of that. A win would be the first outright conference title for Utah State since 1936 and would mark the first time ever that USU won 10 games in a season.

Then this season can really be capped off with a bowl game victory, in whatever bowl that ends up being...

The important thing for fans now is to FILL ROMNEY STADIUM next Saturday!!! No excuses. I get that it's Thanksgiving weekend and there's going to be a lot of family activities going on. Make it a point to come to the game anyway, and why not bring your family with you?

NOTES

• Utah State football is 9-2, just won on the road against a top 25 team, have clinched a share of a conference title, and are bowl-bound once again. That is absolutely incredible!!!
• Will Davis' interception of Colby Cameron in the second quarter broke an NCAA record streak of pass attempts without an interception thrown. It was the fourth game in a row with a pick for Davis, and the third time picking off a pass in the end zone. Clutch!!!
• Don't wanna get too negative, especially since Matt Wells has been awesome this season... But throwing the ball on 3rd and short on back-to-back drives where USU badly needed a first down late in the 4th quarter was a bad move. K-Dub was averaged 8.1 yards per carry, Joe Hill averaged four. Those incompletions on 3rd down were too risky of play calls and stopped the clock from ticking off time precious only to the Bulldogs. Put trust in the line and run the ball in those spots.
• Penalties... Holy hell!!! Were it not for those personal fouls that brought back a touchdown, this game really might have ended up in a blowout with La Tech's spirits crushed so early. Committing that many big penalties in a road game against a top 25 team and still winning is incredible.
• Surprising to see Nevin Lawson as the go-to match-up on Quinton Patton. The first half was well played all around by the USU DBs. Patton did rack up the yards in the fourth quarter, but to largely take him out of the game up until then was impressive, especially in keeping him out of the end zone. Can't say I pegged Patton as the type to grab his hamstring and act injured after every play he didn't make, but that was very much the case Saturday.
• Kerwynn Williams is amazing... Just freaking amazing.
• Only one sack each per team... Wouldn't have expected that. I figured the Aggies would be blitzing like crazy. Cameron was very good on the rollouts though, which got him away from the few blitzes that came at him.

Players of the Game: Chuckie Keeton & Jake Doughty

Chuckie Keeton was masterful!!! He tossed for 340 yards and two touchdowns, while running for 121 yards and two more scores. His progress as a quarterback even just throughout this season is incredible! Jake Doughty on the other hand, was everywhere defensively. His interception in the end zone was a game-saver and his 18 tackles were a game-changer. The game ended on one last tackle by Doughty, sealing what is now the defining victory of Utah State football in more years than even I know, and maybe even ever!!