Aggie Analysis: Love is STILL in the Air

THE RUNDOWN:

OFFENSE:

- QB Jordan Love actually played decent minutes in the second half this week, giving his numbers a bit of an extra boost. Love finished the day with 491 passing yards, five TDs and no picks. Another phenomenal day for the sophomore. He was accurate, going 32/42 on his passes, he tossed some deep balls that came down into receivers hands, and overall played extremely well. It stinks to say this, but if Love was putting up these numbers at a Power 5 school he’d be in Heisman contention right now.

- Don’t believe me? Let’s compare:

o Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa:

§ 67.9 Comp. Pct., 2525 Pass Yds, 28 Pass TDs, 2 INTs

o Jordan Love

§ 66.7% Comp. Pct., 2676 Pass Yds, 24 Pass TDs, 4 INTs

o Many will argue that both numbers come against teams of way different talent levels, and while that is certainly true, the numbers are still what they are and they are still impressive. Put Love on a TCU, UCLA, Nebraska, etc., and you have yourselves a household name.

- Let’s not give Love all the credit, as the rushing game also made an impact on this one. RB Darwin Thompson once again led all rushers with 15 carries for 140 yards. He also had a rushing score along with Love and RB Gerold Bright. The Aggies as a whole ran for 294 rushing yards.

- The receiving corps had quite a day catching passes from Love. Darwin Thompson was also the leading receiver with 115 receiving yards and two touchdowns, although most of it came on an 88-yard catch and run for a score. WR Ron’Quavion Tarver led all receivers with eight catches for 74 yards. Jalen Greene, Jordan Nathan, and Bright all had a receiving touchdown on the day.

DEFENSE:

- The rushing defense shows up once again for Utah State, allowing a total of 56 rushing yards for the Spartans. Their leading rusher, Tyler Nevens, had ten carries for 58 yards, but 38 of those yards came on one play, so the rest of the game he tallied only 20 yards on nine runs. A stout run defense can go a long way in college football, and it showed on Saturday.

- The secondary looked shaky as usual, allowing some big plays and giving up way more points than they should be allowing. They were burned a few too many times by SJSU WR Tre Walker, who hauled in seven catches for 209 yards and two touchdowns. They managed to pick off QB Josh Love twice, so while they have things to work on, they’re still taking the ball away efficiently.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

- Utah State punter Taylor Hintze dropped the punt that was snapped to him, tried to recover and kick again, only for it to fumble away and be picked up by SJSU’s Tre Jenkins and ran back for a touchdown. Special Teams miscues are not a common occurrence for the Aggies, so this one is passable. Rough to watch right at the start of the game, though.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

- A stellar performance by Jordan Love and the Aggies run defense put this game to bed early. Some miscues by Special teams and pass defense are worrisome, but nothing fans should lose sleep over. This offense is still firing on all cylinders, and I’m not sure who can stop them. We’ll see next week as they head out on a challenge into higher elevations.

NEXT MAN UP:

- The Aggies head to Fort Collins to take on a Colorado State team that has been quite disappointing this year. I’m not sure the Rams can keep up with the Aggies, especially given their porous defense. USU can’t take this game lightly however, as they can’t get caught looking ahead to the big one in Boise two weeks from now.

WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE GAME? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS!

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