Utah State (3-1, 2-0 MW) came away with a 34-24 victory over the Colorado State Rams (1-4, 0-1 MW) on Saturday night in a game heavily affected by rain.

Let’s take a closer look at this game:

OFFENSE:

Jordan Love shows his strengths and weaknesses

- Love showed some signs of weakness in his decision-making at times throughout the night. His turnovers were back-breaking, especially on the interception that was returned for a CSU score. The defender should have been identified, as he wasn’t far from the targeted receiver at the time of the throw. Love’s fumble inside the opponent’s five was another hard pill to swallow, as the run game was doing so well it was probable the Aggies get into the endzone to finish that drive.

- On the flip side, Love also showed excellent touch, especially on his touchdown throws to WR Deven Thompkins and TE Caleb Repp. He floated the ball in perfectly behind two defenders and right into Repp’s hands for the latter score.

Bright has a career night

- RB Gerold Bright set career highs in rushing attempts (36) and rushing yards (179). This all comes after Bright fumbled the ball away in the first quarter. The coaching staff had faith in him and he rewarded them for that confidence. The Aggies continue to have a wealth of riches at the runningback position for the second year in a row.

Repp gets involved

- As mentioned earlier, Utah transfer TE Caleb Repp, the team’s starter in each game this season, finally found the endzone Saturday night. It would behoove the Aggies to continue using Repp, as his talent can bunch the defense in and get receivers like Mariner and Thompkins open on the outside.

DEFENSE:

Aggies kept stuffing the Rams all night long

- Colorado State was caught in the backfield quite often throughout the night. The Aggies accumulated seven tackles for loss and one sack on CSU QB Patrick O’Brien. Both S Troy Lefeged Jr. and CB Cameron Haney had career nights. Lefeged Jr. racked up 11 tackles, including 3 TFLs. Haney had six tackles, three pass break ups, and a forced fumble.

Secondary had bright spots, but allows some big plays

- The Aggies secondary allowed some big yardage plays, but that didn’t stop them from making an impact. The Rams offense reached the endzone twice on Saturday, but neither of those scores were through the air. Getting the ball to CSU receivers wasn’t easy for O’Brien, as the secondary totaled seven pass deflections on the night.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Scarver speeds by

- The Rams marched their way down to the endzone and scored with easy in the early stages of the game, but that lead would not last very long. Savon Scarver took the ensuing kickoff out from deep in his own endzone and pretty much just ran straight forward, using his speed to outrun every defender on his way to the endzone. Scarver returned a kickoff for a score for the fourth time in his career, tying the Utah State program record.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

- This entire game was dictated by turnovers, as both teams scored 10 points off of the others giveaways and left a good amount of points off of the board by giving it up. It was a messy affair, but the Aggies came away with the victory thanks to a healthy balance of talent and rainfall. Love had his moments of weakness, but he’s still a top-talent, the run game is solid no matter who totes the rock, and the defense showed that they can shutdown an opponent’s run game and force them to throw into a secondary with some talented coverage players hungry to make a play.

- The Aggies are now a very favorable 2-0 in conference, but will have to set Mountain West play aside for the time being as the head to Louisiana to take on the fifth-ranked LSU Tigers. Look for the upcoming Logan Lookahead for that big game!

What did you think of the win? Let us know in the comments!

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