Utah State has now extended their winning streak to four games and is having much greater success than they have the previous two seasons. Utah State was able to take down New Mexico State 35-13 and are preparing to take on San Jose State in a must win conference game on Saturday.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

TD NMSU; Juwaun Price 11 yard rush; NMSU: 7; USU: 0

FG NMSU; Ethan Albertson 45 yard field goal; NMSU: 10; USU: 0

Second Quarter

TD USU; Logan Bonner 26 yard touchdown pass to Deven Thompkins; NMSU: 10; USU: 7

FG NMSU; Ethan 35 yard field goal; NMSU: 13; USU: 7

Third Quarter

TD USU; Logan Bonner 54 yard touchdown pass to Deven Thompkins; USU: 14; NMSU: 13

TD USU; Logan Bonner 4 yard pass to Derek Wright; USU: 21; NMSU: 13

TD USU; Elelyon Noa 4 yard touchdown run; USU: 28; NMSU: 13

Fourth Quarter

TD USU; Logan Bonner 1 yard pass to Justin McGriff; USU: 35; NMSU: 13

Final Score: Utah State 35; New Mexico State 13

Statistics Comparison

First downs: NMSU: 28; USU: 20

Third down conversions: USU: 4-8; NMSU: 5-15

Total yards: USU: 457; NMSU: 347

Passing yards: USU: 359 yards; NMSU: 298 yards

Rushing yards: USU: 98 yards; NMSU: 49 yards

Penalties: USU: 8-76; NMSU: 13-96

Turnovers: NMSU: 0; USU: 1

Time of possession: NMSU: 33:40; USU: 26:20

Players of the Game

Offensive player of the game

Deven Thompkins has continued to make plays all season long and it was no different in this game. He had 215 yards and two touchdowns on just nine receptions. He has been a big key this season, grabbing 1,314 yards and 8 touchdowns on 72 receptions, averaging 18.3 yard per catch.

Defensive player of the game

Shaq Bond has been a difference maker for Utah State on defense for the past couple seasons and that hasn’t changed this season. In the game against New Mexico State, Bond had 9 tackles tackles, 7 solo and 2 assist. He also recorded a sack and two pass deflections.

Analysis

Though it was a slow start, Utah State was able to wake themselves up enough to pull out a victory against New Mexico State. This may not have been a conference game but it was important for Utah State to continue to improve on the things they have been doing well.

The next game against San Jose State won’t come as easy to the Aggies. The Spartans are 5-5 (3-3) and have struggled after their very successful season last year. Utah State is still in the drivers seat for the division title, however things are going to change if the Aggies lose to San Jose State. In that case, they will own the tie breaker over Air Force but not Boise State so things get complicated.

In order for Utah State to stay at the top of the conference, Utah State must win out. This means that Utah State has to limit the turnovers and they also need to get off to a fast start. This has been a problem for Utah State this season and while it didn’t make too much of a difference against New Mexico State, it could make a difference against San Jose State or even Wyoming the week after. Utah State has done well this season but there is still a ways to go.