After getting just one win last season, things are seriously looking up for Utah State. The Aggies are now 2-0 after beating North Dakota 48-24. The 28 point second half and 21 point 4th quarter were what ultimately made a difference in this game. Utah State looks good and has the confidence that they needed to have going into a three game stretch against Air Force, Boise State, and BYU.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

TD UND Brock Boltmann 13 yard pass to Bo Belquist; UND: 7 USU: 0

TD USU Logan Bonner 54 yard pass to Brandon Bowling; UND: 7 USU: 7

TD UND Tommy Schuster 12 yard pass to Adam Zavalney; UND: 14 USU: 7

TD UND Quincy Vaughn three yard pass to Tyler Burian; UND: 21 USU: 7

Second Quarter

FG USU 26 yards; UND: 21 USU: 10

FG USU 37 yards; UND: 21 USU: 13

TD USU Logan Bonner three yard pass to Derek Wright; UND: 21 USU: 20

Third Quarter

FG UND 29 yards; UND: 24 USU: 20

TD USU Logan Bonner 75 yard pass to Deven Thompkins; USU: 27 UND: 24

Fourth Quarter

TD USU Calvin Tyler Jr. two yard run; USU: 34 UND: 24

TD USU Logan Bonner 41 yard pass to Derek Wright; USU: 41 UND: 24

TD USU Andrew Peasley 59 yard run; USU: 48 UND: 24

Statistics Comparison

Total yards: USU: 661; UND: 439

Passing yards: USU: 404; UND: 374

Rushing yards: USU: 217; UND: 65

Turnovers: USU: 1; UND: 2

First Downs: UND: 24; USU: 23

Penalties: USU: 6; UND: 6

Time of possession: UND: 33:04; USU: 26:56

Utah State Players of the Game

Offensive player of the game

Logan Bonner starred again for Utah State, throwing for 390 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception on 21-33 passing. Bonner completed passes of 41 yards, 54 yards, and 75 yards to help Utah State to create explosive plays.

Defensive Player of the game

One of the names that was consistently brought up during the preseason was Justin Rice and he continues to deliver. He started his career at Fresno State before transferring to Arkansas State and would eventually transfer again, this time to Utah State. In the game against the Fighting Hawks, Justin Rice had nine total tackles, a tackle for loss, and two interceptions. Considering how close the first half was, the two interceptions were significant.

Analysis

It was really unexpected that Utah State was going to be 2-0 going into week three against Air Force, yet here we stand. Utah State has looked good and they have confidence. The offense is creating big plays and is able to be much more consistent than the past two seasons and the defense is making stops and forcing turnovers. The run game for Utah State has also been productive, rushing for over 200 yards in each of the first two games and holding both opponents under 150 rushing yards.

This really does feel more like the 2018 version of Utah State that had one of the most successful seasons in program history. It’s important to remember that the season has only started and there are tough games against Air Force, Boise State, and BYU coming up but if Utah State continues to get consistently better, there is no reason to think they don’t have a chance to win any of those three games. There has already been a lot of improvement from the past two seasons so things are looking up for Utah State. Next Saturday the Aggies will be at Air Force before returning home for Boise State and BYU.