FG Expectations. That’s one of the words that Blake Anderson has used this season to describe his team this season and it is an interesting word to describe Utah State. Going into the season, Utah State didn’t have high expectations. They only managed to get one win during the odd 2020 season and only 7 wins in 2019 after their very successful 2018 season. Utah State did something in week one that not many people thought they could do, they took down Washington State in Pullman. A week later they had a comeback victory over North Dakota and a week after that, another late comeback in the 4th quarter over Air Force. So far, Utah State has exceeded expectations and leading into this weeks game against Boise State, the Aggies were once again prepared to exceed expectations. Unfortunately for Utah State, Boise State came ready to play too and Blake Andersen put it best, the Aggies were unable to meet expectations in a 27-3 loss.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

FG BSU Jonah Dalmas 28 yard kick; BSU: 3; USU: 0

TD BSU Andrew Van Buren 2 yard run; BSU: 10; USU: 0

Third Quarter

TD BSU Hank Bachmeier 2 yard pass to Khalil Shakir; BSU: 17; USU: 0

Fourth Quarter

FG USU Connor Coles 20 yard kick; BSU: 17; USU: 3

FG Jonah Dalmas 32 yard kick; BSU: 20; USU: 3

TD BSU Hank Bachmeier 3 yard pass to Scott Matlock; BSU: 27; USU: 3

Statistics Comparison

Total yards: BSU: 435; USU: 443

Passing yards: BSU: 287 passing yards; USU: 208 passing yards

Rushing yards: USU: 235 rushing yards; BSU: 235 rushing yards

Penalties: BSU: 5-40; USU: 13-86

Turnovers: BSU: 1; USU: 3

Time of Possession: BSU: 35:00; USU: 25:00

First downs: BSU: 25; USU: 18

Third down conversions: BSU: 6-15; USU: 6-17

Utah State Players of the Game

Offensive Player of the Game

Calvin Tyler Jr. was a bright spot for the Utah State offense, rushing for 126 yards on 20 carries. However, many of these yards came in the first half. Utah State was very inconsistent in the second half and had many three and outs, which is un-characteristic of how this team has played this year.

Defensive Player of the Game

Linebacker Justin Rice made some plays for the Utah State defense, making 10 tackles. Those tackles helped to prevent successful plays turning into explosive ones. Boise State attempted smaller plays in order to convert first downs and find a rhythm offensively so those tackles certainly helped.

Analysis

At one point during the game, the commentators brought up an interesting point: Utah State had put up over 400 yards of offense and had more yards than Boise State but only managed to put up three points. This was partly due to the Boise State defense taking the bend don’t break mentality but it was also due to inconsistency.

Utah State had some good plays on their first drive that were completely wiped away because of a tipped pass that was intercepted. Utah State would enter the red zone a few times and would only score once, due to an interception in the end zone, loss of yardage, a blocked kick, and a missed kick. The point is Utah State had opportunities to score but was unable to take advantage of most of those opportunities.

This was a very physical game and Boise State was able to take advantage because they played like a more disciplined football team. Utah State missed significant assignments and tackles that led to Boise State creating explosive plays that allowed the Broncos to run the clock.

Overall, it was a frustrating game for Utah State and though this loss hurts the chances of Utah State making it to the Mountain West title game, it doesn’t ruin those hopes. There is still a lot of football left to play and Utah State has a lot of lessons they can learn from this game to be prepared for the next big game against BYU.