Utah State found themselves in a shootout at Hawaii yesterday afternoon but managed to escape with a 41-34 win. Cooper Legas threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns on 16 of 24 passing (67%) and Calvin Tyler Jr. ran for 113 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Brian Cobbs was the leading receiver for the Aggies once again, grabbing 74 yards on five catches.

Scoring Summary

First quarter

TD USU; Cooper Legas 68 yard touchdown pass to Josh Sterzer); USU: 7; UH: 0

FG USU; Conner Coles 21 yard field goal; USU: 10; UH: 0

Second quarter

TD UH; Brayden Schager 11 yard pass to Jonah Panoke; USU: 10; UH: 7

TD USU: Cooper Legas 16 yard pass to Broc Lane; USU: 17; UH: 7

FG UH; Matthew Shipley 49 yard field goal; USU: 17; UH: 10

TD USU; Cooper Legas 35 yard pass to Calvin Tyler Jr; USU: 24; UH: 10

Third quarter

TD UH; Nasjzae Bryant-Lelei four yard run; USU: 24; UH: 17

TD USU; Calvin Tyler Jr. four yard run; USU: 31; UH: 17

FG USU; Conner Coles 42 yard field goal; USU: 34; UH: 17

Fourth quarter

TD UH; Brayden Schager 31 yard pass to Caleb Phillips; USU: 34; UH: 24

TD USU: Ike Larson 36 interception return; USU: 41; UH: 24

TD UH: Tylan Hines 69 yard run; USU: 41; UH: 31

FG UH; Matthew Shipley; USU: 41; UH: 34

Statistics Comparison

First downs: UH: 27; USU: 16

Third down conversions: USU: 5-15 (33%); UH: 4-15 (27%)

Passing yards: UH: 306 yards; USU: 238 yards

Rushing yards: UH: 235 yards ; USU: 136 yards

Penalties: USU: 9-80; UH: 10-115

Turnovers: USU: 0; UH: 4

Time of possession: USU: 30:11; UH: 29:49

Offensive Player of the Game

Cooper Legas receives the offensive player of the game after his performance and leadership lead the Aggies to the win over Hawaii. His three touchdowns were significant in the win as the Aggies continue to improve on offense.

Defensive Player of the Game

Ike Larson made a very important play in the 4th quarter, returning a 36 yard interception for a touchdown. That ended up being the game decider because if that touchdown hadn’t been scored, Hawaii would have tied the game with 13 seconds left. Larson now has four interceptions on the season, tied for 10th in the nation.

Analysis

A Boise State and Wyoming loss would have helped Utah State make it to the conference championship game, but now it is very unlikely that Utah State makes it to that game. If Boise State wins this weekend, everything comes to a close for all of the other teams in the Mountain Division as Boise State will secure a spot in the title game. The same goes for Fresno State if they win their next game against Nevada.

This was a hard fought win for Utah State in which they showed improvement on offense as they prepare to play San Jose State next weekend.