Utah State went down 14-0 in the first quarter and after taking time to find some footing beat UConn in Logan on Saturday afternoon. Logan Bonner threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns of off 20-29 passing (69%) to lead the Aggies over the Huskies. Calvin Tyler Jr. rushed 33 times for 161 yards.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

TD UConn; Ta’Quan Roberson one yard touchdown run; UConn: 7; USU: 0

TD UConn; Keelan Marion 13 yard pass from Zion Turner; UConn: 14; USU: 0

Second Quarter

TD USU; Logan Bonner 11 yard touchdown pass to Kyle Van Leeuwen; UConn: 14; USU: 7

TD USU; Robert Briggs 23 yard rush; UConn: 14; USU: 14

TD USU; Logan Bonner 14 yard touchdown pass to Justin McGriff; USU: 21; UConn: 14

FG USU; Connor Coles 45 yard field goal; USU: 24; UConn: 14

Fourth Quarter

FG UConn; Noe Ruelas 47 yard field goal; USU: 24; UConn: 17

FG UConn: Noe Ruelas 54 yard field goal; USU: 24; UConn: 20

TD USU; Logan Bonner 11 yard pass to Brian Cobbs; USU: 31; UConn: 20

Final: Utah State: 31; UConn: 20

Statistics Comparison

Total Yards: USU: 542; UConn: 364

Passing Yards: USU: 281; UConn: 119

Rushing Yards: USU: 261; UConn: 245

1st Downs: USU: 31; UConn: 21

Penalties: UConn: 4-35; USU: 6-60

Turnovers: USU: 2; UConn: 3

Time of Possession: USU: 31:43; UConn: 28:17

Utah State Players of the Game

Offensive Player of the Game: Utah State was looking for a receiver to step up and make plays after the production they lost last season and Brian Cobbs delivered, catching seven passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. He converted big plays in key moments in this game that changed the momentum and brought the Aggies to victory.

Defensive Player of the Game: Inside linebacker MJ Tafisi made 10 total tackles in this game (four solo, six assist) and made two tackles for a loss, which helped a struggling Aggies defense to stop the run.

Analysis

Utah State, despite getting an 11 point win, did not look very good against UConn, a team that has struggled for the past couple years.

A big red flag was that Utah State gave up 245 yards rushing. Playing against teams such as Alabama, BYU, Boise State, and Air Force, who all have very good running back rooms, this isn’t a good sign if the Aggies can’t find a way to get more pressure on the edge.

One of the biggest red flags that commentators on FS1 also brought up today though was that Utah State, while able to move the ball, was unable to capitalize on productive drives. This was something that hurt the Aggies last season, especially against teams such as Wyoming and Boise State. The Aggies must find ways to score more points in the red zone and today was a perfect example, putting up 542 total yards but only scoring 31 points and beating a team which they were favored to beat by 24 points by 11 points.

The fact of the matter is that Utah State is not going to win next week at Alabama. They aren’t going to come close, especially if they have a similar performance next week. Keep an eye out for UNLV as well. The Aggies play UNLV at home on September 24th and while the Rebels did play Idaho State earlier today, they looked good doing it with explosive plays and beat Idaho State 52-21.