Utah State defeats Idaho State

Utah State scored six touchdowns and a field goal in a 78-28 win over Idaho State on Saturday in Logan. Cooper Legas threw for 125 yards and two touchdowns, completing 14 of his 16 passes, and Robert Briggs Jr. rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown on 9 carries. The 78 points that Utah State scored were the most points that Utah State has scored in 104 years when the Aggies put up 136 points against Idaho State in 1919. Terrell Vaughn also had 11 receptions for 73 yards and two touchdowns on the afternoon.

Team Statistics

First downs: Idaho State: 28 first downs; USU: 23 first downs

Third down conversions: USU: 5-10; Idaho State: 7-16

Total yards: USU: 591 yards; Idaho State: 424 yards

Passing yards: Idaho State: 323 yards; USU: 211 yards

Rushing yards: USU: 380 yards; Idaho State: 101 yards

Penalties: Idaho State: 0; USU: 4-35

Turnovers: USU: 0; Idaho State: 3 turnovers

Possession: Idaho State: 33:27; USU: 26:33

Players of the Game

Offensive player of the game: Cooper Legas receives the offensive player of the game for throwing over 100 yards and also throwing two touchdowns, a big improvement on last week where Legas threw for 213 yards and had a touchdown and an interception on 32 completed passes.

Defensive player of the game: Jaiden Francois gets the defensive player of the game award for making 7 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss and he also returned an interception for a touchdown along with Ike Larsen, who also returned an interception for a touchdown for the Aggies. Francois’ 1.5 tackles for loss was second on the team, only behind Paul Fitzgerald, who had 2.5 tackles for loss.

Overall Thoughts

Utah State had a much better week this past weekend, specifically on offense where Utah State had 591 total yards and 380 rushing yards. There was also improvement on the third down conversions, where Utah State went 5-10. Utah State’s defense allowed just 7 third down conversions on 16 attempts, which is a 44% conversion rate and is a good sign for Utah State moving forward as they have shown improvement on defense early in the year.

More receivers stepped up this weekend as Utah State had four receiving touchdowns and the Aggies also had layers step up in the rushing game to total five touchdowns on the ground. The four passing touchdowns for the Aggies is also important and moving into the next game against Air Force Utah State has built up more confidence that should help them to be competitive in a Mountain West conference that has two power five wins.

Overall, Utah State was able to do a lot of things right against Idaho State and they move into an important week of preparation as they prepare for Air Force.