Utah State falls to Iowa

Utah State went on the road to play in Iowa City against the Iowa Hawkeyes and lost 24-14. Cooper Legas went 32-48 for 213 yards and a touchdown and interception. Junior Rahsul Faison led the team in rushing with 59 yards on seven carries and Terrell Vaughn caught 12 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. Cade McNamara of Iowa went 17-30 for 191 yards and two touchdowns while Kaleb Johnson had 63 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

Iowa jumped out to a 14 point lead before the Aggies and Hawkeyes traded field goals in the second quarter to send it to 17-3 at the half. Utah State would have the only score in the third quarter with a field goal and both teams would trade touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Team Statistics

1st downs: USU: 19 first downs; Iowa: 17 first downs

Third down efficiency: Iowa: 6-17 (35%); USU: 5-17 (29%)

Total yards: USU: 329 yards; Iowa: 284 yards

Passing yards: USU: 213 yards; Iowa: 196 yards

Rushing yards: USU: 116 yards rushing; Iowa: 88 yards rushing

Penalties: USU: 10-91; Iowa: 7-50

Turnovers: Iowa: 0; USU: 1

Time of possession: Iowa: 32:12; USU: 27:48

Players of the Game

Offense: Terrell Vaughn was by far the most productive wide receiver in this game and was also the only receiver to catch a touchdown. Vaughn had a long catch of 33 yards and a total of 93 yards receiving, which is 54 yards more than the next closest receiver, Jalen Royals, who had 39 yards receiving. Terrell Vaughn’s touchdown catch came from a 16 yard pass from Cooper Legas with 1:36 left in the 4th quarter.

Defense: Linebacker MJ Tafisi made 12 total tackles against Iowa and also made three tackles for loss, which were both important in holding Iowa to 24 points and holding Cade McNamara to under 200 yards passing and keeping Iowa to 88 yards rushing.

Overall thoughts

Utah State had some things go well for them in this game such as production from Terrell Vaughn and Cooper Legas but they need to find more production at receiver. The number of passing and receiving yards could also be improved on moving forward. Utah State committed 10 penalties which hurt the Aggies overall and needs to be cleaned up.

The lack of rushing yards is also concerning for Utah State as the Aggies cannot expect Cooper Legas to pass the ball on every important down. Utah State’s rushing defense was able to hold Iowa to 88 yards, which is a positive, and another positive is that the Aggies held Iowa to 284 total yards, but it is important to remember that Utah State was playing a team that generally does not have a very strong offense. The lack of turnovers is not a positive for the Aggies as no turnovers were forced.

Utah State could also benefit from improving their time of possession and third down efficiency and they should have a chance to do that as September moves along. Up next for Utah State is a home game against Iowa State.