on October 2, 2021 at 12:47 pm
Utah State lost the battle for the Old Wagon Wheel to state rival Brigham Young 34:20. The Aggies were 13th with the Cougars but were unable to take the lead throughout the game. This is the second straight loss for the state of Utah as they drop to 3-2 over the course of the year.
The Aggies brought the game to 9:52 in the game within seven after quarterback Logan Bonner found Devon Thompkins for a 28-yard touchdown reception. Thompkins had a career high of nine receptions for 125 yards, his third career game at more than 100 yards.
The Cougars responded with a monstrous 67-yard rush at the first game on Tyler Allgeier’s drive. A few games later, Allgeier stormed into the end zone to improve 34 to 20. This was the final score when quarterback Andrew Peasley had to intercept the Aggies’ last drive when he replaced Bonner after an injury. Jakob Robinson, a former aggie, recorded the interception for the cougars.
Bonner is worried, who left the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury. Coach Anderson said it was hyperextension, but the coaches seemed to think there was no significant structural damage. He will be further evaluated.
Utah State had some opportunities to take control of the game in the third quarter when they were 24-13 behind. Brigham Young’s starting quarterback was injured and the Cougars’ offense stalled, but the aggie offensive failed to take advantage of three stops by the aggie defense. The offense punted, flipped the ball on downs, and then punted again in the third quarter. The second drive was closest to scoring, with turnover on downs on a fourth and one rush attempt within the Cougar 35-yard line.
In addition, the Aggies’ first drive ended in an interception, which was the second week in a row. The Cougars scored a goal on the drive after the turnover and held the lead for the remainder of the game.
This is the second consecutive win for BYU over the state of Utah. The Cougars beat the Aggies in 2019 with 42 to 14 points. This year’s competition was a much closer match, despite BYU ranking in the top 15 nationwide.
“We definitely played a lot better in this game. We played the whole game. It wasn’t such a bad loss, ”said Thompkins.
Head coach Blake Anderson promised Aggie fans that he plans to make the rivalry even more competitive in the future.
“Our fans can know that, they were bigger and stronger than us today, but that won’t last. We’re going to recruit our tail, we’re going to develop our tail, and we’re going to make this a fight every stinky year. And we won’t forget that, ”said Coach Anderson.
Marcus Moore, senior defensive tackle, had a career high of nine tackles. He is confident that the Aggies’ mindset can improve from this loss.
“There is courage in this team,” said Moore. “The little things that we need to fix are fixable. So we can take care of these things. “
The Aggies have a reunion next week, then they will travel to Las Vegas to take on the UNLV rebels on October 18th.
Previous article
Utah State Connections to BYU Passing – A conversation with Dave Kragthorpe
Comments are closed.