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When the versatile Chuckie Keeton went down, the hope for a Utah State Mountain West Conference championship looked bleak, but a dominant 45-10 win at New Mexico and a home contest against winless Hawaii this week have positioned the Aggies for a charge at a spot in the league’s first-ever title game.
“This was just what the doctor ordered for all of us as a staff and as a program,” head coach Matt Wells said of the bye week. “Hopefully we've got these guys as fresh as they can be right now going into this stretch of the season. I feel confident that we do. We also used it as a big evaluation week for us.”
Wells has turned to freshman Darell Garretson to lead his offense in the wake of Keeton’s injury behind an offensive line that didn’t allow a single sack in Utah State’s win in Albuquerque and paved the way for Joey DeMartino to rack up a career-high 144 yards rushing on just 12 carries in addition to his four touchdowns.
"I thought the O-line played really well up front, the tight ends and every different personnel group that we had to play,” Wells said following the win over the Lobos. “I'm just so proud of these kids. They have battled and we have changed stuff around and positions on guys.”
Garretson was an efficient 15 of 23 for 144 yards and a touchdown in the win. More importantly he avoided the urge to force throws into tight windows, a common mistake committed by freshman passers transitioning to the speed of the college game and one Garretson was guilty of in his first action against Boise State.
DeMartino will surely continue to be relied upon heavily to help move the Aggie offense up the field after also tallying three catches for 41 yards and one of his scores in the lopsided victory two weeks ago. The senior from San Diego punished New Mexico defenders that tried to stand in his way, often breaking multiple tackles on his rushing attempts.
While skepticism may abound due to New Mexico ranking 114th in total defense, consider the remainder of the Utah State schedule. Hawaii ranks 106th in the same category, and the Aggies' subsequent opponents (UNLV, Colorado State and Wyoming) sit 104th, 97th and 105th respectively.
Running the table would leave Utah State 8-4 overall and 7-1 in the MWC. The Aggies would set a school record by being invited to a bowl game for a third straight year, and only Boise State could prevent them from qualifying for the conference championship game Dec. 7 at the stadium of the participating team with the highest BCS ranking.
Boise State controls its own destiny but looked very beatable in backup quarterback Grant Hedrick’s first career start against BYU. The Broncos gave up 568 yards in Provo and are on the road this week against Colorado State, which has gained more than 400 yards of total offense in four consecutive weeks.
Chris Petersen’s team then hosts Wyoming and the No. 9 ranked player in the nation in total offense in Brett Smith. Boise State’s final road game of the season is at San Diego State, where Fresno State — the team that handed the Broncos their only league defeat this year — would’ve lost last week if the Aztecs hadn’t failed on a 37-yard field goal attempt at the end of regulation.
Boise State stands in its way, but one slipup by the Broncos could award Utah State the opportunity to be crowned the MWC’s best and make its way into the Las Vegas Bowl Dec. 22, which would mark the second time this season, and in 35 years, that the Aggies played in a game nationally televised on ABC. Kyle Spencer is a ksl.com intern. He is studying journalism at Utah Valley University and is the sports editor of the UVU Review. Follow him on twitter @kyledspencer.
