BYU average grades enough to win at Utah State


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LOGAN — BYU became the third straight road team to win the Battle for the Old Wagon Wheel with its 51-28 win over Utah State Saturday afternoon at Maverik Stadium in Logan.

Tomasi Laulile's 37-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown with no time left on the clock before halftime spurred the Cougar offense during a 28-0 spurt, and BYU (9-3) put the game out of reach with Algie Brown's second touchdown of the game with 3:01 left in the fourth quarter.

Tanner Mangum completed 16-of-34 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns, and Brown topped the rushing attack with 68 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. He also had an 18-yard reception on a release route from Mangum in the final period.

Here's how the offense graded on a cold, snow-covered day in Logan in the 85th installment of the in-state rivalry.

Offense: B

After completing his first four passes on BYU's opening drive that ended in Brown's touchdown run, Mangum went ice-cold, completing only one pass through the first half of the second quarter.

But the offense gave them a chance. Mitch Mathews hauled in Mangum's 72-yard TD pass just seven seconds after Utah State took a 21-10 lead, and the Cougars were within four points with 2:38 left in the first half.

Mathews kept BYU in the game, hauling in six catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns in his first return to Logan since scoring his first career touchdown at then-Romney Stadium as a sophomore.

Then Mangum's receivers started making plays. Devon Blackmon's 32-yard pickup on third down in the fourth quarter led to Brown's final touchdown, and Kurt Henderson did the same thing a quarter previous to springboard the offense during its 28-0 run that finally ended on Nick Vigil's 2-yard rushing touchdown 12 seconds into the fourth quarter for the Aggies. Even freshman Francis Bernard had two touchdowns in the first game against the Aggies of his collegiate career.

Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

But the damage was done against the Aggies and senior quarterback Chuckie Keeton, who completed 20-of-45 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown and ran for another on 54 yards.

This one could've been bigger than the final score indicated, though. BYU converted on just 4-of-13 third downs, and only had one fourth-down pickup on the game. The Cougars put up just 358 yards of total offense, but it was enough to get the win.

Defense: B-

After biting on the initial option-fake handoff on Keeton's opening touchdown, BYU pressured the Aggies through the remainder of the first quarter. Travis Tuiloma picked up his third sack of the season in the first quarter, and Logan Taele blocked a 49-yard field-goal attempt just minutes later.

But BYU's run defense slackened to a porous nature in the second quarter, albeit missing several key members of its front seven, giving up 63 yards off the option to Keeton in the first half, including a 52-yard score. The run then opened up just enough of the pass for Keeton, who scored his 61st touchdown of his career for a school record after a 24-yard grab by Hunter Sharp with 3:00 left in the half.

When BYU needed a score in the worst way, the defense showed up. Bronson Kaufusi applied pressure to Keeton on the final play of the half, and Laulile scooped up a fumble and rumbled in 37 yards to put BYU up 24-21 at halftime despite being outgained 287 to 201.

Indeed, Utah State outgained the Cougars 445-358, but converted on 8-of-13 first downs to leave chances on the field despite the disparity. The Aggies were just 2-of-4 in the red zone to BYU's 5-of-6 conversion rate that led the nation in chances converted before the game.

It wasn't a pretty performance, especially early. But when the Cougars needed a stop, they got it more often than not.

Outside of a poor stretch in first half, BYU's defense was up to every task, but the poor start dooms it in this grade.

Special teams: C+

Trevor Samson gave the Cougars their first lead of the game with 29 seconds remaining in the first quarter on a 41-yard field goal, knocking down his fourth field goal of 40 yards or more of the season.

Jonny Linehan took the first punt of the game for either team midway through the second quarter, skipping the ball 38 yards to Utah State's 41-yard line.

After he had already missed two field goals, Jake Thompson lined up for another field goal in the second quarter — and BYU bit on the fake, watching holder D.J. Nelson run for a 13-yard gain and a first down with 8:28 left in the first half.

After David Moala forced a third-quarter punt with a touch sack on Mangum, Linehan added a net-punt of 9 yards as Sharp returned the kick to BYU's 31-yard line with a career-long 27-yard return.

Micah Hannemann picked up one of those blocked kicks and returned it to the Utah State 10-yard line in the third quarter, setting up Bernard's touchdown run on the next play. But Samson missed a PAT for the third straight game, and BYU's third unit still left plenty to be desired.

Coaching: C-

After taking a 10-7 lead exiting the first quarter, BYU kicked short and gave the Aggies a short field from the 42-yard line. The decision baffled many, but Utah State finished the drive with Thompson's missed 32-yard field goal — his second of three missed kicks of the game.

When BYU needed to ice the game, the Cougars ran the ball plenty. But the rushing unit finished with just 74 net yards on the ground, with 68 of them coming from Brown, compared with 202 rushing yards by the Aggies. Brown, Bernard and linebacker-turned-running back Harvey Langi showed BYU has the athletes to run the ball, so the ineffectiveness in the run game seems to be a matter of coaching.

Overall: B-

With the win, BYU improved to 47-35-3 all-time against the Aggies, including a 17-18-2 record in Logan after back-to-back road wins in the series following last year's loss in Provo. Perhaps more importantly, the Cougars improved to 9-3 against a schedule that was touted as among the most difficult BYU has ever faced during fall camp. The Cougars await next week's bowl announcement with an eye on the Las Vegas Bowl that will likely choose between them, San Diego State and Air Force after the latter two duel in the Mountain West Conference championship game. If BYU does not receive an invitation to Las Vegas, it will be Hawaii Bowl-bound to spend Christmas Eve in the islands.

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SportsBYU CougarsUtah State Aggies
Sean Walker

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