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LOGAN — Utah State did exactly what they needed to do against Weber State, and then some. In a near perfect performance from all three phases of the game, the Aggies dominated the Wildcats from the opening drive to the last play (Well, if you don't count the fumble return for a touchdown).
The offense piled up 587 yards, the defense limited the Wildcats to 138 total yards and pitched a shutout, and the special teams recovered a fumble that led to a Robert Marshall touchdown run; it's hard to ask for more from this team.
Offensive rhythm
You would be hard pressed to find a better half of football than what the Aggies did; seven of their first eight drives went for touchdowns. During those drives, they converted seven of eight third-downs; the Aggies were nine of 14 on third-down tonight, improving to a 65 percent rate for the season.
For the second week in a row, Chuckie Keeton tied his career high for touchdowns; and what's even crazier about that, he didn't play a snap in the second half. It was also nice to see Craig Harrison get his first career touchdown, a 56 yard pass to Keegan Andersen. Speaking of Andersen, it was his second game in a row with a touchdown.
Spreading the ball around
Also impressive, this was the second game in a row, at least 10 players caught a pass; also, five different receivers caught a touchdown. Bruce Natson led the team in receptions with five and Travis Reynolds led the team in yards with 71. And let's not forget Kyler Fackrell getting in on the action, making a spectacular play to get his feet down for his first career touchdown.
Defensive lives behind the line
Outside of the yards they held Weber State, the stat that really jumps out in the box score is the nine, that's right, nine tackles for loss the defense had. Nick Vigil, another outstanding game for the freshman, had two of them; he also finished second on the team with seven tackles, Frankie Sutera led the team with eight.
Joey DeMartino's career night
Finally, how can you not be happy for Joey DeMartino tonight? The senior finished with 105 yards on only eight carries and three touchdowns; both the yards and the touchdowns a career high. He had a tremendous spring and fall camp, with a couple multiple touchdown scrimmages; it's great to see that it's translating to games.
DeMartino has been with the program since 2010 and between injuries and just plain being buried on the depth chart behind NFL caliber running backs; it's great to see him making the most of his opportunity.
DeMartino joined Jeremiah Jensen on SportsBeat after the game, if you missed it, you can check it out on the Utah State video page here on ksl.com.
