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LOGAN — Utah State stretched its winning streak to five straight games, including four under freshman starting quarterback Kent Myers, with a 41-7 win over San Jose State on Friday night at Romney Stadium.
The Aggies (9-3, 6-1 MWC) started slow, clinging to a 14-7 halftime lead before turning on the amplifiers in the second half with 27 unanswered points on offense.
The defense also intensified after halftime, according to senior linebacker Zach Vigil.
“I thought we were very poor in the first half,” said Vigil, who was honored along with 27 other seniors in a pregame ceremony. “But we stepped up and mostly stopped the draw plays that were hurting us in the second half.”
Here’s how the offense, defense and special teams did as the Aggies set up a final week showdown with Boise State that could clinch a Mountain Division title for either team.
Kent Myers found his legs under him against the Spartans’ No. 1-rated pass defense in the Mountain West, but the rest of the Aggies lagged in the first half. The Aggies started slow, only putting up 165 yards of offense in the first half to San Jose State’s 186, and the Spartans dominated time of possession with 20 minutes, 35 seconds — but the Aggies also only needed 9:25 to score both first-half touchdowns.
The second half saw the continued emergence of JoJo Natson as a pure running back as he flashed his speed to the tune of a career-high 124 yards rushing and a 9-second, 56-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage after halftime.
Natson became the second 100-yard rusher for Utah State this year, and the team compiled 313 yards on the ground on the back of its late spurt. Myers added 92 yards on four carries, three of them for touchdowns, on top of his 105 yards passing that included a touchdown and an interception.
The second half gets an A, but the Aggies missed out on several chances to go up more than a touchdown in the first half.
Zach Vigil may have said the Aggies started slow on defense, but he and little brother Nick combined on the first play of the game for a sack, knocking San Jose backup quarterback Blake Jurich out of the game. The Vigil brothers combined for 24 tackles in the first half as Zach Vigil led all defenders with 13.
Zach Vigil finished with a game-high 19 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss, and Nick Vigil added 12 tackles, 0.5 sacks and 2 tackles for loss. One other player, San Jose State’s Akeem King, recorded double-digit tackles (11).
B.J. Larsen earned his eighth sack of the year, finishing the night with two tackles for loss and four tackles.
The defense, which is prone to capitalizing on opponent’s mistakes, did not record a turnover — though the Spartans only attempted 21 passes and running back Tyler Ervin held on to the ball well in his 22 carries for 108 yards.
Jaron Bentrude muffed a point in the first quarter, taking a tackle for a loss with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter to set up a short field. The senior still averaged 34 yards per punt for 102 yards on three boots. But his lofty standard drooped in Friday’s frigid air.
The Spartans made a point of not punting to Natson, and the junior only had 25 yards on two punt returns — though he did finish with a game-high 178 all-purpose yards as he continued to flash multiple looks and positions.
The Aggies scored the most points of the season with 41, eclipsing the 40 points scored in the season’s home opener against Idaho State. After five straight wins to get Myers acclimated to Division I football, the game gets serious with a one-off meeting at Boise State that could decide the Mountain Division between the Aggies, Broncos and Colorado State.
