Grading Utah State's first Mountain West Conference win of the season


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LOGAN — A balanced offense, a blocked punt and a defensive touchdown helped the Utah State Aggies pick up a 38-20 win over Fresno State on Saturday night at Maverik Stadium. It was the first conference win for the Aggies, and broke a three-game losing streak. Here is how they graded out.

Offense — B+

The Aggies were pretty balanced on a night that didn’t show a lot of offense. Kent Myers was the leading rusher while also throwing for over 200 yards and three touchdowns. USU also made a statement coming out of the half, when it had an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Myers to tight end Wyatt Houston.

Plus they scored 38 points, which is the second highest of the season. USU scored 45 in its season-opening win over Weber State.

The USU offense made a statement with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took over four minutes off the clock and culminated in a 4-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Damion Hobbs. The scoring drive made it a three-score game and really put the stamp of approval on this win. It was a balanced night for the offense as the Aggies rushed for 204 yards and threw for 188 yards.

Defense — A-

It was kind of a bend not break defense for the Aggies, but they made plays when they needed to. They did give up a lot of yardage to Fresno State, but held the Bulldogs to field goals rather than giving up touchdowns. Senior linebacker Leki Uasike recorded a career-high 10 tackles on the night. A sack on third down early in the second quarter by defensive back Jentz Painter led to a special teams touchdown and shifted the momentum of the game a bit. It was a solid performance from a defense that gave up 21 unanswered points in its last time out against Colorado State two weeks ago.

Special teams — A

Touchbacks and a blocked punt were the name of the game for the Aggies. Kicker Jake Thompson made it difficult for Fresno State to get any kind of return game going, and punter Aaron Dalton had a 32.8 yard per punt average. The key play by the special teams came in the second quarter by Painter when he was able to squirt through and block a punt, which Austin Cheney then recovered in the end zone to give USU a 14-7 lead that it never relinquished. Place-kicker Brock Warren drilled a 43-yard field goal in the second quarter, which was a career-high.

Coaching — B

People might wonder why this is so high. Well, the Aggies won the game. They were balanced on offense, and the defense played pretty solid coming out of the bye week. It wasn’t perfect, but the Aggies didn’t turn the ball over and they only committed five penalties on the night. They made some tweaks during the bye week and finally got their first conference win of the season. Sure, they could have taken more shots down the field, but they took what the defense gave them. The biggest reason the coaching gets this grade is what happened on the first drive of the second half. The Aggies went 75 yards and put seven points on the board. It was something they failed to do against Colorado State that would have put the game away. There are still things to work on, but overall a win's a win, and that is what the Aggies needed.

Overall — B+

It was a solid performance for the Aggies. Yes, it was against Fresno State, which is at the bottom of the rankings of the Mountain West Conference, but a win's a win. Whenever Fresno State scored, the Aggies responded, and this was especially true in the third quarter when a Bulldog field goal cut the lead to 24-17. The Aggies proceeded to score another touchdown on a 25-yard pass from Myers to Ron'quavion Tarver that put the game out of reach at 31-17 early in the fourth quarter. Head coach Matt Wells called a solid game, and the offense took what it was given by Fresno State. According to Wells, "it was a happy locker room" after the win. Getting into the win column in conference play is huge, and that's exactly what the Aggies did on Saturday night.


Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs and the Utah Valley University Wolverines. He is a communication major at UVU and will graduate in the spring of 2017. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias

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