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LARAMIE, Wyoming — It was inevitable that someone would find a way to slow down the high-powered Utah State offense. There aren't many teams, outside of Alabama perhaps, that can keep up the frenetic scoring the Aggies have had over their past five wins.
Coming into Saturday afternoon's contest at War Memorial Stadium against Wyoming, Utah State was averaging 51.7 points per game, 478.7 yards of total offense per game and almost 200 yards rushing per game.
Unfortunately for the Aggie offense, Wyoming was having none of it. The Cowboys held Utah State to a season low in points, total yards, and didn't allow the Aggies to surpass 100 yards passing on the day.
The good news for the Aggies: they won the game.
Darwin Thompson, the lone bright spot for the Utah State offense, rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns, while Savon Scarver returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and the Aggies escaped the high plains with a 24-16 win on Saturday afternoon.
Here are just a few thoughts on the ugly Utah State win.
Utah State defense saves the day
Yes, you read that right. For all the talk about the Utah State offense over the past five games, on Saturday, it was the Aggie defense that got the job done. Outside of allowing a 53-yard touchdown run to the leading rusher in the Mountain West Conference, the Aggie defense stood tall.
Perhaps the biggest play of the game came on the first play of the second half. Senior safety Jontrell Rocquemore intercepted Tyler Vander Waal and returned it to the Wyoming 3-yard line to set up the second touchdown run for Thompson that put the Aggies up 17-3.
Utah State also forced a fumble in the first quarter that was recovered by Adewale Adeoye. The turnover didn't lead to points, though, as Dominik Eberle missed a field goal attempt from 53 yards out.
Due to the Cowboys trying to establish the run, linebackers David Woodward and Chase Christiansen had themselves a day, finishing with 16 and 14 total tackles, respectively. Coming into Saturday afternoon, Woodward was averaging 11.6 tackles per game, good for 11th in the nation.
The Aggie defense held the Cowboys to just 231 total yards of offense and held Wyoming to 7 of 19 on third down.
Had it not been for the Utah State defense, the Aggies would not have survived Laramie.
Utah State offense was anemic
I don't even know if anemic is the right word. The Utah State offense that had blown out in-state foe BYU two weeks ago and then blew out UNLV a week later was nowhere to be found Saturday afternoon.
Thompson did break a 56-yard touchdown run on the third play of the game, but outside of that, it looked like a completely different offense than what Aggie fans have grown accustom to this season.
The Utah State offensive line got outplayed. Sophomore quarterback Jordan Love missed reads and throws all day long, and in the fourth quarter, offensive coordinator David Yost went really conservative rather than take shots down field.
If you want substance, I can give you that. Utah State was outgained in every offensive category. Wyoming had more passing yards, more rushing yards, was better on third down and had a greater time of possession.
Utah State managed just 53 yards passing, 141 yards rushing and the Aggies were 4 of 15 on third down. Love threw his first inteception in over 150 pass attempts and didn't have a touchdown pass for the first time since the season opener at Michigan State.
Bowl eligible and Mountain West Championship still in play
It seems odd following an ugly game, but the Aggies are now bowl eligible and still leading the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference.
For the seventh time in eight seasons, Utah State is going bowling. The bigger situation for the Aggies is that their hopes of winning the Mountain West Conference are still in play, as well. The Aggies improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in MWC play.
It was ugly, but the trip to Laramie was a success. Sometimes, even in championship years, there will be ugly wins. This was one that Utah State fans hope the Aggies got out of their system.
Utah State will look to get its offensive rhythm back on track when the Aggies host New Mexico next Saturday at Maverik Stadium. Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias
