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LOGAN -- The 2011 Utah State Homecoming game ended in tragedy for Aggie faithful but all is not lost. USU was up against a talented CSU team and were able to move the football well at times and the defense was solid all game allowing just 92 yards rushing and 192 yards overall in regulation.
The Aggies fell short holding onto the ball several times. Utah State running backs fumbled the ball five times (recovering only one) stalling what appeared to be productive drives, while Aggie receivers dropped several potential first down passes. Head coach Gary Andersen's squad was definitely flat coming out of the bye week.
When the final whistle sounded the Aggies fell in a thriller 35 to 34. Here's what we saw:
Observation #1:
Coach Andersen again pulled the reins back on true-freshman quarterback Chuckie Keeton. The freshman threw for just 24 yards on 4-6 passing in the first half and the second half was more of the same. Keeton threw just nine passes finishing the night 9 of 15 for 86 yards and no touchdowns. Safe to say that USU offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin played it safe rushing the ball 48 times. Granted Aggie running backs rushed for a combined 231 yards for a 4.8 yard average.
When the game was on the line in the second overtime and Coach Andersen decided to go for two, the Rams keyed in on senior running back Robert Turbin and stopped him short to seal the victory.
Observation #2:
The Aggie faithful (specifically the student section) showed up in force for Homecoming, as to be expected. The sold-out crowd of 22,599 strong filled Romney Stadium and were loud enough to cause several false-start penalties on CSU. Those penalties were key for USU, killing more then one drive for the Rams. With less then two minutes left in the game Aggies fans created so much noise a CSU offensive lineman was unable to hear the whistle at the end of a play and was flagged for a late hit penalty pushing the Rams out of field goal range but the Aggies were not able to hold on and allowed the game tying two point conversion.
Observation #3:
The Aggies have yet to prove they can defend a passing attack. The Rams sophomore quarterback Pete Thomas finished regulation 14 for 26 with 100 yards, but CSU never really seemed to open up his talent. Colorado State head coach Steve Fairchild elected instead to try and run the ball on the solid front seven of Utah State. But on a key two-point conversion attempt Thomas completed a pass to sophomore tight end Crockett Gillmore to tie the game with 42 seconds left. In the second overtime the Rams went Thomas to Gillmore yet again and the ensuing extra point proved to be the game winner.
Observation #4
Utah State has a very talented defense, but tonight the offense did not give them the support they needed. The USU offense turned the ball over four times against the Rams and that is asking a lot for a defense to hold a talented CSU offense with four extra possessions. Senior linebacker Bobby Wagner finished the game with 17 tackles while, senior defensive end Levi Koskan dropped Ram QB Thomas twice. Thomas was sacked a total of four times on the game.
This will be a difficult loss for Coach Andersen to accept and don't expect him to take it lightly. Andersen will certainly push his men hard this week in practice and look to bounce back next week against BYU in Provo.
Email: onlinesports@ksl.com
