Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PROVO - It was a packed house at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Friday night and the social media universe was alive with updates about the Aggies battle for the Old Wagon Wheel against BYU.
It has been a long time since Utah State beat the Cougars in Provo. In fact, BYUtv Sports (@byutvsports) said, "The last time USU beat BYU in Provo, gas cost 68 cents". If you can't remember that far back, the year was 1978.
Aggie fan Curtis Marsh (@curtmarsh31) got things rolling when he tweeted, "U State! Let's handle business boys. Keep the wagon wheel in Logan!"
Robert Turbin must have heard him loud and clear.
Jay Drew (@drewjay) tweeted, "Holy smokes. Robert Turbin goes 80 yards on first play of game for USU. Aggies up 7-0".
One Twitter user named "kurtusu" (@kurtusu) summed the first play well by tweeting, "One word. Turbin."
BYU fans obviously did not like the first play. Ethan Reynolds tweeted, "1st play of regulation, USU 80 yard run for a TD. Why am I not surprised?"
One fan named Corey (@virtualcorey), who got caught in the giant traffic backup on I-15, said, "Stuck in traffic on my way to the BYU/USU game. And after hearing that first play in this traffic, this is looking like the better place to be".
Midway through the first quarter, Aggies defender McKade Brady was ejected to leaving the ground to make a hit. And Twitter universe exploded after the call.
An Aggie fan named Jenni (@jenniball91) tweeted, "Wow. Ejection? That was a gift. We better make good off of it."
Tim Hathcock (@SouthrnFriedGuy) did not agree with the officiating of that play. He said, "That should not even have been a penalty, much less an ejection."
Eric Frandsen (@efrandsen) tweeted at the end of the first quarter, "End of the 1st. Except for one dynamic play, USU is getting outplayed early."
Tyler D. Huskinson (@TDHuskiSports) seemed to agree.
"Back to back empty possession for USU. Shades of CSU game right now. The USU defense is lacking," he said.
As the second quarter rolled along, Aggies quarterback Chuckie Keeton got more into the action and produced a sizzling pass play to Eric Moats for a touchdown to help USU take the lead 14-13 going into halftime.
Jacob Kirkham (@jacobkirkham) tweeted, "What a play by Chuckie Keeton! Wow!"
A BYU fan, Natasha Watts (@NatashaWattsUp), lamented at Keeton's play-making ability when she said, "Wow. Can we have the USU quarterback? They can take (Jake) Heaps."
Steve Chambers (@chamberssteve) commented, "No way Heaps could have pulled off that play. To be fair, I'm not sure Wynn (Utah QB Jordan Wynn) could have either".
During halftime, Tony Jones (@TonyAggieville) tweeted, "USU was outplayed in the first half, but made the big plays, which is why they lead".
One Twitter user named Sean (@scrantonicity33) mentioned how he wanted an old rivalry to return quickly when he said, "I wish USU and Utah would play this year. USU looks like the best team in the state".
Going into the third quarter, USU needed to regroup its offense, and the Utah State Alumni (@UtahStateAlumni) was right behind them.
"USU defense did their job. Aggie offense it's now your turn. Keep it up! We have the momentum".
BYU then made a change to try to give their offense a boost when they inserted backup quarterback Riley Nelson, a former Utah State Aggie, into the lineup.
Tony Jones (@TonyAggieville) made an interesting comment at that point, when he said, "If Riley Nelson leads BYU to a win, the city of Logan will blow up and cease to exist".
Robert Turbin quickly put any doubt to rest after he scrambled into the end zone for yet another touchdown. Bret Bergstrom (@Brbergstrom) tweeted, "BYU rush defense in the second half is Swiss cheese. I can understand why USU was being conservative with Turbin in the first half now".
As the game moved into the fourth quarter, Riley Nelson began to show signs of life as he led BYU down the field for a passing touchdown to Cody Hoffman. Fellow ksl.com contributor Tavin Stucki (@TavinStucki) commented, "Nelson gets a TD pass. Are the Aggies going to invent another way to lose in the fourth quarter?"
The Aggies Michael Smith quickly grabbed the momentum back from the Cougars as he rumbled down the field for a huge gain. But that momentum was given right back to the Cougars after they stopped Utah State on a fake field goal.
Nick Newman (@nicknewman801) commented, "Never thought I'd be happy seeing Riley Nelson throwing. This game is so weird".
The Aggie faithful and others alike quickly began to wonder if Utah State could drop this pivotal game.
Neil Rasmusin (@BucUte) tweeted, "USU is being USU right now".
Chad Nielson (@Lord_Chadeous) seemed to agree when he tweeted, "We should totally make a LeBron joke about USU right now".
Following a JJ Di Luigi fumble in the fourth quarter, the optimism still wasn't as high for the Aggies. A Twitter user named JG (@Utebuntu) said, "Folks this isn't over. USU will find a way to be USU".
A lot of Utah Utes fans tuned into the game, including Adam Montero (@ute_conklusion), who made an interesting statement about the Aggies when he said, "USU needs to start playing to win rather than trying not to lose".
Their worst fears came true on Friday night as Riley Nelson led BYU to the comeback victory, 27-24.
Austin Grams (@AuzGrams) tweeted, "How many games can you choke away? I want to root for USU but this is PATHETIC".
Scott Robinson (@scottrobinson) wanted to know, "Is this more painful for USU because it was Riley Nelson?"
It was a loss that many Utah State fans will be shaking their heads at for a long time.
It could only be answered one way, and it was national columnist Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyCBS) that said it best:
"Even the Boston Red Sox think Utah State choked".
Email: onlinesports@ksl.com
