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HONOLULU -- Utah State was looking for their first win in Hawaii since 1966 on late Saturday night. Those of the Aggie faithful that stayed up late to watch or listen to the game definitely saw quite a game.
The first quarter started out nicely as Matt Austin caught a nice touchdown pass and put Utah State on the board first. The Aggies led at the end of the first quarter, 7- 0.
The second quarter was a complete reversal of fortune for Utah State.
The penalties against both teams began to mount early on, leading Tyrell Marchant (@tbmarchant) to say, "It's already 10 p.m., someone tell the refs to quit throwing the flags." Obviously he was referring to the late start of the game.
Tyler Bennett poorly punted a ball early on that gave Hawaii great field position on the Aggies 18-yard line.
Hawaii scored shortly thereafter and tied the game at seven points apiece. But that wasn't the end of the scoring. Before Utah State realized it, they were down 21- 7 thanks to the play of Hawaii QB Bryant Moniz.
The Aggies offense couldn't seem to get a sustained drive going. The Upset Blog (@TheUpsetBlog) tweeted, "Every time I see Utah State with the ball, Keeton is scrambling right and going out of bounds."
One image that Utah State fans did not want to see was that of Keeton down, motionless on the field.
The Upset Blog (@TheUpsetBlog) wrote, "Keeton got crunched with his head pointing down by a Hawaii dude's torso after he got stripped of the ball. He is down and it's not good." He continued, saying, "Nothing dirty from Hawaii on the hit, Keeton just got tilted the wrong way and head crunched into someone else."
Immediately following the play, the thoughts and tweets of Twitter and Aggie nation changed to the health of Chuckie Keeton.
Sam Anderson (@Sam4nd) wrote, "Chuckie is a true freshman and is something special. Hope he is alright."
Jonathon Godbold (@Jonnybgbold) said, "Pray for Chuckie."
Ben Burt (@detmer14v1) started to rally Cougar fans in support of Keeton when he said, "Attention all Cougar fans, lets stand with our Aggie brothers and pray that Chuckie will be ok.
The Upset Blog (@TheUpsetBlog) tweeted, "Not unrealistic that Utah State would have to fly home without Keeton if it's serious. Gut punch beyond comprehension."
Hawaii finished the half leading 28-7, but you know that the thoughts of the entire Utah State football team were centered on Keeton.
The Aggies entered the second half on a mission to play well for Keeton.
Eric Frandsen (@efrandsen) tweeted, "This team still has life in them. Kennedy throws a 25 yard strike then Turbin runs it in from 48 yards out for a TD."
After a field goal to push the Warriors lead to 31-14, Adam Kennedy hit the stat sheet with his first touchdown pass as an Aggie.
ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) wrote, "Chuck Jacobs makes great adjustment, catches Adam Kennedy's 37-yard pass through double coverage. TD Utah State."
Even with the resurgence on the scoreboard, the Aggies continued to have issues on defense and special teams with regards to penalties.
The Upset Blog (@TheUpsetBlog) tweeted about the Aggies penalty woes:
"Utah State has nine penalties for 105 yards and it's still the 3rd quarter."
The Aggies finished the third quarter down 10 points, 31- 21. It is the first time this season that Utah State has not led at the end of the third quarter.
Benji Hadfield (@DrHadfield) wrote, "Every time I decide to go to bed, Utah State does something awesome to convince me to stay up. Go Aggies and pray for Chuckie."
Utah State came up with another huge fourth down stop against Hawaii QB Bryant Moniz and on the very first play of the next drive, the Aggies did something they haven't done in what seems like forever:
Not blow the game in the fourth quarter.
In fact, they scored on a 72-yard touchdown to Stanley Morrison from Adam Kennedy.
USU Football (@USUFootball) wrote, "Morrison got hit by two players at the same time, they both went down and he kept running to the end zone."
Cache Sports Media (@CacheSports_USU) said, "Suddenly this is a game. With plenty of time remaining in the 4th, Utah State is within 3, at 31-28."
With the Aggies making the comeback, it was just a matter of time before a member of the media threw out a wisecrack about Utah State's struggles to finish games.
The winner this week was Kraig Williams (@KraigW) of the Deseret News, who said, "Hawaii is doing a really great impression of Utah State trying to close out a game right now."
Zach Bloxham (@zbloxham) also wrote, "There are about a billion reasons why the Utah State guys deserve to win this one."
Kennedy drove Utah State down the field after another Hawaii punt got the Aggies to the one yard line with 16 seconds remaining in the quarter and the Warriors scrambling.
Tony Jones (@TonyAggieville) tweeted, "This would be an all-time comeback."
Utah State got the vindication they wanted for Chuckie Keeton after Robert Turbin ran it in from one yard out and gave the Aggies the lead for good, 35-31.
It was the comeback that no one expected but everyone wanted as the Aggies beat the preseason WAC-favorites to win the championship.
The Upset Blog (@TheUpsetBlog) finished out the night, saying, "Utah State moves to 3-5. They play SJSU, Idaho, Nevada, and NMSU. They still have a shot at a bowl. Maybe?
While the chances improve slightly tonight, Utah State must win three of the four games in order to be eligible to play in a bowl.
Kraig Williams (@KraigW) wrote, "Just when you think you have the Aggies figured out, they change the script."
Hopefully, this is the script that Utah State has been searching for all season long.
Email: onlinesports@ksl.com
Twitter: @matt_harris7
