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LOGAN — Utah State coach Matt Wells talked to his team about one main thing coming into its Mountain West Conference opener at home against Air Force on homecoming night: be 1-0 by midnight Saturday.
Mission accomplished.
The Aggies (4-2, 1-0 MW) scored 31 first-half points and cruised by Air Force, 34-16, behind standout efforts from wide receiver Hunter Sharp and quarterback Darell Garretson.
The Utah State defense also did its part, led by Zach Vigil’s single-game, nation-leading 22 tackles and two-way star Nick Vigil’s 11 tackles and a 19-yard interception return.
The defense was stellar, as it's been for most of the season, but the offense still has a few tweaks that it needs to make, and special teams — while it continues to improve — can be better.
Here are the game-day grades for Utah State’s conference-opening win over the Falcons (4-2, 1-2).
Sharp found 75 yards of space and a touchdown from Garretson on the first play of the game, and the Falcons were chasing Utah State’s offense the rest of the way. Sharp added a score on the next offensive possession, set up by a 10-yard run after the Aggies recovered a fumble.
“Hunter Sharp continues to play well each and every week,” Wells said. “It’s a direct reflection of his practice habits. I say that every week, but the kid practices his tail off. He does such a good job, and he had another good night catching the ball.”
Nick Vigil saw the first start of his college career at running back, and he went for 12 yards and a touchdown. Overall, though, the Aggies’ run game couldn’t live up to the lofty standard of the passing game. Garretson led the rushing with 37 yards and a touchdown, and JoJo Natson fumbled early in the fourth quarter off a run play as the Falcons tried to claw their way back into the game.
The defense started off well, forcing a fumble on the Falcons’ first two drives and holding the cadets’ offense to three first-quarter points despite 163 total yards, and it didn’t slow much until Zach Vigil dropped Air Force quarterback Kale Pearson on the final play. Frankie Sutera hauled in his fourth interception in four games, and the Falcons couldn’t sustain a drive all the way through to the end zone until Shane Davern’s 8-yard plunge with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.
Nick Vigil pulled down his first interception of the year and second of his career. Zach Vigil, who had the most tackles by a USU player since 1999, anchored a linebacker group that flew to the football, holding Air Force’s prolific rush of Jacobi Owens and Kale Pearson to a combined 73 yards on 19 attempts in the first half, and 189 yards on 51 carries for the game.
“An unbelievable performance when we needed it against an option offense, a run-heavy offense and one of the top rushing offenses in the country,” Wells said of Zach Vigil. “I felt the things we did up front on the D-line allowed him to be able to make those plays. If he doesn’t, we’re in trouble. But he’s a tremendous player, and has been since he started the last three years.”
The performance wasn’t bad for the Aggie specialists, and the group didn’t have to do much. When they were called into action, the performance was simply average — at best. Nick Diaz’s 46-yard field goal in the second quarter was a highlight, and he added a 35-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Jaron Bentrude’s blocked punt 15 yards outside his own end zone was among the low points, though, and punt returner Natson only returned one punt for 18 yards.
As complete of a game as Utah State has played all season, the most glaring inefficiencies of the Aggies’ run game and a few special teams woes were vastly overshadowed by a dominant defense, a standout performance by Garretson and his receivers and the overall effort of two Vigil brothers, of whom Wells joked he should already start recruiting the 12-year-old sibling.
“That was a very good start for us right out of the gate, and as far as Mountain West goes,” Wells said. “Everything before (conference play) doesn’t matter, it’s all about the Mountain West, the race and Round 2. It’s a really good win for our team.”
