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BOISE, Idaho — Utah State saw its five-game winning streak go up in smoke with a 50-19 loss at No. 25 Boise State Saturday night in what amounted to the Mountain division title game in front of 33,940 fans at Albertsons Stadium.
The Broncos will host West Division Champion Fresno State in the second Mountain West Conference championship game Saturday at 9 p.m. MT on CBS.
Utah State will be left waiting for its name to be called for a program record fourth straight bowl bid, which could come in Las Vegas; San Diego; Albuquerque, New Mexico, or a number of other locales.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Aggies, though. Here are a few things Utah State did well, and a few things to work on before its postseason game.
Special teams and playing until the whistle
A heads-up play by Jalen Davis turned into a unique two-point conversion for Utah State in the first quarter. After Travis Seefeldt blocked a Boise State PAT, Davis picked up the ball and ran it into the opposite end zone for two points to pull the Aggies within 11 at 20-9. Unfortunately, it was the closest Utah State would get in the lopsided result.
Jaron Bentrude was also a highlight for the Aggies, putting up 225 yards on five punts (45 yards per punt) to help Utah State’s defense get a little relief in the field-position battle.
While the defense was uncharacteristic overall, Daniel Gray scored on another heads-up play for the Aggies when he picked up a fumble in the fourth quarter and ran it in 50 yards for a score.
Offensive line
After playing under its fourth starting quarterback, Utah State appeared to have corrected most of the issues on the offensive line that plagued the four newcomers early in the season. Many of those miscommunications returned Saturday night, though. The Broncos amassed five tackles for loss in the first half.
Boise State ran around veteran Utah State lineman Kevin Whimpey and put pressure from every other angle on true freshman quarterback Kent Myers. The line nearly gave up a safety midway through the third quarter on the forgettable night, but it allowed a 2-pointer on the Broncos’ ninth tackle for loss of the game with 4:47 remaining in the fourth quarter to put Boise State ahead 50-12.
JoJo’s leg
JoJo Natson went down briefly with a lower leg injury following a run on the Aggies’ first offensive possession of the second half. The junior from Florida limped off the field under his own power, but the Aggies have relied on him for much of their offense throughout the season. They will need him again for a bowl victory. Natson was seen riding a stationary bike and doing other conditioning drills shortly after the injury. He should have plenty of time to recover before the Aggies’ late-December bowl game.
Natson finished with 20 yards on three receptions, and negative 3 yards on four carries as the Aggies struggled to establish rhythm on the ground.
The run game
Utah State’s inability to run the ball reared its ugly head again in the loss. Freshman LaJuan Hunt led the Aggies with 58 yards on the ground, but 55 of those yards came on the young running back’s first play from scrimmage. Meanwhile, Boise State running back Jay Ajayi paved the way with 229 yards and five touchdowns.
Ajayi was a different breed of running back on the field, becoming the sixth player in Mountain West history to rush for five touchdowns in a single game. His 200-yard effort was the second of 2014, and the first since running for 219 yards Sept. 6 in the Broncos’ 37-24 win over Colorado State.
Slow start
Utah State’s defense, the top overall defense in the Mountain West and a top-10 run defense nationally, gave up more than 300 yards on the ground and a season-high 34 points in the first half. The Aggies needed to play a near-perfect game on both sides of the ball to pick up a road win at Boise State, but Utah State’s early performance did not live up to the billing.
Boise State scored on its first five offensive possessions
Myers finished with 16 completions for 159 yards, and he also ran the ball a team-high 11 times for 43 yards and a touchdown for the Aggies.
