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LOGAN — Weber State accomplished something Saturday night that hasn't happened since 1978: They beat the Utah State Aggies.
It was no nailbiting victory, either. The Wildcats ran away with the game and dominated both sides of the ball as they left Logan with a 35-7 win.
Coming out of halftime with a 13-7 lead, the Wildcats' second drive of the half summarized the entire night for Weber State, and in a way, for Utah State, as well. Quarterback Bronson Barron led his team on an 86-yard, 18 play drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock.
On the drive, Weber State converted six third downs, which kept the Wildcats offense on the field; and more importantly, the Aggies offense off the field.
The longest play of the drive was a 20-yard pass to receiver Jacob Sharp for one of the six third-down conversions. Besides that, Weber State meticulously worked their way down the field to keep the Utah State defense on their toes with a combination of hard runs and short passes.
Weber State chews up roughly 10 minutes of clock running 18 plays but gets the score on a 9-yard fade pass to Ty MacPherson.
— Thomas Gordon (@Air_Gordon12) September 11, 2022
A 2-point try is good and the Wildcats have all the momentum at the moment.
WSU 21 | USU 7
Barron didn't have the prettiest night and was just 11-of-22 passing for 202 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions, but when his offense needed him the most, he made it happen.
But every quarterback needs a strong supporting cast around him, too. Weber State's top two running backs, senior Josh Davis and sophomore Damon Bankston, combined for 147 yards rushing on 36 carries. While they each had their share of runs that got little to no positive yardage, their best runs often came at timely moments.
On the long third-quarter drive, Davis and Bankston each had a run of 7 yards and 6 yards, respectively, for first downs.
To illustrate just how dominant the offense was when it needed to be, the Wildcats won the time of possession battle for the game 36:10 to the Aggies' 23:50. While the offense did its part in contributing to the win, the defense may have deserved more of the praise.
After only allowing 5 points last week to Division II Western Oregon, the Wildcats put together one of their most impressive defensive games in recent years. The only points Weber State allowed was a 100-yard kickoff return by Utah State's Terrell Vaughn late in the first quarter.
The Utah State offense was shut out in the second consecutive game, as the team failed to score the week prior against No. 1 Alabama.
Weber State's defense held Aggies quarterback Logan Bonner to just 12-of-31 passing for 120 yards and three interceptions, and totaled four interceptions when junior cornerback Eddie Heckard picked off backup Aggies quarterback Cooper Legas' first pass attempt of the night.
For good measure, the Wildcats pick off backup Aggie QB Cooper Legas's first pass attempt of the night.
— Thomas Gordon (@Air_Gordon12) September 11, 2022
4 picks on the night for the Weber State defense. Really routing Utah State in their home stadium.
While Utah State's offense did plenty of damage to its own chances with lots of dropped balls by receivers and a lack of protection from the offensive line, the credit goes to co-defensive coordinators Joe Dale and Grant Duff for having their players ready to take on one of the Mountain West's top offenses from last year.
The defensive line regularly put pressure on Bonner; and when forced to make throws, the secondary was ready.
The defense also didn't allow the Aggies to convert their first third down of the game until there was about five minutes left in the game. Overall, the Aggies went 2-of-15 on third down conversions and only 1-for-4 on fourth downs.
Utah State's coaches told their players before this game not to take Weber State lightly; and if the Aggies weren't at the top of their game, the Wildcats could come in and cause some damage. That's exactly what Weber State did to pull off the upset and make a statement against an FBS team.
