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LOGAN — Celebrations are hardly mild when Utah State's defense is involved.
Take last Saturday night, for instance.
Senior Ajani Carter intercepted Air Force quarterback Haaziq Daniels to seal the game, then darted to the sidelines to begin the post-turnover festivities with his teammates.
There to greet Carter was defensive coordinator Ephraim Banda, who picked him up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and gleefully ran down the field with him.
the wildest turnover celebration pic.twitter.com/5j8O2MIWoa
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) October 9, 2022
Banda executed the same celebration in Utah State's Week 0 win over Connecticut, after Ike Larson snagged a late-game interception.
There have been ample opportunities to enjoy individual defensive plays on the field; the Aggies are 23rd nationally with seven interceptions and 26th in tackles for loss (41).
It's taking its toll on Banda.
"Those are big plays and just super exciting for them. Now, (Carter and Larson) are a little lighter than some of the bigger guys," Banda joked. "I may be done with it because I may have turned my ankle on the last one because AJ's a little bit heavier than I thought he was gonna be."
Turned ankles aside, the flashy moments are to be cherished during an otherwise rough start to the season for Utah State, which travels to Colorado State on Saturday with hopes to build upon a 2-4 record.
But it's the less flashy moments that have defined the first half of the season for the Aggies defense thus far, particularly on the ground.
And while Banda won't be hoisting 280-pound senior defensive tackle Hale Motu'apuaka over his shoulder any time soon, he certainly recognizes the effort his defense has put into containing the run.
Since the first two games of the season, Utah State's defense has overcome injuries to perform admirably in stopping opponent's rushing attacks. It's an effort that's anchored the team and kept the Aggies in the hunt for a Mountain West championship.
The Aggies defense has simplified some things from a year ago, running its four-three front — four defensive linemen and three linebackers — more consistently and utilizing complex packages less.
Negative yardage plays the team managed to force last year have still come, but the simplified scheme is aiding the current personnel.
Utah State is averaging 201.0 rushing yards per game and 4.7 yard per carry, but has surrendered just 3.7 yards per carry since the Alabama game — a number better than last year's 4.4 yards allowed per carry.
Improved tackling and execution — along with facing lesser talent than the Crimson Tide — has helped the defense cause issues against solid run offenses. UNLV averages 4.1 yards per carry, Utah State held them to 2.5; BYU averages 5.0 yards per carry, they were held to 3.7; Air Force averages 6.1 yards, the Aggies allowed 4.8.
"I've actually been encouraged big picture (in the run game)," Banda said. "We've hit our yards per attempt goal pretty much every week other than the UConn and Alabama games."
Perhaps the most impressive performance was against the Falcons' triple option. A year ago, the Aggies verticle defensive attack was ravaged by Air Force, which posted 437 rushing yards, 6.1 yards a carry and 45 points. This year, the Utah State staff prepped the triple-option during fall camp and the bye week in September. They pivoted from the typical game plan of getting disruption in the backfield, focusing more on meeting the Falcons head-on at the line of scrimmage.
The result? The Aggies surrendered just two touchdowns on run-heavy drives (the third touchdown was busted coverage on a wheel route) and limited the Falcon's offense beyond that.
"We spent the whole bye week on it, had an extra day leading into the week," Banda said. "So we walked into the week with six extra practices with a whole offseason of prepping. … When they put the ball on the perimeter, we were all over them. And we played dive better as we went on."
"Thought the time and energy our defensive staff and defense players put in during the offseason paid off in a big big way," coach Blake Anderson said. "Made it very difficult for them to move the ball."
Beyond the effort against the Falcons, the performance on the ground is a pleasant surprise for the Aggies defensive coaching staff, considering the hits the unit has taken at the defensive tackle position.
Junior starting defensive tackle Poukesi Vakauta has been nursing a foot injury all season. Fellow starter, Motu'apuaka, was banged up earlier in the season and missed the Weber State game. The two-deep at the position has been decimated; Phil Paea suffered a torn ACL against Weber State on a tackle sustained returning an interception, and redshirt freshman Seni Tuiaki dislocated his ankle against UNLV and is out for the season.
But the group rallied.
Two underclassmen have filled into the two deep: sophomore Tavian Coleman and redshirt freshman Bo Maile. Banda has lauded both for their development; Coleman has 10 tackles on the year, Maile has two.
"(The injuries) are kind of hard, but I'm very proud of the young guys who have stepped up," Motu'apuaka said after the UNLV game. "Especially Tavion Coleman and Bo Maile. They've been doing an amazing job of stepping up and playing for us. They were thrown into the fire, especially Bo."
"If you'd have told me would have held Air Force to 4.7 a carry and 260 yards without (Tuiaki) and Phil, I'd have laughed," Banda said. "That many injuries and that kind of situation would normally just cripple a team, but (defensive line coach) Alex Devine has kept it together and actually got us playing better every week."
Credit Motu'apuaka himself, too. He has battled through pain to clog up running holes and has totaled 12 tackles and two sacks.
"I will say it's been led by Hale Motu'apuaka," Banda said. "He's done a phenomenal job being a frickin' war daddy in there."
The tackle position has also been aided by the defensive ends — junior Byron Vaughns and junior Nevada transfer Daniel Grzesiak have played well.
Vaughns has battled an ankle injury and missed the UNLV game, but has still posted eight solo tackles.
"Byron has done a really good job of creating problems in the backfield," Banda said. "I think he's improved from last year dramatically to be honest with you. His production doesn't say that right now.
"He's still not 100% But you know, you still see it and these next seven games are really the big seven games that he blew up last year."
The other side of the line, Grzesiak's 245-pound frame has increased the defense's physicality. He's posted five solo tackles.
"Daniel's ability to play in the Cgap and be extremely violent and powerful on tight ends has definitely been awesome to see," Banda said. "He's been that Nick Heninger type dude."
On the second level of the defense, Washington transfer linebacker MJ Tafisi leads the team with 35 combined tackles, senior linebacker AJ Vongphachanh has 52 combined tackles. The starting safeties, Hunter Reynolds and Gurvan Hall, are third and fourth with 42 and 30 combined tackles respectively.
For a defense that the coaching staff will admit lacks the same size as some of the programs Utah State has faced this year, it's no doubt been a stingy group on the ground.
"The defensive guys are doing a job and being aggressive, being physical," Carter said. "Violence is the asset on the defensive side of the ball."
While facing a pass-heavy Colorado State team Saturday will provide its own challenges, the confidence level of the Aggies defense — and team — is at a season high.
Credit the defense for showing up, despite the losses on the scoreboard and in the depth chart.
They keep it up, there will be plenty more to celebrate.
