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LOGAN — Since starting the season 1-4, Utah State's been forced to be creative on a game-by-game basis in efforts to claw its way back to .500.
Some wins required huge production from the receivers, the defensive front, or even special teams. But on Saturday night in Hawaii, it was a position group that's hardly been called on this year to set the tone for the Aggies.
Nine games into the season, Utah State had yet to have a tight end catch a touchdown pass; it opened the game against the Rainbow Warriors with two of them.
Quarterback Cooper Legas found tight end Josh Sterzer open in Utah State's first drive of the game, and Sterzer turned up field 68 yards for his first career touchdown catch. In the second quarter, Legas heaved it to tight end Broc Lane, who laid out and caught a 16-yard pass in the end zone for his first career touchdown.
Legas finished the night throwing for 238 yards and three touchdowns on 16-of-25 passing, and running back Calvin Tyler Jr. chipped in 113 yards on 25 carries with a passing and rushing touchdown to lead the Aggies to a 41-34 win over Hawaii and improve to 5-5 on the season.
Utah State Safety Ike Larson had two interceptions, including a fourth-quarter pick that was returned for a touchdown to give the Aggies a 41-24 lead with four minutes left in the game.
"I've been wanting to get the (tight ends) more and more involved all year," Aggies head coach Blake Anderson said. "We had some things designed to get them the ball and hadn't hit them, but tonight we did. We hit them when we needed to."
"It felt great looking at both of the tight ends getting touchdowns today," Tyler said. "It made me smile; almost made me cry."
🎶 𝙒𝙄𝘿𝙀 𝙊𝙋𝙀𝙉 𝙎𝙋𝘼𝘾𝙀𝙎 🎶@cooperlegas ✈️ @LittleSterz34#AggiesAllTheWaypic.twitter.com/QslW9LI3QJ
— USU Football (@USUFootball) November 13, 2022
Tyler had a 4-yard touchdown run to give the Aggies a 31-17 lead in the third quarter on a night the team had 374 total yards. In the fourth quarter, however, the run game slowed down, Legas was pressured, and the offense sputtered.
The Rainbow Warriors rallied.
Hawaii quarterback Brayden Schager, who finished the night throwing for 306 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions on 23-of-46 passing, hit receiver Caleb Phillips for a 31-yard touchdown to cut the score 34-24 early in the fourth quarter. With five minutes left in the game, Hawaii got the ball back and had a chance to make it a one-possession game.
That's when Larson, who started in place of Gurvan Hall and is no longer with the team, stepped up. The Cache Valley native stepped into Phillips' passing lane and picked him off, and then returned it to the house for the game-sealing score.
Cache Valley's own, Ike Larson, jumps the route and returns it to the end zone for the touchdown. pic.twitter.com/FJppUDHIqq
— Jacob Nielson (@Jacobnielson12) November 13, 2022
"That's just the game plan," Larson said. "We read the receiver's splits all week; I saw the split, and I jumped the route."
"He always tends to be calm in the moment when its most critical," Anderson said. "That was a game that, personally, was uncomfortably close. The pick six came at a huge time."
Hawaii still refused to go away and followed Larson's score with a score of its own — a 69-yard rushing touchdown by running back Tylan Hines to make it a 41-31 game. Later, a Rainbow Warriors field goal cut Utah State's led to 7 points with 18 seconds left in regulation. But the Aggies recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal the game.
"We didn't play our best. We obviously make a lot of mistakes that didn't allow us to put this game away like we liked," Anderson said. "But give them credit, too, their offense started to click."
The Aggies will look for bowl eligibility next week at home against San Jose State.
