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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Though football is not a game of almosts or should haves, Utah State came a lot closer to a win than the scoreboard reflects in its first game against No. 25 Iowa.
The Aggies "should have" made less mistakes and "almost" won. Here's a look at what almost happened in Iowa City.
On Utah State's first possession of the game, in which they went three-and-out, the Aggies had a false start on third down that changed their yards-to-gain from 4 to 9. An early first down could have helped the Aggies gain some momentum instead of giving it back to the Iowa offense right away. The Hawkeyes went on to score on their next possession, tacking on 14 of the team's 24 points less than halfway through the first quarter.
On Iowa's second consecutive scoring possession, the Hawkeyes advanced to the 13-yard line on a well choreographed run play. A defensive block below the waist penalty on Anthony Switzer gave the Hawkeyes 6 more yards.
On first and goal, Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara looked into the end zone and had his pass broken up and nearly intercepted by Utah State safety Ike Larsen. If he had intercepted the pass, the Aggies would have prevented a touchdown just three plays later.
Later in the first quarter, MJ Tafisi Jr. forced a big fumble on the Aggies' 33-yard line, but the fumble was recovered by Iowa's Gennings Dunker. The missed opportunity ultimately had no real impact on the game since Utah State forced a turnover on downs in the same part of the field, but it was another early mistake in the game.
Early in the second quarter, the Aggies moved on what looked to be a promising touchdown drive. After a 10-yard pass on first down, quarterback Cooper Legas was sacked for a 10-yard loss, setting up second-and-20. It was too much to recover from for the Aggies and they had to settle for a field goal.
On the next possession for the Hawkeyes, the Aggies defense came up big and held the home team to a three-and-out. The ensuing punt by Tory Taylor was blocked by Ike Larsen, who blocked three punts last year for the Aggies. Taylor put a great spin on his kick and it bounced forcefully forward for a 37-yard punt, essentially negating a positive play for Utah State.
Cooper Legas threw an interception three plays into the next drive. After the game, Legas said he should have thrown the ball "with a purpose" and that it would have been a big play for his team.
Late in the first half, Iowa started a drive with a false start penalty, resulting in first-and-15. The next play resulted in just a 3-yard gain, but Utah State's Poukesi Vakauata body slammed a pile of players from both teams long after the whistle.
The pointless blunder cost the Aggies 15 yards and a first down rather than defending the Hawkeyes on a manageable second-and-12. Larsen later picked up a personal foul on a field goal attempt, which allowed the Hawkeyes to continue their drive rather than end on a field goal.
In the final seconds of the third quarter, Stephen Kotsanlee's 40-yard punt was muffed by Iowa's Deshaun Lee, but the surrounding Utah State players were not aware of the fumble and it was recovered by Lee for the Hawkeyes. Iowa's next drive resulted in a touchdown following another Utah State personal foul.
The ensuing kickoff to the Aggies featured a late hit from Josh Williams after the touchback, which resulted in a Utah State unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The Aggies were forced to began their drive from the 12-yard line and quickly went three-and-out.
After forcing another Hawkeyes three-and-out, the Aggies had a chance to score a touchdown to bring it within two scores. Utah State took the ball down to the Iowa 15-yard line, but on third-and-1, Utah State's Tavo Motu'apuaka was called for back-to-back false starts, leading to a third-and-11 and ultimately a turnover on downs.
While no team is expected to go into an environment like Iowa City and play perfect, error-free football, had the Aggies cleaned up a few of its missed opportunities, especially costly, emotion-filled penalties with no real purpose, the team could have been in a much closer contest with the Hawkeyes. After all, the Aggies still managed to outscore the Hawkeyes in the final three quarters.
Overall, the Aggies competed well against a top-25 football team, who will likely be their toughest opponent of the year. If they can get big, costly mistakes like the ones they committed Saturday morning cleaned up, the Aggies could potentially be a competitive football team in the Mountain West.
