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LOGAN — Utah State fell 45-38 at home to a formidable Sun Belt opponent in James Madison Saturday evening.
The Aggies' comeback efforts were impressive, but like previous contests this season, were too little, too late.
"There's a lot of positives," Aggies head coach Blake Anderson said. "Just, it's hard to swallow when you know you had a chance to get one."
The first quarter curse for Utah State continued and was amplified to unbelievable proportions against James Madison in Logan Saturday. Utah State got outscored 17-0 in the first quarter (24-0 if we include the first play of the second quarter) and had -22 total offensive yards in the quarter. The Aggies had only one play from scrimmage that resulted in positive yardage in the first quarter.
The first quarter, according to Anderson, was as bad as his team could have had, and was arguably worse than the showing against Air Force a week prior. All of it amounted to the Aggies going into the halftime break trailing 38-17.
Utah State came out of the locker room after the halftime break with a new drive to win, though. McCae Hillstead led an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the half. The Aggies, then, forced a three-and-out series on the next possession and returned the ensuing punt into James Madison territory for good field position.
The series of plays sparked an impressive comeback run, swinging the momentum pendulum toward Utah State. The Aggies outscored the Dukes 14-0 and held them to just 7 total yards without a single passing completion in the third quarter. Their impressive third quarter performance was part of a 24-0 run that tied up the game early in the fourth quarter.
Terrell Vaughn, who posted 124 receiving yards and two touchdowns, said there were no big adjustments made at half for the Aggies; it was just a change in production and an improvement in "execution." Recently-switched linebacker Anthony Switzer agreed, using the same word to describe the team's defensive improvement after halftime.
Despite the comeback, the fourth quarter gave James Madison's offense the break it needed. With just 5:52 left in the game, the Dukes scored on a 74-yard go-ahead touchdown pass that ended up being the deciding score.
Hillstead had a chance to tie up the game again with just over two minutes left in the game but had his pass intercepted at the goal line on second-and-goal. An Aggies defensive stop led to another offensive opportunity with less than a minute to play, but Hillstead's first pass of the drive was tipped by his receiver and intercepted to end the Aggies' comeback hopes.
Despite his three interceptions, Hillstead played well in his first start for the Aggies. The true freshman threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns on 25-of-47 passing. Hillstead completed several bulk yardage plays, including a 76-yard pass to Micah Davis early in the fourth quarter to tie the game 38-38, and also broke the school record for the most single-game passing yards by a freshman.
"He made some unbelievable throws," said Anderson, adding that despite his impressive performance, he doesn't have the luxury of turning the ball over. "He'll be harder on himself than I'll be on him, but I think, as you look at the game, you see why he's in there and what he can bring to the table."
Several defensive players were injured for the Aggies Saturday, including veteran linebacker MJ Tafisi Jr. and Devin Dye, who had an impressive showing before his injury. In one three-play series, Dye made a tackle for loss on first down, recorded a tackle on second down, and intercepted a pass on third down. His interception sparked the Aggies' first points.
The severity of the injuries from the evening is unknown, Anderson said.
"This team has a lot of depth," Switzer said. "A lot of people haven't got their opportunities. … Anybody that you rotate through there, I have confidence in it. There's a lot of guys on this team that can play."
Switzer recovered a fumble late in the game to give the Aggies another chance of a score, and intercepted a pass to build on his team's momentum in the third quarter.
