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EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — Just six plays into Utah State's first drive of the second half, McCae Hillstead got sandwiched by two Huskies players after the ball was thrown.
He fell to the ground and made no effort to brace his fall. His long pass landed in the outstretched hands of Jalen Royals for a 31-yard gain, and a flag flew in from the backfield.
After being examined on the field, Hillstead was taken to the team's medical tent before he walked off the field and did not return to the game. His recovery and return timeline is still not clear, though Anderson later said Legas would not play until he was completely healthy and ready to go.
In his stead, Cooper Legas marched onto the field and tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Royals just a few plays later. The Aggies went on to score on each of the ensuing four offensive drives.
Legas completed 85% of his passes and tallied 204 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and, perhaps most importantly, no interceptions. He also added 26 yards on the ground on six rushes to help the Aggies to a win.
Legas also finished the afternoon with a passer rating of 292.6. For reference, Heisman front-runners Caleb Williams and Michael Penix Jr. average a passer rating of 223.1 and 209.6 on the season, respectively. Legas is certainly not a Heisman front-runner (his season passer rating is 121.3), but his performance through less than two quarters Saturday was impressive and enough to secure a Utah State victory.
"The second that we moved McCae in, (Legas has) done a phenomenal job — great in the meeting room with McCae, answering questions and, you know, helping him just take notes and prepare bouncing ideas off each other," Anderson said of his senior quarterback.
His performance was especially impressive considering his performance in the beginning of the season. Against Iowa, he averaged just 4.4 yards per pass attempt. Though he performed well against Idaho State, he went just 2-of-7 against Air Force and was responsible for two turnovers before Anderson elected to put in Hillstead.
Though Legas performed well against UConn, Anderson didn't commit to giving the senior the starting spot back. He did admit, however, that "your job is always in jeopardy."
"I don't think McCae's done anything to lose (the starting spot), but I'm very proud of what Coop did to be ready to step back in," Anderson said.
The Aggies coach seemed to allude to Hillstead being the starter on condition of his health, though not until "when the time comes."
