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SAN DIEGO — After digging themselves into a deep hole in the first few plays of overtime, Jalen Mayden snapped the ball on a long second-and-25, trying to give San Diego State a chance to score. As he looked to his left, he saw Brionne Penny wide open, flying toward the end zone.
Mayden launched the pass to Penny, who hauled in the 27-yard touchdown pass. After Jack Browning's extra point, the Aztecs were up by 7 points.
On that play, it appeared the Aggies' defense was in zone coverage as Penny shot past JD Drew and caught safety Ike Larsen out of position. The score, according to Aggies head coach Blake Anderson, was a busted coverage assignment from Larsen.
Thankfully for Larsen and the Aggies, Cooper Legas quickly connected with Terrell Vaughn to tack on 6 points of their own. The PAT from William Testa went right up the middle of the uprights, and the Aggies had another chance.
After Robert Briggs Jr. scored an important touchdown for the Aggies in the second overtime, followed by a clever 2-point conversion pass play from Vaughn to Broc Lane, the Aggies defense took the field, once again, with a chance at redemption.
Utah State held the Aztecs on their first three plays, bringing up a do-or-die fourth-and-4 for the Aztecs. Mayden dropped back, looked right, and fired, perhaps missing Utah State's Larsen, who jumped the route and secured an interception and an Aggies win.
"I busted that coverage. I let my teammates down, but when we were on the sideline, they all still had faith in me, so I think that helped a lot," Larsen said. "I just went out there and tried to play the best I can for my team."
With his interception, Larsen helped his team secure its second road win of the season — the first came against Connecticut, when Larsen blocked a game-tying PAT to give the Aggies a win.
It could be said that making big plays at the end of the game has become Larsen's M.O.
"I don't know that I'm surprised by it anymore," chuckled Anderson after the game. "(Larsen) just has a tremendous capacity to move on to the next play and be ready when the moment is biggest."
And for a hometown Cache Valley kid, winning the game for his home town team had to be an indescribable feeling.
"It feels great. I can't really express it; it gets better and better each time," Larsen said. "What it comes down to is being locked in and being prepared in those big moments and not letting the moment be too big."
Larsen, who is compiling quite the collection of accolades and awards, has four interceptions, one forced fumble, two blocked kicks, three tackles for loss, and 70 total tackles this season. His efforts have earned him national recognition, including being named the College Football Network midseason national safety of the year last month.
It is all too likely that the Aggies will call on him a time or two in the remainder of the season to come up big for them late in the game, just like he already has this season.
