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LOGAN — The Aggies evened their record at 5-5 with a 41-24 home win against Nevada Saturday afternoon.
The win was crucial to the Aggies' quest to become bowl eligible, but was largely expected against a struggling Nevada team. Prior to Saturday's matchup, ESPN's FPI had Nevada as the eighth-worst team in the FBS.
"We had to get this one to really put ourselves, I think, in a good position to get (to six wins)," head coach Blake Anderson said.
The game wasn't pretty for either side, though, as Nevada and Utah State had 12 and 13 penalties, respectively, for a combined 232 yards and two turnovers each.
"Frustrated with the penalties," Anderson said. "Thirteen penalties is ridiculous. … When you have that many penalties, there is going to be no rhythm."
A big shift in momentum occurred midway through the second quarter when the Aggies' Anthony Switzer pressured AJ Bianco and forced an errant pass. Seni Tuiaki intercepted it and took the pass back 63 yards for a touchdown. Tuiaki said it was his first-ever touchdown
The touchdown, though, gave the Aggies a two-score lead and their first real separation in the game.
In Cooper Legas' first game in his third stint as the team's starter this season, he finished with 182 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions on 18-of-33 passing, and added 45 rushing yards on 10 carries.
"Anytime your quarterback starts to run the ball effectively … it does spread the defense thin," Anderson said. "Our spacing, the fact that we've got three wideouts and a tight end that are all hard to matchup, to running backs that are more than capable, you add the quarterback's feet to that, and you end up being relatively explosive."
It was Rahsul Faison, however, one of the Aggies' three starting running backs, who seemed to carry the offense. He racked up 181 yards on 22 carries and found the end zone once. Faison finished with an average of 8.2 yards per carry.
"It allowed us to open up a lot of things, open up the pass game when they really started to commit to the run, and we started hitting some big runs," Faison said. "A huge shoutout to my offensive line, because without them none of this was possible."
Looking forward, the Aggies will attempt to keep their winning streak alive against Boise State next Saturday (5 p.m. MST, CBSSN), where both teams will likely play for their sixth win and bowl eligibility. It will be the Aggies' final home game of the season.
