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ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — In the final game of the regular season, Utah State beat the New Mexico Lobos in overtime 44-41 to notch its sixth win and become bowl eligible.
"What a game, what a finish," Aggies coach Blake Anderson said. "Proud to get to six; it was not easy and (we) did a lot of things that could have kept it from happening tonight, but got to give the guys credit for battling."
The Aggies jumped out to an early lead in the game, but after bringing the game within one score, New Mexico drove down the field, aided by three Aggies pass interference penalties, and kicked a game-tying 22-yard field goal with four seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
After swapping touchdowns in the first overtime period, the Aggies made a goal-line stand to stop Jacoby Croskey-Merritt and the Lobos on third down. The Lobos elected to kick a field goal.
It seemed it was the only stop for Croskey-Merritt, who ran all over the Aggies defense for a total of 233 rushing yards on 31 attempts. It was good enough for 7.5 yards per carry — his longest rush was just 22 yards, meaning there were no long rushes that drove up his average yards per carry or total yards gained. His stats were good enough to push him over 1,000 rushing yards for the season.
"He's definitely a super hard runner, he's a great running back," said senior defensive tackle Hale Motu'apuaka, who made the critical stop on Croskey-Merritt in the second overtime.
On the ensuing possession, Utah State converted on a gutsy fourth-and-1 situation rather than kick a field goal, a decision made due to the inclement weather and high winds, according to Anderson. Two plays later, Aggies quarterback Levi Williams scrambled to save the play after a fumbled snap for a 13-yard gain to record his third rushing touchdown to win the game.
Williams started his first game for the Aggies due to injuries to quarterbacks Cooper Legas and McCae Hillstead. He finished 16-of-27 with two touchdowns and an interception. Williams also added 153 yards on the ground.
Williams called his performance and his game-winning touchdown a "Hollywood-type ending to a career."
It was a chippy win for the Aggies, though; Utah State recorded 13 penalties for 183 yards. The two teams recorded 28 total penalties for 338 total yards, of which more than a few were unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and personal fouls. The combined penalty yards were a FBS season high.
"That's not a record you want to be a part of," Anderson said. "I clearly thought (the referees were) really quick to throw some flags, but we've got to do better there. I just have to assume that they're all legitimate flags and we've got to do better. … We overcame it, as bad as it was, as ugly as those flags are and that many, we found a way to overcome."
Not all FBS leading stats were negative from the evening, though. Both of Williams' passing touchdowns were to Jalen Royals, who tied the Utah State school record for receiving touchdowns in a season with 14. He also has seven touchdown receptions of 50 yards or more, which is the most in FBS.
The Aggies, with the win, improve to 6-6 and become bowl eligible and will await their bowl assignment on Selection Sunday. Though there is a small chance there will be too many bowl eligible teams and the Aggies may not be selected, Anderson said he'd like to think his team is "in."
