Aggies gaining momentum heading into showdown with No. 16 Vanderbilt

Take away a couple of early mistakes and it was a pretty flawless performance by the Aggies heading into one of their most challenging football games of the season.

Utah State turned the ball over twice in the first half and gave up an explosive play midway through the second quarter, but otherwise completely dominated FCS program McNeese by a 48-7 scoreline last Saturday evening at Maverik Stadium.

It was a good momentum boost for the Aggies heading into Saturday morning's showdown against No. 16 Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee. This will be the first time in program history USU's first two road games have been against opponents in the AP Top 25 Poll as the Aggies squared off against then-No. 19 and now No. 9 Texas A&M on Sept. 6.

"Lots of positive things to build on and also plenty of corrections," head coach Bronco Mendenhall said in Monday's press conference. "We're really looking forward to the upcoming matchup and the upcoming week of preparation. I have an existing relationship with Clark Lea, the head coach at Vanderbilt. We became friends when I was coaching at Virginia ... and so it's been fun to have a great relationship and to see the progress and growth of their program, and the successes that they're having. I'm encouraged by our team. I like the direction we're going and, again, anxious for this week of preparation."

The Cowboys (1-3) had no answer for quarterback Bryson Barnes and the Aggie this past weekend as the hosts racked up a season-high 627 yards of total offense and averaged a whopping 8.4 yards per play. Barnes, who produced a career-high 421 yards of total offense in just three quarters of action, accounted for five touchdowns for the second straight week.

No. 16 completed 19 of 27 passes for a career-high 293 yards and three TDs, vs. one interception, and chipped in with a season-high 128 yards on 13 rushing attempts.

USU ran the ball at will at times as it accumulated 334 yards on an impressive 7.1 yards per carry. Running back Miles Davis, like Barnes, exceeded the 100-yard rushing barrier as he contributed with 118 yards on 13 carries.

The Aggies also averaged 8.4 yards per play in their 49-30 triumph over Air Force the previous week. USU never averaged that many yards a play in any game in its Mountain West championship season of 2021. Indeed, things are really clicking for the Aggies on that side of the ball.

"Yeah, I think the chemistry's just been building every game," USU receiver Brady Boyd said at Monday's presser. "Like I said, we're getting more confident every game and the O-line just continues to show improvements. If you look at their sacks and pressures, every game it's going down, so it all starts with them and they're doing a great job. So, I think that attributes to the past two games."

This was arguably the best performance of the season for USU's offensive line, which was still without injured starting right tackle Trey Andersen. The Aggies only gave up one sack and two quarterback hurries, in addition to their dominance in the run game.

"It's hard to say," answered Mendenhall when asked if this was his O-line's top performance. "Statistically, the numbers would say so. There's always more to the story than what the numbers are. The rush yardage, as well as a lack of sacks, would lead you to think so. Still plenty to improve on. I think we are finding our identity and the sequencing that's really helpful to moving the football, so lots of positive things there."

The Aggies (3-1) continue to be balanced and unpredictable on offense. USU even used a few three running back sets against McNeese, to go along with several two tight end sets and other formations to keep the visitors off balance defensively.

"At Texas Tech we were in three, four receivers out there all the time, and this offense is just so complex," said Boyd, who has caught 14 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns over the past three games. "I know it's making D-coordinator's heads kind of spin, just seeing like three running back sets, then we'll spread you out and go empty a bit. So, it's just so complex and Mac G's (Kevin McGiven) just got such a great mind for an offense, so just have him back there, you know he's going to draw some (clever) stuff up every week, and it's on us to go out and (execute) it."

Boyd came through with scoring receptions of 53 and 9 yards against the Cowboys, while Kahuna Davis got behind the secondary for a 45-yard TD. Braden Pegan didn't haul in a TD pass for the first time in three games, but did snare a 50-yard deep ball from Barnes and finished with 95 yards on just three catches.

Pegan currently ranks fifth in the Mountain West with 75.7 yards receiving an outing, while Body is seventh (68.50). Davis, who showcased his considerable speed on a 30-yard TD run against McNeese, is fourth in the conference in rushing yards (77.5 pg).

Barnes is atop the Mountain West leader board in seven different statistical categories, including total offense (294.75 ypg), total TDs (14) and pass efficiency (165.32). The former Milford High standout found paydirt with his feet from 3 and 21 yards out against the Cowboys, and his 21-yarder was a memorable, well-executed fourth-and-inches play.

Meanwhile, the Aggies, who found paydirt on five consecutive series spanning the middle two quarters, performed just as well on the defensive side of the ball as they limited the Cowboys to a season-low 239 total yards and 3.5 yards a play. And it started in the trenches as defensive linemen Carson Tujague and Tyree Morris joined forces for 20 tackles — a career-best 11 for Tujague, who produced nine last week against the Falcons. This helped allow linebackers William Holmes and Bronson Olevao Jr. to team up for 16 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss.

"It's a great feeling when all 11 guys on the defensive and offensive side do their job because the plays that we give up, it's kind of ourselves shooting ourselves in the foot," said safety Noah Avinger, who broke up two passes against McNeese, in Monday's presser. "Like, one guys off a gap, one guy's not in the right (place), assignment, so just seeing all of the guys doing their job at a high level, it's fun to watch."

Take away the aforementioned explosive plat — a 51-yard run — and McNeese only mustered up 58 yards on its other 39 rushing attempts as four USU sacks for 28 yards certainly contributed to that. Simply put, the Aggies, who rank second in the MW in sacks (2.5 pg) and pass percentage defense (54.9), were dialed in on that side of the ball.

"Yeah, the execution, the physicality, the mindset, the confidence and we have a pretty simple saying here that players play fast when they know what to do," Mendenhall answered when asked what flashed about his defense after seeing the game on film. "And so coming off the Air Force week, which is a very unique opponent, but really a blessing to have played them early. The run fundamentals and the type of pad level and the mindset that it takes to play the academy, the next teams seem easier. That doesn't mean they are, but it's different and the run fundamentals that you're able to work on, play action and the eye control fundamentals, you get a really nice foundation for anything that happens after that. ... I was really impressed (with our defense against McNeese). They did a nice job."

The Aggies, indeed, played complementary football last weekend and they have won three of their first four games in a season for the first time since '21. More importantly, USU has seemingly figured out its identity on both sides of the ball.

"This team is tough, they're physical, they're competitive, they're dynamic, they're unified, they're willing, they work super hard and they're playing good football," Mendenhall said. "And it's really fun to see them grow, develop and be willing to take on every week the demands of our program, as well as support one another. And I'd say the greatest strength right now that's accelerated beyond what I expected is how close this team is. But we also know in our program that's facilitated by doing really hard things together, which we do and that's built great relationships."

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