- Utah State lost 55-35 to No. 18 Vanderbilt despite a strong offensive effort.
- Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia threw for 321 yards and five touchdowns in the win.
- USU's Bryson Barnes was injured; Jacob Conover performed well in his absence.
A rare road win over a Top 25 opponent was not to be for the Aggies, although they certainly battled until the bitter end.
It was a gritty performance by Utah State on offense, but struggles on defense and special teams were too much to overcome as No. 18 Vanderbilt pulled away for a 55-35 victory in a non-conference football game on Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Aggies (3-2) put together a very respectable performance against the 5-0 Commodores, who outpointed each of their first four opponents by at least 24 points. However, USU ultimately didn't have an answer for veteran quarterback Diego Pavia and a dynamic Vanderbilt offense, plus made some critical mistakes on special teams — although, in fairness — so did the hosts.
"I love my football team," USU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "Encouraged by the way they battled. Plenty of things I can help them prepare for at a higher level, so they can execute more consistently throughout. We knew coming into the game that Vanderbilt, we were very impressed with their quarterback, we were very impressed with their offensive scheme. We thought that was going to be a formidable challenge. We felt good offensively about our scoring potential.
"Ultimately, special teams did not perform well for us today, (in regard to) field position, as well as some miscues. So, ultimately, congratulations to Clark Lea and the Vanderbilt staff. They have a good football team. They execute and prepare at really high level and, for us, traveling, coming on the road, my preparation of our team, our coaching staff, didn't allow us to play as consistently and productively and cleanly enough to take it right to the end, and so Vanderbilt earned the win."
Pavia, who starred for New Mexico State before transferring to Vandy, carved up USU's secondary as he completed 26 of 34 passes for 321 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, plus added 79 yards rushing and one TD on nine attempts. Pavia was intercepted in the end zone by Aggie safety Noah Avinger early in the fourth quarter and his team leading 48-21, but otherwise put together virtually a flawless performance.
"Man, they're tough to stop," Mendenhall said. "We knew that coming in. We watched them a week ago and we've watched them, gosh, for the past couple of years, and Vanderbilt's emergence as a football program. Again, it goes through their quarterback, but it also goes through their offensive system. And as we focused and committed numbers to the run game and working to have some semblance of control of that game, we struggled not only in sacking their quarterback — which most everyone does — but our coverage just wasn't tight enough, it wasn't clean enough, it wasn't effective enough. And then there were the yards after the catch, as well. And so, again, they were making plays down the field consistently and we weren't making plays downfield, either through playing the ball, or getting in a pressure, or getting the quarterback on the ground, or affecting the throws."
USU counterpart Bryson Barnes had himself a heck of a game, especially in the opening half, but went down with an injury on the very first play of the fourth quarter. Barnes exited the field on his own power after fumbling in the aftermath of an 18-yard scramble and did not return.
Mendenhall said "I'd prefer not to provide," an injury update for Barnes, who threw for 161 yards and a trio of TDs on 15 of 22 passing, plus rushed for 48 yards.
"Bryson gives everything he can to this team," Mendenhall said. "He plays with his heart and his soul, is completely committed, he's physical, he plays with great effort. And so I'll let (our) medical (staff), when appropriate, share what (his injury) is. ... And, again, Bryson, there is no one that tries harder on our team and our program, and maybe in college football at his position."
Jacob Conover orchestrated USU's offense during the final quarter and did a tremendous job as he completed 11 of 14 passes for 92 yards and two scores. The former BYU and Arizona State athlete delivered a well-placed 14-yard fade to Brady Boyd in the end zone for his first TD, and then found Javen Jacobs on a 6-yard slant with 35 seconds left in the contest.
"And not to skip ahead, but just simply to acknowledge quickly, Jacob Conover, wow, did he do a nice job stepping in, (being) poised and executed really well," Mendenhall said. "And I was really proud of him coming in after Bryson went down."
Vanderbilt completely dominated on both sides of the ball in the third quarter as a 31-21 cushion all of a cushion was a 48-21 one. The Aggies couldn't get anything going on offense in the quarter as they were unable to run the ball, plus Barnes had no time to throw.
USU was already missing starting right tackle Trey Andersen for the third straight game and starting left tackle Jake Eichorn exited with an injury early in the second quarter.
The Aggies attempted a fake punt in the third quarter, but punter Landon Rehkow's pass to tight end Josh Sterzer came up less than one yard short of the first-down marker. USU limited Vandy to a field goal on that possession, but the hosts found paydirt on their other two series of the quarter as Pavia and company were unstoppable.
The Commodores finished with 543 yards of total offense — 321 through the air and 222 on the ground. They averaged 7.4 yards per rush, in addition to their efficiency in the passing game.
"I feel like the schemes we prepare for, it's just guys on the back end, our DB room, just not executing at the end of the day," Avinger said of his team's struggles in the secondary. "You know, you've got to win your one-on-ones. That's the biggest thing that we preach on our team (are those) one-on-one battles with the safeties and corners and nickels, so at the end of the day, the one-on-one matchups, they won the majority of them and we weren't able to make plays on them today."
Both quarterbacks were really, really good in the first half as Barnes completed 15 of 19 passes for 160 yards and three TDs, vs. zero interceptions, while Pavia threw for 170 yards and a trio of scores on 15 of 17 passing. Pavia also rushed for 59 yards, highlighted by a 33-yarder in the waning seconds of the half to put his team in field goal range after a poor pooch kickoff by the visitors. Standout kicker Brock Taylor split the uprights on the ensuing 46-yard FG to give the hosts a 31-21 lead at the break.
The hosts went off for 24 points during the final 6:14 of the second quarter.
"I was very frustrated with the field goal right before half, as well as the (kickoff) didn't go exactly where we wanted it to, short in the field," Mendenhall said. "They ended up getting a field goal and so, again, if we try to execute, if we attempt to execute or call something at the critical moments of the game, yeah, those things need to be pulled off. ... But that stretch, certainly there was a separation and Vanderbilt, their preparation and their execution was beating ours."
The biggest difference in the opening half was Vanderbilt ability to run the ball as the hosts gained 109 yards on 13 attempts, compared to the visitors 29 yards on 13. The Commodores produced four TDs and a FG on their six possessions during the first 30 minutes of action.
Both teams went 3 and out to begin the game, and the Aggies drew first blood on a wheel route by tailback Miles Davis as he hauled in Barnes' accurate pass in the corner of the end zone from 18 yards out midway through the first quarter.
The Commodores pulled even on a time-consuming drive, capped off by a 21-yard pass from Pavia to Junior Sherrill. Pavia would find Sherrill for touchdowns of 18 and 18 yards in the second quarter.
USU took advance of two massive penalties on Vanderbilt — both when the visitors were punting the ball — to take a 14-7 lead. Tight end Broc Lane came through with a diving 25-yard reception to move the Aggies into the red zone and, a few plays later, Barnes found wide open tight end Josh Sterzer in the end zone from 10 yards out at the 11:22 mark of the second quarter.
Pavia then proceeded to carve up USU's secondary and Vanderbilt held the visitors to two straight 3 and out series. The Commodores came through with three unanswered TDs and seemingly was in complete control with a 28-14 lead with 1:20 left in the half.
The Aggies only needed one minute of actual game time to announce they weren't throwing in the white flag, though, as Barnes competed 4 of 4 passes on a march to paydirt, which culminated on an acrobatic 9-yard reception by Braden Pegan in the corner of the end zone.
Vanderbilt wasn't content taking a 28-21 advantage into the half, however, and quickly moved into Taylor's considerable field goal range.
Vanderbilt's offensive efficiency was needed, inasmuch as USU scored more points and gained more yards (393) against the Vandy defense than any of the previous four opponents. The Commodores entered the contest ranked in the top 25 among FBS programs in scoring defense (12.8) and total defense (250.3).
Jacobs accounted for 63 yards rushing — 58 on a memorable fourth-quarter carry — and 48 yards receiving for the Aggies, who got 66 yards on seven receptions from Pegan and a career-high 98 yards on a career-high seven catches from Lane. It was the most single-game receiving yards for a USU tight end since 2010.
"Yeah, it's always a blessing getting the targets, but at the end of the day we want that win, we want to walk into an SEC program, top 20 team, and beat them," Lane said. "But grateful for the targets, of course."
Avinger and linebacker John Miller paced USU with 12 tackles apiece, while safety Brevin Hamblin contributed with seven. Miller accounted for his team's lone sack, which was his fifth of the season.
Vanderbilt's defense produced three sacks and was credited with eight QB hurries.
