Smooth Pancakes' Coaching Carousel Career

[jaymo76]

Well Smooth now that you have your ONE... do you see a time in the near future where you are playing NCAA? As I told you earlier I am just loving next gen too much right now to even look at my PS3. Between the best game ever made (2k14), Madden 25, Resogun (a super cool indie game) and Contrast (another awesome indie game) AND watching people on Twitch I honestly don't know when I will get back to NCAA. Before Christmas? Probably not! After Christmas? Well I'm hoping for a few PS4 games so who knows???

P.S. Are you getting Madden? I know you're not a huge Madden guy but it is significantly better on next gen. That will totally meet a lot of my football fix. Truth by told I am expecting huge things for Madden 15, or whatever they are going to call it.

P.S.2 Do you have Dead Rising? People are saying it's a blast. Ryse Son of Rome looks good too. (damn exclusives! lol)

[SmoothPancakes]

Well Smooth now that you have your ONE... do you see a time in the near future where you are playing NCAA? As I told you earlier I am just loving next gen too much right now to even look at my PS3. Between the best game ever made (2k14), Madden 25, Resogun (a super cool indie game) and Contrast (another awesome indie game) AND watching people on Twitch I honestly don't know when I will get back to NCAA. Before Christmas? Probably not! After Christmas? Well I'm hoping for a few PS4 games so who knows???

P.S. Are you getting Madden? I know you're not a huge Madden guy but it is significantly better on next gen. That will totally meet a lot of my football fix. Truth by told I am expecting huge things for Madden 15, or whatever they are going to call it.

P.S.2 Do you have Dead Rising? People are saying it's a blast. Ryse Son of Rome looks good too. (damn exclusives! lol)

I'm still going to try. In fact, yesterday after work, before I went to sleep, I moved my TV and did some stretching and acrobatics and managed to get my 360 power cord and its HDMI cord in through the back of the entertainment center, so all I have to do is figure out the exact arrangement on the shelf between my 360 and my cable box and get it plugged in, and I'll be able to fire my 360 up and get back into my dynasty.

As for when I'll actually get back into my dynasty, that still remains to be seen. Despite having my ONE in my possession since 11:15am Friday, I've gotten to play maybe 3 hours of it so far, mostly in Forza 5, maybe 30 minutes in Dead Rising 3. Between work, sleep and Navy football, I haven't even fired up one of my games since around 4pm Friday afternoon. So today and tomorrow, any gaming will be spent 100% on ONE games. Tuesday and Wednesday I'm busy all day with work. So it could still be Thanksgiving Day or next weekend before I get the dynasty back up and running.

2K14 is the next game I plan to get, and that will definitely eat up loads of time. I may get Madden at some point. I bought Madden 13 last year when my friend got it for Christmas, so me and him could play online together. It had a lot of issues though. If Madden 25 is a lot better, I'll look into picking it up sometime in the near future.

And yes, I have Dead Rising 3. I only have 3 games so far for my ONE, but they were all Day One editions of the Xbox One exclusives, getting Dead Rising 3, Forza 5 and Ryse: Son of Rome. So those will be keeping me mighty busy. Today I'll probably be focusing on Dead Rising 3 and Ryse: Son of Rome. I'm only 30 minutes into DR3, but I'll probably fire up Ryse first, since I have yet to even start that for the first time. Should be a fun day.

And keep me apprised of some very good PS4 games. I'm planning on adding a PS4 to my entertainment center sometime either towards the end of 2014 or 2015, so I'll be looking for some good PS4 exclusives to pick up for it.

[SmoothPancakes]

So while catching up on the last two weeks of the Walking Dead, I've been doing some more research online. It looks like a rivalry has been born. As I mentioned back in July, fans of both Utah State and Wyoming were trying to start a movement and get the unofficial rivalry between Utah State and Wyoming made into an official rivalry with a traveling trophy. Looks like the calls and emails to the ADs of both schools paid off, as an official named rivalry with a traveling trophy was announced this past Monday.

The Utah State-Wyoming game is now officially known as "Bridger's Battle", with the winning team taking home the traveling "Bridger Rifle", a .50 caliber Rocky Mountain Hawken rifle. I've updated my schedule back on page 72 to reflect this change, and will also be updating my schedule from last season, as well as last season's Utah State-Wyoming game post to change things from "The Rodeo" (an unofficial name I was using for the rivalry at the time) to the current "Bridger's Battle".





http://www.utahstateaggies.com/sport...112513aab.html

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State University and the University of Wyoming announced Monday that both schools have adopted a rivalry series in football that will begin this weekend and be referred to as "Bridger's Battle" in reference to celebrated Wyoming/Utah mountain man Jim Bridger.

Utah State officially joined the Mountain West Conference this past summer and as members of the Mountain Division will play Wyoming every season on the gridiron. The winner of the annual contest will take home the traveling "Bridger Rifle," a .50 caliber Rocky Mountain Hawken rifle that was popular among mountain men and widely considered to be what Bridger carried. Each year's game score will be notched into the maple stock.

The first official "Bridger's Battle" game will occur on Saturday November 30, 2013 when Utah State hosts Wyoming in Logan. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.

"It has been fun working with Wyoming Athletics Director Tom Burman and his staff on the Bridger's Battle game," said USU Vice President and Athletics Director Scott Barnes. "Our historic rivalry, geographic proximity and institutional commonalities make a rivalry trophy a no brainer. It's gratifying to see a rivalry being restored when in so many cases recently, the wave of conference realignment has forced several to fall."

"I think the concept of Bridger's Battle and the traveling rifle trophy is a good idea by both universities," said USU head coach Matt Wells. "The Wyoming series is one of the oldest in school history, and it will add great significance annually to the game."

As part of 1862's Morrill Act, both the University of Wyoming and Utah State University share the distinction of being "land-grant" institutions, providing invaluable educational and leadership opportunities in their respective states. The schools' football teams share a colorful history as well. The Cowboys and Aggies have met on the gridiron a total of 63 times, which is USU's fourth-most played series, with the first meeting occurring on November 21, 1903 in Logan. USU leads the all-time series, 35-24-4.

The states of Wyoming and Utah share much more in common than just a border. Both states are considered part of the American West, conjuring up images of cowboys, sodbusters, trappers and trailblazers. Much of the United States' western nostalgia can be attributed to the pioneering spirit that was embodied in the settlers who adventured into this wild frontier.

Born in 1804, Bridger is widely recognized as the foremost mountain man in the history of the American West. Bridger was one of the first Americans to set foot in Yellowstone Park, documenting the natural wonders of what would become the nation's first national park and establishing the first fur trading post in the area.

While leading the Stansbury Expedition in 1849, Bridger helped construct a route that would one day become part of the Transcontinental Railroad. Bridger spent a majority of his life in the Rocky Mountain region, primarily in the areas now known as Wyoming and Utah, trapping, guiding and exploring. Bridger's impact on western U.S. history is immense, providing much of the folklore the general public now identifies as the early west.

Along with Bridger's Battle, Utah State shares a rivalry series with in-state foe BYU as both teams have played for the "Old Wagon Wheel" since 1948. Overall, the series dates back to 1922 as the two teams have played one another 81 times, which is USU's second-most played rivalry game.

Utah State's old rivalry is with the University of Utah as the two schools have met 111 times in what is often referred to as the "Battle of the Brothers".

Utah State, Utah and BYU have competed for the "Beehive Boot" since 1971, a traveling trophy that signifies instate football supremacy among Division I universities from the state of Utah.

-USU-

[SmoothPancakes]

Game Six





Game Story

--- Still trying to break this damned losing streak and achieve that still elusive first victory as we neared the halfway point of the season, we’d get probably one of our best shots as we traveled to take on a 1-4 Hawaii squad. The Warriors were definitely a middle of the road team, putting up offensive numbers to rank in the uppers 70s to mid 80s across the board. Their total and rushing defense were horrid (mid to upper 110s), while they had an average pass defense (#78). What would decide this game would be our ability to cease turning the ball over and complete drives instead of punting 6+ times a game. We’d also need our special teams to step up big this week, after giving up a 101 yard kickoff return and an 83 yard punt return both for a touchdown last week against Fresno State. If we could make those changes, we’d have a chance at getting win #1, despite all the talking heads picking Hawaii to win. Hawaii won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 37 yard kickoff return by David Douglas got us lined up from our 37 yard line to begin the game. Preston Roberson received the handoff on first down, picking up 6 yards to start our drive. A 4 yard rush on second down would be enough for the first, moving the chains to the 47. Brian Paris would take over on first down, fighting his way to a 6 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush by Roberson to bring up our first third down of the day on third and one. Roberson would just manage to pick up the first down, despite being stood up at the line, officially given a one yard gain to move the sticks to the Hawaii 43 yard line. Paris received the ball on first down, pushing his way through the line to a gain of 8 yards. Lining up on second and two, Roberson took the handoff straight up the middle, picking up two yards on the play, but he was marked short to leave us facing third and inches. Roberson would be unable to convert, dragged down from behind for no gain to bring up fourth and inches from the 33 yard line. The 50 yard field goal attempt by Doug Marcus was no good, falling well short of the upright, giving Hawaii the ball at their 33 yard line with 4:59 left in the first quarter.

Jose Sanders came out passing on first down for the Warriors, but a blitz by our linebackers left a defender getting through untouched, forcing Sanders to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, getting Hawaii’s drive off to a less than stellar start. Another pass attempt on second down, this time intended for Nate Rose, was well off the mark and wide of the target, the incomplete pass bringing up third and 10. Sanders would never get the third pass off, sacked by outside linebacker Casey Hunter for a 7 yard loss to bring out the Hawaii punt team on fourth and 17. An 18 yard return by Roberson on the 38 yard punt gave us the ball starting from the Hawaii 47 yard line.

Handing the ball off on first down, Roberson was able to fight his way to a 5 yard gain, before a second down rush by Paris netted four yards to leave us with third and one. Taking another gamble on the ground, Roberson would be successful this time, finding a gap and pounding his way to an 11 yard gain, giving us a first down at the Hawaii 27 yard line. Another rush by Paris gained 7 yards, followed by an 8 yard scramble by Roberson to move the chains to the 12 yard line. Paris kept the ball moving on first down with a 5 yard carry, before a 6 yard rush by Roberson gave us first and goal at the one yard line. We would end up going backwards on first down, as the defense blitzed straight through our offensive line and tackled Paris for a four yard loss, leaving second and goal from the 5 yard line. Calling a play action pass on second down, the defense would bite fully and leave tight end Cedric McKinney wide open in the corner of the end zone for a 5 yard touchdown from Jason Barnes, giving us a 7-0 lead with 1:01 left in the first quarter.

A 20 yard return by Dennis Griffin started Hawaii from their 20 yard line this drive. Another bad pass by Sanders, intended for Aaron Lester, was nearly intercepted by the secondary, leaving second down. A screen pass to Kalvin Banks would result in Hawaii going backwards, as our defense blew up the play for a three yard loss, setting up third and 13. Sanders would heave up a pass to Walter White on third down, but it again would be woefully off target and incomplete, forcing another Hawaii punt. A 17 yard return by Roberson on the 38 yard punt gave us even better field position this time around, starting our drive from the Hawaii 39 yard line.

Coming out firing on first down, we took a shot deep down the left sideline to Travis Munoz, but the pass was broken up by the safety, and nearly intercepted by three different defenders as a volleyball game broke out, leaving us with second and 10. A deep pass over the middle to Douglas was complete for a 21 yard gain, giving us a first down at the Hawaii 17 yard line. That would be the final play of the first quarter, our lead 7-0 as we headed into the break.

Opening up the second quarter, we kept our passing attack going on first down, but it would meet disaster, as the first down pass to Munoz was complete at the three yard line. That was when everything hit a brick wall, as Munoz was hit from behind by the safety, causing a fumble. Safety Michael Fields was there to pick up the loose ball for Hawaii and proceeded to race down the sideline all the way to the end zone for a 93 yard returned fumble for a touchdown. Believing that it should have been ruled an incomplete pass instead of a fumble, as Munoz didn’t have enough time to cleanly possess the ball before it was knocked loose, we challenged the fumble. It was not meant to be as the play was upheld, allowing Hawaii to tie the game up 7-7 on the fumble return and leaving us with just two timeouts for the rest of the half, with 8:45 left in the second quarter.

A 30 yard kickoff return by Ryan Conley got us started from our 27 yard line. Coming out passing on first down, Barnes connected with Conley for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down at the 39. Max Rhodes kept us moving with a 14 yard grab to move the chains to the Hawaii’s 47 yard line. Walter Johnson got in on the action on first down with a 12 yard reception from Barnes, giving us a first down at the 35. Trying to connect with Conley on first down, the pass down the left sideline was broken up by the cornerback, nearly intercepted, before falling incomplete out of bounds to bring up second down. Rhodes came through for us on second down with a 15 yard completion to refresh the downs at the 19 yard line. Another pass, this time to Douglas, was good for a 12 yard gain to set us up with first and goal at the 8 yard line, Hawaii’s defense in full blown meltdown now. Roberson would put us back on the board on first down, receiving the handoff from Barnes and pounding his way straight up the middle and into the end zone for an 8 yard touchdown, giving us a 14-7 lead with 6:58 left in the second quarter.

Our lead would last just mere seconds, as Randall Roth received the kickoff one yard deep in the end zone, and, going up the right sideline, proceeded to shoulder his way through no less than 6 different members of our kickoff team, eventually breaking in the open and returning the kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown, tying things up at 14-14 with 6:43 left in the second quarter. At this point, Hawaii had run 6 offensive plays, going 1-5 passing for negative three yards, and a sack for a loss of 7 yards, leaving Hawaii with negative 10 yards of total offense. And yet because of defense and special teams, it was tied 14-14.

A 20 yard kickoff return by Roberson left us starting from our 16 yard line for our next drive. Roberson started our drive on the ground with a two yard rush, followed by a quick pass over the middle to tight end Jack Long for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 31. A first down scramble by Barnes to avoid a sack would pay off, as he wheeled around to the right and turned up the field for a 19 yard gain on the ground to move the chains to midfield. It would end up being a very costly play as Barnes didn’t get up after the play. The injury ended up being a bruised sternum, sidelining Barnes for the rest of the game. With that, redshirt junior Ross Brown would be called upon to lead the offense for the rest of the game, taking his first snaps of his collegiate career. Resuming play after the injury, Roberson got our offense back in motion with a 6 yard rush, followed by a 5 yard carry by Paris to get the first down at the Hawaii 39 yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down for a gain of 6 yards, while Paris would continue to follow up behind with a 7 yard rush on second down, moving the chains to the 26. Continuing the two-headed combination, a first down rush by Roberson for 6 yard was followed by a three yard gain by Paris, leaving us with third and one at the 16. Roberson would get the job done on third down with a three dash up the middle, moving the chains to the Hawaii 13 yard line. Changing up the order, Paris took the ball on first down for a 5 yard gain, before a second down rush by Roberson resulted in no gain, leaving third and 5 from the 8 yard line. Dropping back to pass on third down, Brown would start his collegiate passing career in a big way, connecting with Douglas in the end zone for an 8 yard touchdown, giving us a 21-14 lead with 1:59 left in the second quarter.

Our kickoff team was quickly turning out to be a major issue today, as Hawaii nearly had their second straight kickoff return for a touchdown, Dennis Griffin finding himself a big hole, shouldering his way through one tackle attempt, and breaking free down the middle of the field. It would have been a touchdown had Griffin been just a little bit faster. Luckily he wasn’t and our kickoff team was able to drag him down from behind for “only” a 74 yard kickoff return, giving Hawaii the ball at our 28 yard line. Sanders came out firing to start the drive, connecting with Banks on a first down screen pass for an 8 yard gain, before finding Travis Kearney over the middle for a gain of 7 yard and a first down at our 13 yard line. Hawaii called their first timeout with 1:24 remaining. A 12 yard completion over the middle to Roth would leave Hawaii knocking on our door with first and goal from the one yard line, Hawaii calling their second timeout with 1:19 left. Sanders would fake the handoff and keep it himself around the left end, trotting into the end zone for the one yard touchdown, tying the game back up at 21-21 with 1:16 left.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Roberson gave us the ball at our 23 yard line, 1:11 left to work with. We were about to find out if Brown was going to cut it as a QB, needing to cover 77 yards in just over a minute. Brown got us off to a fine start, connecting with Conley for a 12 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 35. Rushing to the line of scrimmage, a quick snap resulted in a 17 yard completion from Brown to Munoz for a first down at the Hawaii 48 yard line. That would be all we would get as things would again come crashing down, Brown trying to connect with Aaron Allen along the sideline, only to be intercepted by cornerback Willie Henry. Keeping with tradition in this contest, Henry would proceed to return the interception 65 yards for a touchdown, giving Hawaii a 28-21 lead with 37 seconds remaining.

A 49 yard kickoff return by Douglas would give us the ball at our 48 yard line, leaving us a chance to do something with two timeouts and 30 seconds still on the clock. Shaking off the previous interception, Brown found Conley over the middle on first down for a 15 yard gain to move the chains to the Hawaii 37 yard line. Sprinting to the line, we were able to get the snap off with only one second ticking off the clock. Dropping back to pass on first down, pressure from the defense forced Brown to abandon the pocket. Rolling out to his right, Brown wasn’t going to be able to get the job done on the ground, as the defense started closing in on him, but throwing on the run across his body (something our other quarterbacks haven’t been able to figure out how to do), Brown rifled a pass downfield to Munoz, who was able to dive forward and grab the ball before it hit the ground, giving us a first down at the Hawaii 15 yard line, our second timeout called with 19 seconds left. Brown lined up in the shotgun on first down, finding Conley over the middle, complete for a 14 yard gain to give us first and goal at the one yard line. Racing to the line, Brown spiked the ball to stop the clock with 13 seconds left. We put the ball in the hands on Paris on second and goal, Paris initially stood up at the goal line, until the defender fell backward during the tackle attempt, dragging Paris into the end zone with him for a one yard touchdown, tying the game up at 28-28 with 11 seconds remaining.

Proving that our special teams were total trash, Griffin would receive the kickoff at the goal line, proceeding to sprint his way down the right sideline, while our entire kickoff team was laying on their backs, and take it back 100 yards for a touchdown, giving Hawaii a 35-28 lead with no time left on the clock, sending us into halftime down by a score.

Opening up the second half, pur kickoff team would finally do something, as Griffin could only manage a 29 yard kickoff return to leave Hawaii starting from their 27 yard line to start the third quarter. After seeing barely any action the entire second quarter, our defense was ready for blood. Cornerback Jesse Breedlove would provide that blood as he led five different defenders in sacking Sanders for a 9 yard loss, putting Hawaii into an immediate second and 19 hole. The second down pass intended for Griffin ended up incomplete, bringing up third and very long for the Warriors. In a head scratching play call, Hawaii would hand the ball off on third and 19, Banks trapped in the backfield for a one yard loss, bringing out Hawaii’s punt team on fourth and 20. A 19 yard return by Douglas on the 35 yard punt gave our offense great field position, starting from the Hawaii 34 yard line.

Starting our drive on the ground, Paris took the first down handoff for a 6 yard gain, followed by a 5 yard pickup to get the first down at the 23 yard line. After a four yard rush by Dante May, Brown dropped back from under center and found Munoz over the middle, needling a pass between two defenders for an 18 yard completion, giving us first and goal at the two yard line. Paris would cap off the drive on first down with a two yard touchdown run, evening the score back up at 35-35 with 6:22 left in the third quarter.

A 30 yard kickoff return by Roth gave Hawaii the ball from their 28 yard line. It would end up being a very brief drive, as an incomplete pass intended for Rose, a ball thrown away to avoid a sack and a two yard rush by Banks left Hawaii punting the ball away on fourth and 8. A 6 yard return by Douglas on the 35 yard punt left us starting from our 41 yard line.

Paris took the first down handoff, but found little room to run, brought down for a gain of only one yard on the play. Changing things up on second down, an attempted option play ended in disaster as Brown was brought down for a three yard loss, leaving us facing third and 12. It would go from bad to worse, as Brown tried to connect with Munoz over the middle, the pass intercepted by middle linebacker Mike Clement, who returned it 13 yards before finally being brought down at our 33 yard line.

Taking over from our 33 yard line after the interception, Hawaii came out passing on first down, our defense nearly able to return the favor as the pass intended for White was broken up, nearly intercepted, by safety Sam Vinson. Coming out on second down with an empty backfield, Sanders was forced to get rid of the ball to avoid the sack, leaving third and 10 for the Warriors. Lester would come through in the clutch for the green and black, hauling in a pass over the middle from Sanders for a 22 yard gain and a first down at our 12 yard line. Going no huddle on first down, Banks would receive the first down handoff, and despite our heavy blitz, slither his way through the defense and take it in for a 12 yard touchdown, giving Hawaii a 42-35 lead with 3:53 left in the third quarter.

A 52 yard kickoff return by Conley gave us the ball at our 47 yard line, the offense looking to respond. Things would go from disaster to full on catastrophe in a matter of 10 seconds, as Brown dropped back to pass on first down, sacked from behind by safety Nate Johnson. During the sack, Johnson was able to strip the ball loose, defensive end Brian Perkins picking up the fumble and rumbling his 262 pounds all the way to the end zone for a 37 yard fumble return for a touchdown, increasing Hawaii’s lead to 49-35 with 3:37 left in the third quarter.

A 46 yard kickoff return by Conley got us back on the field from our 41 yard line, looking for any ray of hope this drive. A first down rush by Paris gained 7 yards, followed by a 5 yard rush to get the first down at the Hawaii 47 yard line. A carry by May on first down would pick up four yards, leaving second and 6. Dropping back to pass on second down, Brown found Munoz over the middle for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 29 yard line. Tight end Maurice Martin got in on the action on first down, pulling in a pass from Brown for a 19 yard pickup to give us first and goal from the 10 yard line. A three yard pass to May on first down was followed by a one yard completion to Johnson to leave third and goal at the 6 yard line. The third down pass intended for a wide open May was off the mark, forced up to decide between a field goal or going for it on fourth down. Deciding we needed something out of this drive, we settled for the field goal, the 23 yard kick good to cut Hawaii’s lead to 49-38 with 46 seconds left in the third quarter.

An 18 yard kickoff return by Roth left Hawaii starting from their 19 yard line, not all hope yet lost as long as our defense could continue doing its job. A very quick throw on first down intended for Rose would have been bad for our defense, but we lucked out as the pass was high and sailed over Rose’s head, leaving Hawaii with second down. Cornerback Kevin Moore would get a hand on the second down pass intended for Kearney, breaking it up to bring up third and 10 for the Warriors. A serious mismatch on the third down play, that left one receiver completely undefended, forced us to piss away our first timeout of the second half. Relining up on third down, it would be all for naught as White pulled down the third down pass for an 11 yard gain, moving the chains to the 30 yard line. Going no huddle on first down, Sanders found Banks over the middle for a short three yard gain, before our defense would strike back, sacking Sanders for a loss of 8 yards to leave third and 14. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the last few seconds ticked off the clock, Hawaii leading 49-38.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Hawaii lined up on third and 14, looking to keep their drive alive. Handing the ball off on third down, Banks was briefly able to break past the defensive line, but he would only manage a 5 yard gain before being spun down from behind, leaving Hawaii’s punt team coming out on fourth and 9. A 19 yard return by Douglas on the 40 yard punt got our offense back on the field from our 47 yard line, 8:25 left in the game.

Lining up on first down at our 47 yard line, we came out passing from the get go. Unfortunately Brown would choose now to fall apart, his pass to a completely undefended Rhodes horrendously overthrown and incomplete, bringing up second down. A quick pass to Martin over the middle would finally get us moving, picking up 16 yards and a first down at the Hawaii 36 yard line. A first down pass to Munoz picked up six yards, before a brief completion to Conley was knocked incomplete, leaving third and four. Kevin Moore would come through for us on third down with a 9 yard reception, moving the chains to the 21 yard line. Greg Miller would come in on first down, pulling in a 19 yard reception over the cornerback’s head, setting us up with first and goal from the two yard line. Allen would put us back on the board on first down, pulling in the quick pass from Brown for a two yard touchdown, cutting Hawaii’s lead to 49-45 with 6:56 left in the game.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Griffin set Hawaii up from their 25 yard line. We caught a massive break on first down, as blown coverage by our secondary left White completely undefended a good 30 yards down the left sideline. White would however turn out to have butterfingers and let the ball go right off his hands and out of bounds, bringing up second down. After throwing the ball away to avoid a sack on second down, Roth would briefly pull in the third down pass from Sanders, only to have it knocked loose and incomplete by Vinson to leave the Warriors punting on fourth and 10. A 9 yard return by Conley on the 41 yard punt left us lining up at our 43 yard line.

Coming out on first down, we decided to take a shot down the field and challenge the defense. What a mistake that would be as the ball went right through the hands of Conley and instead was intercepted by cornerback Brian Morris, giving Hawaii back the ball at their 17 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, Micah Smart would pull in a first down pass from Sanders for a 10 yard gain, marked just short to leave second and inches. A quick pass to Rose gained one yard on the play, moving the chains to the 27 yard line. With Hawaii going no huddle, we were forced to burn our second timeout to give our defense a chance to reorganize. A 5 yard completion to Rose was followed by a 19 yard pass right back to Rose, picking up a first down at our 48 yard line. Our defense would get a brief breather as the first down pass intended for White was dropped incomplete, bringing up second down. A deep pass to a fully stretched out diving Kearney was completed on first down for a 29 yard gain, giving Hawaii a first down at our 19 yard line. Sanders was forced to throw the ball away on first down as he was leveled by the blitz, leaving second and 10. Hawaii caught a break on second down, as defensive end Caleb McBride hit Sanders from behind, causing the pass from Sanders to essentially go straight up in the air, and nearly intercepted by one of our defensive linemen, the play leaving third and 10. Despite being level again by McBride, Sanders was just able to get the pass off, intended for White. White however would fail his job, as he dropped the pass that hit him squarely in the hands near the first down line, Hawaii ultimately forced to settle for a field goal. We were nearly able to block the kick, but the 36 yard field goal by Cory Leach was good, giving Hawaii a 52-45 lead with 5:25 left in the game.

A 37 yard kickoff return by Conley gave our offense the ball from our 37 yard line. Starting the drive on the ground, May took the first down handoff for a 7 yard gain, quieting down the raucous Hawaii crowd. A 9 yard rush by May would pick up the first down at the 48 yard line. Making a surprise appearance in the backfield, Munoz received the handoff on first down, taking it for a gain of 7 yards, followed by a three yard rush by May to get the first down at the 37 yard line. Munoz would take the ball again for a three yard rush, before a play action pass left Conley beating his defender, pulling in the pass near the left hash, avoiding the ankle tackle and turning up the sideline for a 26 yard gain before being pushed out of bounds to give us first and goal at the 8 yard line. That play would leave the stadium nearly silent as it took the air out of the crowd. May took the ball on first down for a two yard gain, followed by a 5 yard rush by Munoz to leave third and goal at the one yard line. Lining up in goal line formation, May officially gained one yard, but was held short of the goal line, leaving fourth and goal from just outside the end zone. Going for it on fourth and goal, Brown would keep it on the QB sneak, driving his way into the end zone off his center for the one yard touchdown. Marcus would drill the PAT right down the middle to tie the game up at 52-52 with 1:01 left in the game.

Griffin would only manage a 25 yard kickoff return, Hawaii’s offense taking over from their 26 yard line, 57 seconds on the clock. It would end up being a series that left everyone in the stadium in complete confusion. Hawaii came out passing on first down, as Sanders found Banks for a 5 yard completion. Racing to the line in no-huddle, Hawaii let the clock just tick down, not snapping the ball until there was two seconds left on the play clock. The second down play would result in Sanders being sacked for a 9 yard loss, leaving third and 14 for Hawaii, the Warriors finally using a timeout with 14 seconds left. Dropping back to pass on third down, the defense would again get to Sanders, sacking him for an 8 yard loss as he tried to roll out of the pocket, bringing up fourth and 22 from the 14 yard line. Instead of forcing us to use our final timeout or just letting the clock expire, Hawaii called their second timeout to stop the clock with 7 seconds to go before lining up to punt. We went all out to block the punt, but were unable to do so. Conley was forced to call for a fair catch on the 40 yard punt to keep the clock from expiring during the play, giving us the ball at our 45 yard line, two seconds remaining. Our prayers were almost answered as Conley was able to pull down the deep pass at the 14 yard line, but he would get tackled from behind at the 8 yard line for a gain of 47 yards, and we would head for overtime.

We won the coin toss and elected to go on defense first. Coming out passing on first down, Sanders connected with Kearney for a 13 yard gain and a quick first down at the 12 yard line. Throwing underneath, Sanders found White for a 5 yard gain, before a pass intended for Rose bounced off the back of our defender, leaving Hawaii facing third and 5 from our 7 yard line. Sanders chucked up a pass to White near the first down line, but an aware defender limited the damage to just a four yard gain and kept White short of the first down, forcing Hawaii to settle for a field goal on fourth and one from our three yard line. It would turn into fourth and 6 from the 8 yard line as a false start penalty backed the line of scrimmage up. Leach would nail the 25 yard field goal, giving Hawaii a 55-52 lead.

Lining up for our turn in overtime, we decided to stick with what had been working so far, as Brown handed the ball off to May for a 5 yard carry, before he would be stood up for a one yard gain to leave third and four from the 19. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Brown dumped the ball off to fullback Darrell Archie, but while he would pick up four yards on the play, he would be marked short of the first down, leaving fourth and inches from the 15 yard line. While it was only inches, we would choose not to take the gamble and settle for the 32 yard field goal by Marcus, tying the game back up at 55-55 and sending us into a second overtime.

Returning to the field on offense, May was only able to initially gain two yards on the first down carry, but defensive end Lorenzo Robertson would help us out, as he was flagged for a facemask penalty on the tackle. The 15 free yards would set us up with a first down from the Hawaii 12 yard line. Another rush by May had better success, going for a 7 yard gain to set up second and three. Munoz took the ball on second down, fighting his way to a three yard gain, leaving third and inches from the two yard line. Receiving the handoff on third down, May plowed into the line and dived forward, awarded one yard on the play to give us first and goal from the one yard line. May would get stuffed for no gain on the first down carry, followed by a rush for no gain by Munoz, bringing up third and goal. Repeating the end of the fourth quarter, Brown would keep the ball himself on the QB sneak and drive his way into the end zone for a one yard touchdown, giving us a 62-55 lead.

It would take Hawaii exactly one play to respond, as a screen pass to Banks resulted in a 25 yard touchdown, and we were tied back up at 62-62 and headed into overtime number three.

Starting the third overtime, Hawaii lined back up from the 25 yard line. Sanders came out firing over the middle, trying to connect with Rose 15 yards downfield, but Vinson would be there to break the pass up and leave Hawaii with second down. Despite being hit as he threw, Sanders was able to get a pass off to Kearney for a 17 yard gain and set up first and goal at the 8 yard line. Hawaii would end up going backwards on first down, as Banks was brought down in the backfield for a three yard loss, leaving second and goal from the 11 yard line. A second down pass to White gained 7 yards, leaving the Warriors with third and goal at the four yard line. Our defense would come through huge on third down, sacking Sanders for an 8 yard loss, forcing Hawaii to settle for a field goal attempt on fourth and goal from the 13 yard line. The 30 yard field goal by Leach was good, putting Hawaii back on top 65-62.

Lining up for our possession in the third overtime, May got us started on the ground with a four yard carry up the middle. Lining up under center on second down, Brown tried to hit Martin over the middle from the tight end position, but the pass would be intercepted by ?, Brown throwing his school record-tying fourth interception of the game. That would bring the game to an end and let Hawaii walk out with the 65-62 triple overtime victory.

With the loss, we fall to 0-6, 0-2 in Mountain West action. With the win, Hawaii improves to 2-4, 2-0 in Mountain West play. Up next, we return home to take on New Mexico. The Lobos enter the game 2-4, 0-2 in Mountain West action. New Mexico opened their year with a 36-31 loss at Missouri, before beating UTSA 20-17. A 38-35 overtime loss at New Mexico State was followed by a 38-28 defeat to Hawaii. New Mexico would get back on track with a 24-14 win over FCS Northwest before falling 21-18 at San Diego State.

Final Score

65, 62 – 3 OT




Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - In very limited action, Barnes went 9-11 for 117 yards and one touchdown before being lost due to injury. Brown, in as replacement, ended 19-26 for 271 yards, with two touchdowns and four interceptions. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 78 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries. Next was Paris with 73 yards and two touchdowns and 17 carries. May followed with 51 yards on 14 rushes. Munoz had 16 yards on 5 carries. Brown ended up -11 yards, but two touchdowns, on four carries and Barnes had one rush for 19 yard.

Receiving, we had a record high 13 different players catch a pass today. Conley led the way with 126 yards on six receptions. Next was Munoz with 88 yards on six catches. Douglas had 41 yards and one touchdown on three receptions. Martin ended with 36 yards on two catch, Rhodes with 29 yards on two catches. Miller had one catch for 19 yards, Long ended with one catch for 13 yards. Johnson had two catches for 13 yards, Moore had one reception for 9 yards, McKinney ended with 5 yards and one touchdown on one reception. Archie picked up four yards with his one catch, May had one catch for three yards and Allen recorded two yards and one touchdown in his only catch of the game.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – The defense actually was very solid today. They held Hawaii to negative yards on the ground (thanks to 6 sacks) and limited the Warriors to just 165 yards of total offense. Hawaii was able to put together a couple touchdown drives, but almost always due to a very short field. And the limited Hawaii to just a field goal at the end so we needed only a touchdown to tie.

Special teams was a disaster. In the second quarter alone, two kickoff returns for 101 yards and 99 yards. Hawaii ended up with 416 kick return yards by the end of the game. Also, while it wasn't all special teams related, I'll just put it here, Hawaii scored just about every way possible on us today. A 101 yard kickoff return, a 99 yard kickoff return, a 93 yard fumble return, a 65 yard interception return and a 37 yard fumble return. The second quarter alone was ridiculous, with both kickoff returns, the interception return and one fumble return, all 65 yards or greater, taking place and allowing Hawaii to not only stick right with us the entire quarter despite essentially never seeing offense, but also to take a lead into halftime. About the only thing missing today was a punt return, a blocked or missed field goal returned and a safety. Otherwise, it was all seen today.

Utah State Kicking – A less than perfect day for Marcus, going 2-3 in field goals from 23 and 32 yards out while missing a 50 yard attempt short. Marcus also went 8-8 in PATs.




Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Overtime	Final Score
	7	21	10	14	10	62
	0	35	14	3	13	65

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
1:01		Touchdown	C. McKinney, 5 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)	7-0
Second Quarter
8:45		Touchdown	M. Fields, returned fumble 93 yards (C. Leach kick)	TIED 7-7
6:58		Touchdown	P. Roberson, 8 yard run (D. Marcus kick)	14-7
6:43		Touchdown	R. Roth, returned kickoff 101 yards (C. Leach kick)	TIED 14-14
1:59		Touchdown	D. Douglas, 8 yard pass from R. Brown (D. Marcus kick)	21-14
1:16		Touchdown	J. Sanders, 1 yard run (C. Leach kick)	TIED 21-21
0:37		Touchdown	W. Henry, returned interception 65 yards (C. Leach kick)	28-21
0:11		Touchdown	B. Paris, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)	TIED 28-28
0:00		Touchdown	D. Griffin, returned kickoff 99 yards (C. Leach kick)	35-28
Third Quarter
6:22		Touchdown	B. Paris, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)	TIED 35-35
3:53		Touchdown	K. Banks, 12 yard run (C. Leach kick)	42-35
3:37		Touchdown	B. Perkins, returned fumble 37 yards (C. Leach kick)	49-35
0:46		Field Goal	D. Marcus, 23 yard field goal	49-38
Fourth Quarter
6:56		Touchdown	A. Allen, 2 yard pass from R. Brown (D. Marcus kick)	49-45
5:25		Field Goal	C. Leach, 36 yard field goal	52-45
1:01		Touchdown	R. Brown, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)	TIED 52-52
First Overtime
---		Field Goal	C. Leach, 25 yard field goal	55-52
---		Field Goal	D. Marcus, 32 yard field goal	TIED 55-55
Second Overtime
---		Touchdown	R. Brown, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)	62-55
---		Touchdown	K. Banks, 25 yard pass from J. Sanders (C. Leach kick)	TIED 62-62
Third Overtime
---		Field Goal	C. Leach, 30 yard field goal	65-62

Game Stats

Utah State	Stat	Hawaii
62	Score	65
35	First Downs	9
614	Total Offense	165
58 - 226 - 5	Rushes - Yards - TD	11 - (-37) - 2
28 - 37 - 3	Comp - Att - TD	20 - 40 - 1
388	Passing Yards	202
1	Times Sacked	6
7 - 12 (58%)	3rd Down Conversion	2 - 12 (16%)
1 - 1 (100%)	4th Down Conversion	0 - 0 (0%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	0 - 0 (0%)
12 - 8 - 2 (83%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	5 - 2 - 3 (100%)
6	Turnovers	0
2	Fumbles Lost	0
4	Intercepted	0
87	Punt Return Yards	0
291	Kick Return Yards	416
992	Total Yards	581
0 – 0.0	Punts - Average	7 - 38.9
0 - 0	Penalties	2 - 17
27:41	Time of Possession	8:19

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal	XP Reward	Completed
Score a Touchdown	25	x8
Pass for 250 Yards	25	x1
Rush for 100 Yards	25	x1
3+ Sacks	50	x1
Play in an ESPN Classic Game	75	x1
Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards	50	x1
Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards	50	x1
Pass Completion Over 50%	30	x1
Score 21 or More Points	50	x1
10+ First Downs	50	x1
4+ 3rd Down Conversions	25	x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal	Expectations	Progress
Target Wins Per Season	7	0

Job Security Status

91%

[SmoothPancakes]

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #2 Ohio State handled #22 Illinois 51-37. #3 USC beat Utah 34-22. Iowa State knocked off #4 TCU 24-17. Florida State dismantled rival #5 Miami 38-10. #6 Notre Dame escaped Virginia 30-26. #8 Michigan topped Rutgers 34-20. #10 Texas A&M survived Mississippi State 34-27. Washington State knocked off #12 Oregon 42-31.

Pittsburgh upset #15 North Carolina 33-30 in triple overtime. #24 Clemson knocked off #16 Louisville 34-17. #18 Alabam demolished Kentucky 41-7. #19 Auburn came back with a 17 point fourth quarter to defeat #21 Ole Miss 27-17. Penn State remained perfect, knocking off #20 Nebraska 27-6. And #25 Northwestern survived Minnesota 47-35.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 5-0 (2-0 Big Ten) with a 51-37 win over #22 Illinois. Morsdraconis, West Virginia remains 2-2 (0-1 Big 12) with a bye week. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 2-3 (1-0 C-USA) with a 17-14 win over UTSA. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 3-2 (1-2 Pac-12) with a 24-19 loss to Stanford. LeeSO, #19 Auburn improves to 5-1 (3-1 SEC) with a 27-17 win over #21 Ole Miss. SCClassof93, South Carolina improves to 4-2 (4-1 SEC) a 45-14 win over Arkansas. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State remains 3-1 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a bye week. Florida International improves to 1-5 (1-1 C-USA) with a 49-30 win over Louisiana Tech. Navy improves to 5-1 (4-1 American) with a 14-7 win over South Florida. Tulsa drops to 2-4 (1-3 American) with a 45-17 loss to Connecticut.

In Mountain West action, Hawaii beat Utah State 65-62 in triple overtime, Colorado State routed UNLV 40-17, Boise State topped San Jose State 24-10, Nevada edged out Air Force 25-21, Fresno State held off Wyoming 34-28 and San Diego State escaped New Mexico 21-18.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #4 TCU and #5 Miami both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 9. #1 Oklahoma (4-0), #2 Ohio State (5-0), #3 USC (7-0), #8 Michigan (5-0), #11 Baylor (4-0), Army (5-0), Indiana (5-0), Oklahoma State (4-0) and Penn State (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season. Of the 9 undefeated teams remaining, four of them hail from the Big Ten.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 6 teams still looking for their first win: Miami University (0-6), SMU (0-6), Tulane (0-5), UNLV (0-5), Utah State (0-6) and UTSA (0-6).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Florida International (49-30 over 3-3 Louisiana Tech) and Massachusetts (31-28 OT over 2-4 Florida Atlantic).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Oklahoma (32 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (27 votes) remains #2, USC (1 vote) remains #3, Michigan (1 vote) jumps four to #4 and Baylor leaps six to #5. Notre Dame remains #6, Washington remains #7, Texas climbs one to #8, Texas A&M moves up one to #9 and Georgia Tech climbs three to #10. Virginia Tech climbs three to #11, Michigan State jumps five to #12, TCU drops nine to #13, Alabama climbs four to #14 and Auburn jumps four to #15. Miami drops eleven to #16, Clemson leaps seven to #17, Penn State enters the poll at #18, Oregon falls seven to #19 and UCLA climbs three to #20. Oklahoma State enters the poll at #21, Louisville drops six to #22, Northwestern climbs two to #23, Oregon State enters the poll at #24 and South Carolina (178 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were North Carolina (from #15), Nebraska (from #20), Ole Miss (from #21) and Illinois (from #22). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, North Carolina (154 points) is #26, followed by Florida (142), Illinois (67), Indiana (31) and Army (8) to round out the Top 30.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Oklahoma (41 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (22 votes) remains #2, USC (1 vote) remains #3, Michigan (1 vote) climbs three to #4 and Baylor leaps six to #5. Notre Dame remains #6, Texas A&M climbs one to #7, Washington moves up one to #8, Texas jumps one to #9 and Georgia Tech climbs three to #10. Virginia Tech jumps three to #11, Michigan State climbs three to #12, TCU drops eight to #13, UCLA jumps four to #14 and Miami plummets eleven to #15. Alabama moves up three to #16, Auburn climbs three to #17, Clemson jumps five to #18, Penn State enters the poll at #19 and Oregon falls eight to #20. Oklahoma State enters the poll at #21, Louisville drops five to #22, Oregon State climbs two to #23, Florida enters the poll at #24 and South Carolina (231 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were North Carolina (from #16), Illinois (from #21), Nebraska (from #22) and Ole Miss (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Northwestern (178) is #26, followed by Illinois (172), North Carolina (165), Indiana (163) and Army (1) to round out the Top 30.

A look at the Heisman race, Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #1 (LW: #1), Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #2 (LW: #3), USC HB William Mann is #3 (LW: #2), Florida QB Brandon Dahl is #4 (LW: #5) and Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #5 (LW: #4). No one dropped off the Heisman Watch list this week.

[SmoothPancakes]

I really don't have anything to say after a game and after a loss like that. I'm at a loss of words. About the only thing to say, that was by far the oddest goddamn game I have ever played. Other than a safety, a punt return, a blocked punt/field goal, a blocked punt field goal return and/or a missed field goal return, that game pretty much had everything. If there was a way for something to happen and a way to score a touchdown, it happened in this game. And it happened AGAINST us every single goddamn time.

I just don't even know. How in the hell do you put up 614 yards of total offense, 992 yards TOTAL yards after adding in punt and kick returns, and STILL lose? How the hell do you turn the ball over 6 times and yet still be able to force overtime and/or play for the win at the end? How in the hell do you give up two kickoff returns, two fumble returns and an interception return all for a touchdown and even still stay within 30?

I still have no clue what the hell happened that game. I doubt I'll ever figure out what the hell happened. All I can do now is focus on New Mexico before my job security ends up in the crapper. This season is essentially already a lost cause. Sure, I could win 6 in a row and still manage to somehow become bowl eligible. With Boise State and Colorado State still on the schedule however, it's not gonna happen. At this point, I'm playing just to get enough wins (if I can even get ANY wins) and save my ass and keep my job for the final year of my contract.

[SmoothPancakes]

Game Seven





Game Story

--- Still searching for that first victory as we entered the back half of the season, one of our maybe two or three legitimate chances to still get wins this season was up next as New Mexico came to town. The Lobos had come out on the losing end in the first half of the season, only winning two of their six games, however, they were all hard fought contests, as the largest margin of victory or defeat was only 10 points, and four of their six games had been decided by just three points. We meanwhile would have our work cut out for us, as New Mexico had a rushing offense ranked in the low 40s, their total offense ranked in the low 50s, and the #40 rush defense in the nation. A +4 turnover differential (good for a #19 ranking) against our -10 differential (good for #122 nationally), and this one could come down to our passing game and whether or not we could avoid turning the ball over. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 27 yard kickoff return by James Mason gave New Mexico the ball to start at their 28 yard line. A QB Read by Mike Robison got the drive started with a 6 yard gain, followed by another rush by Robison for a huge 39 yard gain, finally pushed out of bounds at our 27 yard line. A standard handoff to Mike Joyce picked up two yards on first down, followed by a three yard loss by Joyce after being brought down in the backfield by the blitz, leaving New Mexico facing third and 11. Hurrying a pass to avoid being sacked, the throw from Robison intended for Jordan Curry landed well short of the target and incomplete, leaving fourth and 11. Instead of attempting a 45 yard field goal, the Lobos lined up to go for it on fourth down. It would be a failed attempt as putside linebacker Casey Hunter came blitzing in and sacked Robison for a 7 yard loss, forcing the turnover on downs and giving us the ball at our 35 yard line.

Taking over after the change of possession, Preston Roberson would get us off and running with a 5 yard carry, followed by a three yard rush to leave us with third and two. Lining up under center on third down, a quick pass from Jason Barnes to tight end Maurice Martin went for a gain of 13 yards and gave us a first down at the New Mexico 44 yard line. Handing the ball off on first down, Roberson picked up four yards on the play, followed by another four yard gain to leave us with third and two. Taking a chance on the ground this time, Brian Paris would manage to spin his way through a tackle and across the first down line for a four yard gain, moving the chains to the 32 yard line. Roberson fought his way to a three yard gain on first down, leaving second and 7. That play would set up the play action on second down, which the defense bit entirely on, allowing tight end Cedric McKinney to get open along the left sideline. He hauled in the pass near the 15 yard line and then raced for the end zone, the tackle by the safety failing as McKinney fell forward enough to be awarded the 28 yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 4:12 left in the first quarter.

A 28 yard kickoff return by Joyce set New Mexico up from their 30 yard line for their next drive. Mason took the ball on first down for a three yard gain, followed by a deflected pass by safety Sam Vinson, the incompletion leaving third and 7. Mason would try to pick up the first down on the ground, but he was only able to get three yards, bringing out the Lobos punt team on fourth and four. A 6 yard return by Roberson on the 31 yard punt gave us the ball from our 38 yard line.

We would start this drive again on the ground, but the defense was ready this time as Roberson could only manage a single yard on the play. Dropping back into shotgun on second down, Travis Munoz was able to go up and pull down the high pass from Barnes for a 10 yard gain, picking up the first down at our 49 yard line. Trying to connect with Ryan Conley on first down, the pass from Barnes completely got away from him and sailed high and very long out of bounds, bringing up second and 10. Another attempt to Conley was likewise incomplete, Conley ruled out of bounds on the catch to leave third down. The referees called for an official review after the play, and we caught a huge break as the refs overturned the call on the field and ruled it a catch for a 16 yard gain, moving the chains to the New Mexico 35 yard line. A first down rush by Roberson went for a two yard gain, before Barnes was brought down for a one yard loss on the second down carry, leaving us with third and 9. The pass over the middle intended for Paris was broken up by the middle linebacker, and that would bring our drive to an end on fourth and 9. We’d take the gamble of a 50 yard field goal, due to a four MPH wind at our back. Even with the wind, it wouldn’t be enough as the kick by Doug Marcus fell well short, giving New Mexico the ball at their 33 yard line.

Taking over after the missed field goal, Robison tried to keep the ball on a QB read, but our defense was more than ready this time, tackling him for a three yard loss to leave second and 13. With our defensive blitz breathing down his neck, Robison would try to scramble, running straight into the arms of defense end Caleb McBride. While Robison was able to spin his way out of the sack by McBride, his momentum carried him a good 12 yard back from the line of scrimmage. Instead of just taking the loss of yards, Robison would continue trying to make something out of nothing. That nothing would turn into disaster for the Lobos as defensive tackle Ernest Sims came in right behind McBride and tried to make a sack of his own, stripping the ball out of Robison’s hands in the process. With four blue jerseys and only a single white jersey in the vicinity, defensive end Kevin Tolbert had no problem diving on top of the fumble and recovering it for our defense, giving us possession at the New Mexico 19 yard line.

Lining up after the fumble recovery, we would need just one play to find the end zone again as Barnes lofted up a rainbow pass to a wide open Max Rhodes in the corner of the end zone, good for a 19 yard touchdown to give us a 14-0 lead with 12 seconds left in the first quarter.

A 31 yard kickoff return by Joyce got New Mexico back in action at their 29 yard line. Mason would receive the handoff on first down, rumbling his way straight up the middle for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 44 yard line. That would be the final play of the first quarter, as we entered the break with a 14-0 lead.

Opening up the second quarter, another rush by Mason gained 14 yards and moved the chains once more to our 42 yard line. Our defense would finally win a round, the blitz breaking through to tackle Mason for a loss of three yards to bring up second and 13. It would be a double whammy for the Lobos as Mason was injured on the play, diagnosed with a dislocated knee that would leave him sidelined for 10 weeks, effectively ending his season. With our defense focusing on the QB to keep Robison from torching us again, it would pay off as he tried to keep the ball on another QB read, the play blown up for a four yard loss that brought about third and 17. It would only go from bad to worse, the blitz putting pressure on Robison and sending him scrambling right into the open arms of outside linebacker Al Washington, who sacked him for a 6 yard loss and brought out the New Mexico punt team on fourth and 23. The Lobos would take a huge gamble on fourth down, running a fake punt run on fourth down. It would utterly fail however as Antonio Sykes was immediately tackled for no gain, forcing the turnover on downs and giving us the ball at the Lobos 45 yard line.

Lining up after the turnover, Roberson got our drive started on the ground with a 6 yard rush, followed by an 8 yard gain to move the chains to the 31 yard line. Another rush by Roberson picked up four yards to bring up second and 6. Giving the ball to Walter Johnson, the handoff to the fullback caught the defense off guard, allowing Johnson to gain 8 yards and the first down at the 18 yard line. Calling a play action pass on first down, the defense again bit on the fake, allowing McKinney to get open for a 12 yard pass from Barnes, giving us first and goal at the 7 yard line. A first down rush by Roberson gained 5 yards, leaving second and goal from the two. Roberson would need only one more play to punch it in, driving forward for the two yard touchdown to increase our lead to 21-0 with 5:03 left in the second quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return by Joyce started New Mexico from their 23 yard line, the Lobos starting to tumble further and further down the rabbit hole. A handoff to David Turner on the end around picked things up right where the left off for New Mexico, as the play ended in a four yard loss, bringing up second and 14. A screen pass to Dante Tyler finally moved the ball forward with a 12 yard completion, the Lobos left facing third and two after the gain. Rolling out on a play action pass, Robison may have briefly been able to get our defense to bite on the fake, but it wouldn’t have mattered as his pass downfield intended for Curry was way wide and off the mark, the incomplete pass bringing out the punt team on fourth and two. A 22 yard return by Roberson on the 33 yard punt gave us the ball at the New Mexico 43 yard line for our next drive.

Lining up in Lobos territory to start our drive, we were looking to start nailing the coffin shut, even before halftime. Coming out passing, a first down pass to Conley gained 8 yards, followed by a 17 yard pass to Munoz to pick up the first down at the 19 yard line. We would return to the end zone on the next play as Barnes hit tight end Jack Long over the middle, Long driving the final 7 yards through the safety and into the end zone for the 19 yard touchdown, giving us a 28-0 lead with 3:12 left before halftime.

A 27 yard kickoff return by Ron Thomas put the Lobos back on the field from their 27 yard line, the gaping hole getting ever bigger and ever deeper. Despite throwing an incomplete pass on first down, the Lobos would come right back at us on second down, as Robison hit David Turner over the middle and three failed tackle attempts by our secondary resulted in Turner taking it all the way for a 73 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 28-7 with 2:53 left in the first half.

A 38 yard kickoff return by Roberson got us good field position, starting our drive from our 43 yard line. Taking a deep shot down the right sideline on first down, the pass intended for Rhodes came up short and was broken up by the cornerback to bring up second down. Going up over the head of the cornerback on second down, Aaron Allen was able to pull in the deep pass from Barnes for a 29 yard gain, giving us a first down at the New Mexico 28 yard line. A first down pass to Johnson picked up 9 yards, followed by a 16 yard completion to David Douglas to give us first and goal at the three yard line. Roberson took the first down handoff for a one yard gain, leaving second and goal. Another rush by Roberson resulted in no gain, bringing up third and goal from the two. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back and tried to connect with Munoz over the middle, but the pass was broken up to bring up fourth and goal with two seconds left. The 20 yard field goal by Doug Marcus with no time left on the clock gave us a 31-7 lead as we headed into halftime.

Opening up the second half, we would get the third quarter started with a touchdown right off the bat, as Roberson received the kickoff at our 5 yard line and proceeded to shake and bake his way down the field for a 95 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, increasing our lead to 38-7 just a mere 12 seconds into the second half.

A 28 yard kickoff return by Joyce left the Lobos trying to respond, starting at their 27 yard line. Starting through the air, the first down pass from Robison intended for Turner was broken up by cornerback Kevin Moore, and the Lobos found themselves facing a quick second down. A second down screen pass to Joyce ended up going for a 17 yard gain down the left sideline, giving New Mexico a first down at the 44 yard line. Robison tried to scramble to avoid the blitz on first down, but Sims wasn’t about to have any of that, dragging him down from behind for the sack and a three yard loss, bringing up second and 13. Rushing his pass on second down, the throw from Robison intended for Jesse Jackson was swatted down with authority by Vinson, and the Lobos found themselves facing third and 13. Managing to avoid a coverage sack on third down, the pass from Robison to Joyce would still end up for a loss of one yard, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 14. No return by Roberson on the 33 yard punt left us starting our next drive from our 26 yard line.

Starting our drive on the ground, Roberson took the first down handoff for a gain of three yards, followed by a 6 yard dash by Paris to bring up third and one. Roberson would get the call on third down, sprinting through the gap for a 9 yard pickup and a new set of downs at the 44 yard line. Running a play action pass on first down, the pass to Johnson would only pick up one yard on the play, leaving second and 9, the defense ready for us that time. Lining up in the shotgun on second down, Barnes rifled a pass over the middle to Douglas for a 14 yard gain, moving the chains once more to the New Mexico 41 yard line. Trying to connect with Johnson over the middle on first down, the pass from Barnes was nearly intercepted, leaving us second down. A bad pass to a wide open Conley, the ball overshooting him by a good 5-10 yards, brought up third and 10 and left our drive treading water. A pass down the left sideline intended for Douglas was jumped by the cornerback and broken up, and we were forced to punt on fourth down. A 10 yard return by Joyce on the short 23 yard punt gave New Mexico the ball at their 27 yard line.

Lining up on offense, the Lobos came out punching on first down, as Robison connected with Joyce down the left sideline, Moore forced to come all the way over from the opposite side of the field to chase Joyce down and tackle him short of the end zone, the 70 yard pass giving the Lobos first and goal at our three yard line. Sykes took the ball on first down, picking up maybe a yard on the play to bring up second and goal. A handoff to Patrick Brown went for no gain and New Mexico found themselves looking at third and goal from just inside the three yard line. An option play on third down would result in a failure for the Lobos, as Robison tried to pitch the ball to Joyce, only to have the pitch fouled up and a fumble caused by McBride. Despite two defenders diving on top of the fumble, Joyce would somehow come up with the recovery for New Mexico, Joyce officially marked for a 7 yard loss on the play to leave the Lobos kicking the ball on fourth and goal from the 10 yard line. Despite initially having first and goal from our three yard line, the Lobos would ultimately end up with nothing to show for it as the 27 yard field goal attempt was blocked by cornerback Jeremy Thurman, the loose ball recovered by middle linebacker Justin Dunn to give us possession at our 17 yard line.

Taking over after the blocked field goal attempt, Roberson got our drive started on the ground with a 5 yard run, followed by a four yard rush to bring up third and one. Roberson would pick up the conversion himself with a four yard dash, moving the chains to the 30 yard line. Paris kept us moving forward with a four yard carry, to go along with a four yard rush by Roberson to bring up another third and one. Roberson would get the job done for the second time this drive with a 7 yard pickup, giving us a first down at the 45. The defense was ready and waiting for us on first down, as Paris was immediately brought down for no gain on the play. Calling for a play action pass on second down, McKinney would come through for us with a 19 yard reception, moving the sticks to the New Mexico 36 yard line. Keeping the air attack going, Rhodes was able to pull down the first down pass from Barnes for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the 18 yard line. Trying to connect with Munoz over the middle on first down, the defense would break the pass up to leave second down. That would also be the final play of the third quarter, our lead sitting at 38-7 as we entered the final stanza.

Opening up the fourth quarter, we lined up on second and 10 from our 18 yard line. Barnes dropped back from under center and fired off a pass to Paris for a 9 yard gain, leaving third and one for our offense. Roberson would come through on third down once more with a three yard rush, giving us first and goal at the 5 yard line. Roberson took the first down handoff, but found nowhere to run as he was stopped for no gain, leaving second and goal. A dive by Johnson picked up four yards to bring up third and goal from inside the one yard line. Roberson would get the job done yet again on third down, punching it in for the one yard touchdown to increase our lead to 45-7 with 6:57 left in the game.

A 22 yard kickoff return by Joyce gave New Mexico the ball at their 22 yard line for their next drive. Dropping back to pass on first down, Robison found Nick Harris along the left sideline for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down at the 34 yard line. The first down pass intended for Joyce sailed long and out of bounds to bring up second down. Another cross-field chase and tackle by Moore would save another touchdown as Brown was finally brought down after a 58 yard completion, the play giving New Mexico first and goal from our 8 yard line. It would quickly turn into first and goal from the 13 yard line as the right tackle was flagged for a false start before the first down snap. Joyce took the ball on first down for a four yard gain, leaving second and goal at the 9. Another handoff to Joyce resulted in an immediate tackle in the backfield for a two yard loss, bringing up third and goal at the 11. Our defense would continue to make its goal line stand, as the third down screen pass to Joyce was limited to a gain of just a single yard, leaving fourth and goal at the 10. Instead of attempting another field goal to put additional points up and save face, the Lobos elected to go for broke and kept the offense on the field on fourth down. Bringing the house on the blitz, Robison would never have a chance to get the pass off as he was sacked from behind by Washington for a 7 yard loss to force the turnover on downs at our 18 yard line. Twice now New Mexico had broken a long play, had a guaranteed touchdown ruined by Moore pursuing the play from the other side of the field, and then after having first and goal after the play, end up with absolutely nothing to show for it.

Taking over after the turnover on downs, we came out rushing the ball, looking to kill off some of the remaining 5 minutes in the game. Paris got things started with a 6 yard carry, before being brought down for gain of just one yard to leave third and two. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back and rifled off a quick pass to Rhodes for a 7 yard gain and a first down at the 32 yard line. Returning to the ground game, Paris kept us moving with a 6 yard rush, followed by a three yard gain to set up third and one. Dante May would get the call on third down, rushing for a 5 yard gain to pick up the first down at the 46 yard line. Paris returned to the backfield on first down, rumbling his way to an 11 yard gain and a new set of downs at the New Mexico 43 yard line. A 5 yard rush by May, followed by a four yard carry by Paris left us with another third down and one situation. Paris officially was recognized with a one yard gain on the third down play, but we ultimately were left facing fourth and inches from the 33 yard line. With a 50 yard field goal out of the question, we had no choice but to go for it on fourth down. Paris would get the job down with a 12 yard carry up the middle, giving us a first down at the 21 yard line with 56 seconds left in the game. Snapping the ball with 28 seconds left, Barnes would drop to a knee and we wouldn’t need to run another play as the clock ran out on our 45-7 victory, giving us our first win of the 2021 season and breaking a 6 game losing streak.

With the long searched after win, we improve to 1-6, 1-2 in Mountain West action. With the loss, New Mexico drops to 2-5, 0-3 in Mountain West play. Up next, it’s back on the road as we head to Colorado State. The Rams enter the game at 3-4, 1-2 in Mountain West action. Colorado State opened their year with a 34-17 rivalry win over Colorado. Then the wheels came off as they lost 20-17 in overtime to FCS Midwest and 35-3 at Oregon. They got back in the win column with a 32-31 victory at UTEP, but added then added two more losses, 40-14 to San Diego State and 24-21 at Wyoming, before recovering with a 40-17 win at UNLV heading into our game.

Final Score
45, 7




Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - Barnes had a very good day today, ending 18-26 for 265 yards and three touchdowns. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 88 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Paris had 59 yards on 12 carries, Johnson ended with 12 yards on two rushes and May with 10 yards on two carries. Receiving, McKinney ended up leading the way out of the tight end slot with 59 yards and one touchdown on three catches. Rhodes added 45 yards and one touchdown on three receptions and Long had 19 yards and one touchdown on one catch. In all, we had 10 receivers catch a pass today, nine of them ended with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Other than the 270 yards of offense given up and the one long touchdown, the defense had an outstanding day, recording a fumble and 5 sacks as well as making two goal line stands after facing first and goal twice. Special teams also contributed better today, returning a kickoff 95 yards and blocking a field goal.

Utah State Kicking – Perfection was elusive today. Marcus ended 1-2 in field goal attempts, successfully kicking a 20 yard field goal, but coming up short on a 50 yard attempt. He did at least go 6-6 in PATs.




Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
	0	7	0	0	7
	14	17	7	7	45

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
4:12		Touchdown	C. McKinney, 28 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)	7-0
0:12		Touchdown	M. Rhodes, 19 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)	14-0
Second Quarter
5:03		Touchdown	P. Roberson, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)	21-0
3:12		Touchdown	J. Long, 19 yard pass form J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)	28-0
2:53		Touchdown	D. Turner, 73 yard pass from M. Robison (D. Sands kick)	28-7
0:00		Field Goal	D. Marcus, 20 yard field goal	31-7
Third Quarter
8:48		Touchdown	P. Roberson, returned kickoff 95 yards (D. Marcus kick)	38-7
Fourth Quarter
6:57		Touchdown	P. Roberson, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)	45-7

Game Stats

New Mexico	Stat	Utah State
7	Score	45
7	First Downs	20
270	Total Offense	431
23 - 28 - 0	Rushes - Yards - TD	42 - 166 - 2
8 - 15 - 1	Comp - Att - TD	18 - 26 - 3
242	Passing Yards	265
5	Times Sacked	1
0 - 7 (0%)	3rd Down Conversion	9 - 13 (69%)
0 - 3 (0%)	4th Down Conversion	1 - 1 (100%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	0 - 0 (0%)
2 - 0 - 0 (0%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	5 - 4 - 1 (100%)
2	Turnovers	0
2	Fumbles Lost	0
0	Intercepted	0
9	Punt Return Yards	27
182	Kick Return Yards	133
461	Total Yards	591
3 – 32.7	Punts - Average	1 - 24.0
1 - 5	Penalties	0 - 0
10:55	Time of Possession	25:05

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal	XP Reward	Completed
Win a Game	100	x1
Score a Touchdown	25	x6
Kick/Punt Return Touchdown	50	x1
Force a Turnover	25	x2
Pass for 250 Yards	25	x1
Rush for 100 Yards	25	x1
Kneel Last Min Q4 While Ahead	10	x1
3+ Sacks	50	x1
Opponent Under 10 Points	75	x1
Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards	50	x1
Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards	50	x1
Pass Completion Over 50%	30	x1
100% Red Zone Efficiency	50	x1
Score 21 or More Points	50	x1
350+ Offensive Yards	50	x1
10+ First Downs	50	x1
4+ 3rd Down Conversions	25	x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal	Expectations	Progress
Target Wins Per Season	7	1

Job Security Status

100%

[SmoothPancakes]

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Oklahoma beat Kansas 35-17. #2 Ohio State dominated Nebraska 49-10. #4 Michigan held off Maryland 24-14. Kansas State knocked off #5 Baylor 38-31 to ruin the Bears perfect season. #6 Notre Dame walloped Stanford 56-7. Arizona knocked off #7 Washington 17-14. #9 Texas A&M outlasted #15 Auburn 34-27. #10 Georgia Tech just barely escaped North Carolina 28-27. #11 Virginia Tech beat Duke 35-3.

#12 Michigan State topped Wisconsin 42-28. #13 TCU handed #21 Oklahoma State their first loss of the year, 50-27. #14 Alabama defeated Arkansas 34-10. #16 Miami rebounded from last week's loss with a 44-17 thrashing of Virginia. #17 Clemson beat Pittsburgh 20-9. #18 Penn State topped Rutgers 40-13. #20 UCLA handled #19 Oregon 42-20. #22 Louisville beat Boston College 31-24. #25 South Carolina rolled Tennessee 44-10.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 6-0 (3-0 Big Ten) with a 49-10 win over Nebraska. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 3-2 (1-1 Big 12) with a 27-16 win over Texas Tech. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 3-3 (2-0 C-USA) with a 34-24 win over North Texas. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 3-3 (1-3 Pac-12) with a 28-7 loss to Utah. LeeSO, #15 Auburn drops to 5-2 (3-2 SEC) with a 34-27 loss to #9 Texas A&M. SCClassof93, #25 South Carolina improves to 5-2 (5-1 SEC) a 44-10 win over Tennessee. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 4-1 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a 27-24 win over Akron. Florida International improves to 2-5 (2-1 C-USA) with a 42-14 win over Massachusetts. Navy drops to 5-2 (4-2 American) with a 38-28 loss to Connecticut. Tulsa improves to 3-4 (2-3 American) with a 35-31 win over SMU.

In Mountain West action, Utah State whooped New Mexico 45-7, San Jose State topped UNLV 24-14, San Diego State edged out Nevada 31-24, Air Force beat Hawaii 30-24, BYU upset Boise State 27-10, Ole Miss beat Fresno State 20-14 and Florida Atlantic knocked off Wyoming 41-13.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #5 Baylor and #21 Oklahoma State both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 7. #1 Oklahoma (5-0), #2 Ohio State (6-0), #3 USC (7-0), #4 Michigan (6-0), #18 Penn State (7-0), Army (6-0) and Indiana (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season. Of the 7 undefeated teams remaining, four of them hail from the Big Ten.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 3 teams still looking for their first win: SMU (0-7), UNLV (0-6), and UTSA (0-7).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Miami University (34-27 over 2-5 Kent State), Tulane (27-15 over 2-4 Memphis) and Utah State (45-7 over 2-5 New Mexico).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Oklahoma (35 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (23 votes) remains #2, USC (2 votes) remains #3, Michigan (1 vote) remains #4 and Notre Dame climbs one to #5. Texas jumps two to #6, Texas A&M moves up two to #7, Georgia Tech climbs two to #8, Virginia Tech jumps two to #9 and Michigan State jumps two to #10. Penn State leaps seven to #11, TCU climbs one to #12, Alabama moves up one to #13, Baylor drops nine to #14 and Miami climbs one to #15. Washington falls nine to #16, Clemson remains #17, UCLA jumps two to #18, Auburn drops four to #19 and Louisville climbs two to #20. Arizona enters the poll at #21, Indiana enters the poll at #22, Northwestern remains #23, Oregon State remains #24 and South Carolina (248 points) remains #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon (from #19) and Oklahoma State (from #21). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oklahoma State (221 points) is #26, followed by Army (191), Florida (179), Oregon (121) and Illinois (115) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Kansas State (84).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Oklahoma (38 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (21 votes) remains #2, USC (5 votes) remains #3, Michigan (1 vote) remains #4 and Notre Dame climbs one to #5. Texas A&M jumps one to #6, Texas climbs two to #7, Georgia Tech moves up two to #8, Virginia Tech jumps two to #9 and Michigan State climbs two to #10. TCU climbs two to #11, Penn State leaps seven to #12, Miami jumps two to #13, Baylor drops nine to #14 and UCLA drops one to #15. Alabama remains #16, Washington falls nine to #17, Clemson remains #18, Louisville jumps three to #19 and Auburn falls three to #20. Arizona enters the poll at #21, Oregon State climbs one to #22, Indiana enters the poll at #23, Florida remains #24 and South Carolina (285 points) remains #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon (from #20) and Oklahoma State (from #21). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Northwestern (281 points) is #26, followed by Oklahoma State (240), Army (228), Illinois (193) and Oregon (128) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Kansas State (115) and Ole Miss (1).

In the first BCS rankings of the year: #1 Oklahoma (1.000), #2 Ohio State (0.995), #3 USC (0.989), #4 Michigan (0.984), #5 Notre Dame (0.979), #6 Texas A&M (0.971), #7 Texas (0.971), #8 Georgia Tech (0.963), #9 Virginia Tech (0.958) and #10 Michigan State (0.945). Others: #20 Auburn (0.875) and #25 South Carolina (0.835).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #2), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #2 (LW: #1), USC HB William Mann is #3 (LW: #3), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #4 (LW: NR) and Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #5 (LW: #5). Dropping off the Heisman Watch list this week was Florida QB Brandon Dahl (LW: #4).

[SmoothPancakes]

Finally! It only took half the season, but finally that goddamn gorilla is off our back! Where the hell was that offense and defense combination all season? If anything, that win may very well save my ass for another season, as my job security went from 91% (after falling last week) back up to 100%. So as long as I don't go winless these last 5 games of the season, I should be in decent shape on job security by the end of the season and have a chance to reload for next season.

[souljahbill]

Damn. Utah State breaks their losing streak with a 45-7 win over New Mexico. I really wanted to see the streak continue.

:p

Spoiler: show

Congrats!

[SmoothPancakes]

:p

Spoiler: show

Congrats!

Smartass.

Thanks. It was one serious goddamn challenge to finally get that first win, but damn it feels great to have it. And in such total dominating fashion too.

Looking ahead at the schedule, if my defense and offense continue to play as well as they did against New Mexico, I could conceivably be considered a favorite against Air Force and UNLV. Boise State is all but assured a loss, Colorado State is the favored team, and Wyoming in a toss-up.

So I might be able to make it to 4-8. Realistically, I'll probably go 2-10 or 3-9. Worse case, the team goes back to sucking and we stumble to a 1-11 season.

[jaymo76]

Good to see your back Smooth. Interesting update on the Hawaii game. Ah the joys of Tiburon football... Don't try to make sense of anything with NCAA 14. That's the best advice I can give you brother.

[SmoothPancakes]

Good to see your back Smooth. Interesting update on the Hawaii game. Ah the joys of Tiburon football... Don't try to make sense of anything with NCAA 14. That's the best advice I can give you brother.

Good to be back. I pissed around so much time during my initial play-through of the story in Dead Rising 3, having too much fun going around slaughtering horde after horde of zombies, that I only have 1 day, 7 hours left to complete the story, and I'm only in the middle of chapter 3 (out of 7 chapters). So I'm gonna have to restart the story so I can actually go through and focus on completing the story next time without ending up behind the ticking clock eight ball.

So, I figured it was probably a good time to jump back over to NCAA for a bit, since the college football bug has been biting me for the past week.

Yeah, that Hawaii game was just one of those games where it felt like it was predetermined that I was going to lose. It didn't matter what I did, it was only a matter of time before I got screwed again by something. But, thankfully the served up lamb that was New Mexico was next up on the platter, allowing me to finally claim that elusive first win of the season. Now it's just trying to save this season as best as I can. I'm hoping for at best a 4-8 finish, expecting either 3-9 or 2-10 and dreading ending 1-11.

[SmoothPancakes]

Game Eight





Game Story

---Finally out of our winless rut, it was back on the road with a trip to Colorado State, looking to build on our first win of the season and put together a winning streak. It would not be easy. The Rams, while not great, also weren’t terrible. Colorado State entered the game with offensive rankings of #44 for rushing and #81 for passing. They were more even on defense, coming in at #56 in rush defense and #49 in pass defense. Seeing as we had the #84 rush offense and the #111 pass defense, that could cause some issues for us during the game. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Matt Schneider gave Colorado State the ball at their 25 yard line to open the game. Our defense came out swinging and landed a punch from the get-go, as middle linebacker Justin Dunn broke through the line on a blitz and sacked Travis Bright for a 6 yard loss, pushing the Rams back to second and 16. It wouldn’t take the Rams long to torch our defense, as a missed play by safety Sam Vinson over the middle allowed Willie Medley to pull in the pass from Bright and sprint down the field with no one in front of him. Luckily for us, cornerback Kevin Moore was faster and managed to chase Medley down from behind after a 63 yard gain that gave Colorado State a first down at our 18 yard line. Going no-huddle on first down, Bright kept the ball himself, but would only gain one yard on the play. The defense would push the Rams backwards on second down, as the option play was blown up by our blitz, Bright tackled for a 5 yard loss to leave the Rams facing third and 14. Third down would go even worse for the Rams, as Dunn recorded his second sack of the game, bringing Bright down for an 8 yard loss to set up fourth and 22 from the 30 yard line. With 47 yards apparently being outside the range of their kicker, the Rams lined up to go for it on fourth down. Bright dropped back on fourth down and heaved up a pass to Medley in the end zone, but Vinson was able to get the jump on Medley and go up first, batting the ball with his fingertips, just enough to cause it to fall to the ground just out of the reach of Medley in the back of the end zone, forcing the turnover on downs and giving us the ball at our 30 yard line.

Taking over after the turnover, it was Preston Roberson getting our drive started, as he received the handoff on first down, gaining just one yard on the play. An attempt at running the option on second down was immediately blown up as the blitz brought down Jason Barnes for a one yard loss before he could even try to make a move or pitch the ball, leaving third and 10. Dropping back to pass on third down, the pass from Barnes intended for Travis Munoz was off the mark and sailed over his head and incomplete, bringing out our punt team on fourth down. A 14 yard return by Schneider on the 40 yard punt gave Colorado State the ball at their 43 yard line.

Lining up on first down, the Rams came out passing to start their drive. That drive would last just one play as the pass intended for Medley was intercepted in mid-flight by cornerback Charles Noble, who returned it three yards to give us back possession at the Colorado State 42 yard line.

Returning to offense after the interception, we tried to strike back right away through the air, the first down pass from Barnes intended for Max Rhodes nearly intercepted right back by Colorado State’s middle linebacker. Sticking through the air on second down, Barnes was able to connect with Ryan Conley along the left sideline for an 18 yard gain and a first down at the 25 yard line. Going back to our ground game, Roberson took the first down handoff up the middle for an 11 yard pickup, moving the chains once more to the 14. Roberson took the ball once more on first down, but would see a gain of only one yard this time around. The second down pass from Barnes to Walter Johnson was complete over the middle, Johnson able to get 7 yards on the reception to bring up third and two. Taking our chances on the ground on third down, Roberson found a hole to the right of the center, sprinted through and then dove the final two yards into the end zone to beat the defense and score a 6 yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 4:07 left in the first quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return by Schneider set up Colorado State’s offense at their 21 yard line. The QB keeper on first down by Bright went for a big 18 yard gain and a first down at the 39 yard line. Another QB read by Bright picked up 9 more yards, before the defense finally trapped him on second down for a loss of 5 yards, setting up third and 7. The drive would come to an abrupt end on third down due to a wide open DeMetrius Newby dropping the pass from Bright, forcing Colorado State to punt the ball away on fourth and 7. A 17 yard return by Roberson on the 40 yard punt gave us the ball at our 34 yard line for our next drive.

Roberson got our drive off and running with a first down handoff for a gain of three yards, before Brian Paris got tackled in the backfield for a loss of two yards, leaving us facing third and 9. Despite the defense reading the fake of our third down play action pass, Barnes was still able to complete the pass to Cedric McKinney for an 11 yard gain and a fresh set of down at our 46. That gain would be instantly wiped out on first down as outside linebacker John Bowen broke through and sacked Barnes from behind for an 11 yard loss to leave second and 21. The shot down the right sideline on second down, intended for David Douglas was broken up by the cornerback, bringing about third down. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back and rifled off a pass to tight end Maurice Martin, who was just barely able to get across the first down line for a 22 yard gain before being flattened on his back by the safety, giving us a first down at the Colorado State 43 yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down, gaining four yards on the play, followed by an 8 yard scramble to pick up the first down at the 31 yard line. That would be the last play of the quarter as the final seconds ticked off the clock, our lead holding at 7-0.

Opening up the second quarter with first down from the Rams 31 yard line, we decided to take a shot at the end zone, Barnes hooking up with Munoz down the right sideline near the 5 yard line. Munoz was unable to take it the last couple yards as he was nearly instantly brought down by the safety, the play going for a 27 yard gain to give us first and goal at the four yard line. Roberson received the handoff on first down, but was almost immediately wrapped up, gaining maybe one yard on the play. We would gain even more at the conclusion of the play as a penalty flag came out, middle linebacker Kyle Kerr getting flagged for a facemask penalty on the tackle, setting us up with first and goal from just outside the one yard line. Roberson would receive the handoff and again dive into the end zone for a one yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 14-0 with 8:24 left in the second quarter.

A 27 yard kickoff return by Adam Wade put Colorado State back in action from their 24 yard line. Newby got the drive started with a one yard rush, before Medley went deep and pulled in a pass from Bright for a gain of 19 yards and a first down at the 44 yard line. Trying to burn our defense on the QB read, Bright was unable to find anywhere to run, our defense keeping him in check this time and bringing him down for a four yard loss to bring up second and 14. A dropped pass by Roger Martinez denied both Moore and Vinson the chance to decimate him from behind, but it did result in the Rams facing third and long. Bright tried to throw back across his body and deep down the left sideline to Henry Watkins on third down, but the pass ended up behind the receiver and made it very easy for cornerback Leonard Hart to play the ball and swat it down, though it also would have been the easiest interception of his career if he had tried that. Regardless, it brought Colorado State’s drive to an end and the Rams lined up to punt on fourth down. The 60 yard punt would bounce down at the 17 yard line and roll into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Lining up after the touchback, Roberson started our drive on the ground, receiving the first down handoff from Barnes for a 7 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush to get the first down at the 30 yard line. Paris took over on first down, fighting his way to a 6 yard gain to bring up second and four. Roberson took the ball on second down but would come up short, gaining only three yards on the play to leave us facing third and one. It would fall to Paris to get that last yard and extend our drive, which he would just barely do, rushing for a one yard gain and just clearing the markers to move the chains at the 41 yard line. Roberson returned to the backfield on first down, but he was almost immediately brought down, gaining only two yards on the carry. Running a play action pass on second down, this time the Rams bit hook, line and sinker, allowing McKinney to get wide open along the right sideline for a 22 yard gain and a first down at the Rams 36 yard line. Douglas would keep us moving with a 20 yard reception over the middle and a new set of downs at the 16. Lining up under center on first down, Barnes dropped back and hurled a pass to tight end Jack Long, good for a 10 yard gain but just short of the first down to leave us with second and inches. Roberson received the handoff on second down, and despite being met at the line of scrimmage by the middle linebacker, was able to keep his legs driving just enough to gain officially one yard and give us first and goal from the 5 yard line. Roberson would keep at it on first down, fighting his way to a four yard gain, leaving second and goal at the one. Paris would end up going backwards on second down, met in the backfield by the defensive end to bring up third and goal from the two. It would be Roberson or bust on third down as we kept it on the ground, Roberson receiving the handoff and his lucky dive once again propelling him into the end zone for a two yard touchdown, his third score of the game, giving us a 21-0 lead with 1:40 left until halftime.

A 29 yard kickoff return by Schneider got the Rams offense back on the field at their 27 yard line. They still had all three timeouts, but little time to work with. The Rams came out passing on first down as Bright connected with Schneider for an 11 yard gain and a quick first down at the 38. Going no-huddle, the rushed play would result in the Rams going backwards, as our safety blitz allowed Vinson to come through the line completely untouched and sack Bright for an 8 yard loss, leaving second and 18, the Rams calling their first timeout with 1:26 to go. The blitz would nearly get to Bright again, forcing him to throw the ball away to bring up third and very long. Trying to go over the middle, Bright threw a pass intended for Adam Wade, but Noble was there to deflect the ball incomplete, bringing out Colorado State’s punt team on fourth and 18. Roberson would only mange two or three yards on the return after he muffed the 46 yard punt, leaving us starting our drive from our 28 yard line with only 1:11 left before halftime.

Coming out firing, Barnes tried to hit Munoz over the middle, but the pass got broken up by the middle linebacker to leave second down. Second down wasn’t much better, as Barnes got hit from behind as he tried to throw it, the ball landing incomplete just feet away to leave third and 10. The defense again would make contact on Barnes and his third down pass intended for Rhodes ended up in an entirely different area code, forcing our punt team out on fourth down. A fair catch on the 41 yard punt would end with Colorado State getting 15 free yards, as cornerback Mike Moses was flagged for kick catch interference, handing the Rams the ball at midfield with 55 seconds remaining.

Dropping back to pass on first down for the Rams, Bright definitely had some happy feet as the pocket collapsed around him, first trying to find a hole to scramble before firing off a pass intended for Martinez, the ball falling a couple yards short to bring up second down. Bright would be more collected the second time around, finding Schneider in the flats for an 11 yard gain and a first down at our 39 yard line, Schneider getting out of bounds to stop the clock with 45 seconds left. Another blitz by our defense would result in the first down pass being thrown away by Bright to avoid a sack, and the Rams facing second and 10. A screen pass to Newby picked up 5 yards, leaving third and 5, the Rams using their second timeout with 37 seconds left. Wade would come through for the Rams on third down, pulling down the pass from Bright along the left sideline for a 14 yard gain and a first down at our 20 yard line, tackled out of bounds to stop the clock with 30 seconds left. Surprisingly handing the ball off on first down, it worked as Newby caught our defense off guard and picked up 10 yards up the middle, giving Colorado State first and goal from our 10 yard line. Rushing to the line, Bright connected with Kyle Lumpkin on a screen pass, but the defense stopped him for no gain, and stopped him in bounds to keep the clock moving. Not using their last timeout, the Rams snapped the ball with 8 seconds left, Bright forced to scramble almost instantly due to our blitz. He would ultimately end up sacked for a 6 yard loss, leaving Colorado State with third and goal from the 15 yard line, the Rams just managing to call their final timeout with two seconds left. Lining up for a field goal on third down, the 32 yard kick by Alvin Love was good, cutting our lead to 21-3 as we headed into halftime.

Opening up the second half, a 15 yard kickoff return by Roberson gave us the ball at our 17 yard line to start the third quarter. Roberson got our drive started on the ground with a 5 yard rush, followed by a handoff to Paris for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the 38 yard line. Another rush by Paris picked up two yards on first down, before Roberson got stood up for just a two yard gain, leaving third and 6. The third down pass from Barnes to Munoz hit the receiver in the hands, but the middle linebacker was able to jar the ball loose with a well timed hit, leaving us punting on fourth down. Schneider received the punt at his 18 yard line, got some early blocking and sprinted up the left sideline. After breaking one tackle near the 40 yard line, he wouldn’t be touched again as he would return the punt all the way back for an 82 yard touchdown, further cutting our lead to 21-10 with 6:58 left in the third quarter.

It would go from bad to worse for us as Douglas fumbled the ensuing kickoff. The fumble rolled into the end zone, Douglas going into retrieve it and just getting back outside of the end zone before being gang-tackled at our one yard line, leaving our offense up against the wall. Roberson took the handoff on first down, picking up maybe one yard on the play to bring up second and 9. Paris took the ball on second down, but a blitz by the defense would trap him in the end zone for a safety and our meltdown would continue, our lead now only 21-12 with 6:14 left in the third quarter.

A 26 yard return by Wade on the 54 yard safety punt gave Colorado State great field position, the Rams starting at our 49 yard line. Starting on the ground, Newby took the first down handoff for an 8 yard gain. A screen pass to Watkins on second down nearly ended in a disaster for the Rams, as Watkins fumbled the ball, but it would roll out of bounds before anyone could claim it, the play officially going for a loss of one yard and leaving third and three. Newby would keep the drive moving with a 7 yard rush, picking up the first down at the 45 yard line. Another rush by Newby went for a gain of 7, followed by a QB read by Bright down the left sideline for a 19 yard gain, leveled out of bounds by Noble to leave the Rams with first and goal at the 9 yard line. Going into the air on first down, Bright tried to connect with Tyler Adams over the middle, but Adams was unable to maintain possession around the three yard line, dropping the ball incomplete to bring up second and goal. A QB keeper by Bright on second down netted the Rams two yards, leaving Colorado State with third and goal at the 7. Throwing a screen pass on third down, Bright was able to connect with Schneider but our defense was ready and waiting, bringing Schneider down for a four yard loss to bring up fourth and goal from the 11 yard line. The Rams would settle for another kick, the 28 yard field goal further cutting our lead down to 21-15 with 4:25 left in the third quarter.

A 33 yard kickoff return by McKinney put our offense back on the field from our 29 yard line. Roberson started our drive on the ground with a 9 yard rush around the right end, followed by Paris initially trying to take it up the middle on second down, only to bounce outside around the left tackle, get to the corner and turn up the sideline with nothing but green in front of him, outracing the nearest defender all the way down the field for a 62 yard touchdown, putting us up 28-15 with 3:37 left in the third quarter.

This third quarter quickly started resembling a track meet, as our lead instantly shrunk right back down as Schneider received the kickoff at the one yard line, found a hole along the left hash, spun his way out of a tackle attempt around the 23 yard line and then broke free up the sideline, coasting to a 99 yard touchdown on the return, closing our lead right back up to 28-22 with 3:23 left in the third quarter.

Roberson tried to respond back on his own, but he wouldn’t quite make it, returning the kickoff 39 yards down the left sideline before the last man to beat managed to push him out of bounds, lining our offense up at our 35 yard line. Paris received the ball on first down, rushing for a four yard gain, before bouncing outside once again to avoid the cluster of bodies up the middle, outracing one player but ultimately brought down by the safety for a 22 yard gain, giving us a first down at the Colorado State 38 yard line. Dante May came in on first down, but found nowhere to run as he ran into green with every turn he made, tackled for no gain to leave second and 10. Calling a play action pass on second down, the prayer down the middle intended for Martin ended up swatted down, leaving third and long. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, the pass intended for Douglas was broken up by the middle linebacker, bringing up fourth down. An 8 yard return by Clayton Rivas on the line drive 22 yard punt returned possession to Colorado State at their 23 yard line.

The drive didn’t get off to the greatest of starts for the Rams, as Bright tried to needle a pass to Martinez through four defenders. The ball instead was nearly intercepted, but unfortunately would land incomplete, leaving second down. A screen pass from Bright to Newby ended up gaining 15 yards, as Hart, the only defender standing between the play being a modest gain or a long touchdown, made the open field tackle and limited the damage to a first down at the 38 yard line. Going no-huddle on first down, Bright connected with Medley for a 6 yard gain, followed by a screen pass to Wade that picked up a big 20 yards and a new set of downs at our 36 yard line. The Rams continue to shove their no-huddle offense right down our throat, as Newby took the ball on the ground for a three yard rush, followed by another screen pass to Newby on second down, this time for a massive gain of 31 yards, a diving tackle by Moore forcing Newby out of bounds just inches away from the goal line, setting Colorado State up with first and goal from inside the one. Despite a less than desired defensive play call on first down due to the no-huddle offense of the Rams, we were able to bring Newby down for a three yard loss on the first down carry, pushing the Rams back to face second and goal from our four yard line. We finally got a chance to regroup as the Rams huddled up for the first time this drive on second down, and it paid off as Schneider was tackled by outside linebacker Casey Hunter for a one yard loss, bringing up third and goal at the 5 yard line. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the last three seconds ticked off the clock, our now tiny lead sitting at 28-22, but the Rams loudly pounding on the front door.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Colorado State lined up on third and goal from our 5 yard line, the offense coming out in 5 wide. Rushing only our two defensive tackles and dropping nine back into coverage, Bright quickly abandoned the pass and took off running, but his hopes of scoring were quickly dashed, as multiple defenders closed on him, Bright opting to slide his way to a three yard gain, setting up fourth and goal at our two yard line. The Rams weren’t about to settle for a field goal, the offense staying on the field this time around. The keeper by Bright would end up failing this time, as our goal line defense won the play, tackling Bright for a three yard loss and forcing the turnover on downs at our 5 yard line.

Taking over on the turnover on downs, we lined up to run the ball on first down, Paris receiving the handoff, only to be met at the line of scrimmage and brought down for no gain. Another rush by Paris would send our drive straight over a chasm, as Paris had the ball stripped from him at the 6 yard line, safety R.J. Holland recovering the fumble for Colorado State and returning it officially for two yards before being tackled, giving the Rams first and goal at our two yard line.

Suddenly thrust back on defense after the fumbled by Paris, despite some acrobatics by Bright, we were able to continue our goal line stand from the previous drive, as two defender stood Bright up at the goal line, the play recorded as a two yard gain (but short of the end zone) to bring up second and goal inside the one, the ball essentially resting just inches away from the goal line. The Rams weren’t about to be denied this time, as Newby took the handoff around the left end, his speed too much for our slower defensive tackles who never had a chance of catching him on his wide angle around the left side of the pile of bodies on his way into the end zone for a one yard touchdown, giving Colorado State a 29-28 lead with 7:32 left in the game.

A 17 yard kickoff return by Conley got us back on the field at our 21 yard line. Paris started our drive with a 5 yard rush, thankfully not fumbling this time, followed by a two yard dive to leave us with third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back into the pocket and quickly fired off a pass to Long, but it wasn’t meant to be as the ball instead bounced off the back of the helmet of the middle linebacker, forcing us to punt on fourth and three. An 8 yard return by Schneider on the 37 yard punt gave the Rams the ball at their 43 yard line.

Leading by one, the Rams started their drive on the ground as Newby received the first down handoff, only gaining one yard on the play. Going no-huddle on second down, Colorado State would end up going backwards as our defense broke through before Bright could get a pass off, sacking him for a 6 yard loss to leave third and 15. Once again feeling the pressure, Bright rolled out briefly and fired a pass downfield intended for Wade. The ball wouldn’t end up anywhere near its target and instead was nearly intercepted by a diving Vinson, the incompletion bringing out Colorado State’s punt team on fourth and 15 with 5:34 left in the game. A 32 yard return by Douglas on the 43 yard punt set us up right at midfield for our next drive.

Starting our drive off on the ground, Paris got us started huge as he was able to get to the corner and turn up the right sideline, juking past one defender before finally being brought down for a 31 yard gain, giving us a first down at the Colorado State 18 yard line and putting in great position to retake the lead. May took over on first down, only able to gain two yards on the carry. Running a play action pass on second down, it turned into one of the most messed up plays in this coach’s history. The Rams defense ended up biting on the fake, allowing McKinney to get open along the right sideline, hauling in the pass from Barnes around the 5 yard line. As he tried to dive into the end zone from the two yard line, he was hit from the side by safety Cody Brooks, who managed to knock the ball loose, the ball sitting on the ground at the two yard line. With McKinney and Brooks were both still on the ground, cornerback Clayton Rivas came swooping in to scoop up the fumble. As he did so, his momentum continued to carry him backwards into the end zone just inside of the goal line, while at the same time trying to regain his balance. Trying to tackle Rivas before he could recover his balance and try to return the fumble, Johnson came running in from the fullback position and planting at the two yard line, dove forward at Rivas. His dive was quite ugly, as instead of even making contact with Rivas, he simply faceplanted in the end zone a yard or two in front of Rivas. As it would turn out, that would still be enough by Johnson, as Rivas was still unable to regain his balance, and Johnson’s legs entering his running lane only made the problem worse, causing Rivas to stumble and fall forward a good yard inside in the end zone, awarding us a safety of our own and putting us back on top 30-29 with 4:24 left in the game, and best of all, getting the ball back on the safety punt. To add insult to injury, or maybe more accurately, injury to insult, Colorado State middle linebacker Kyle Kerr ended up injured on the play, sidelined for a quarter with a sprained ankle, thus bringing his day to a close.

A 20 yard return by Conley on the 56 yard safety punt gave our offense back the ball at our 43 yard line, looking to run out as much of the final 4:16 as we could. Paris got our drive started on the ground with a two yard rush around the right tackle, before a dive up the middle by May went forward for a gain of 7 yards to leave us with third and one. Paris was met at the line of scrimmage by the defensive end, but he would get that one almighty yard, moving the chains with a first down at the Colorado State 47 yard line, the clock down to three minutes and ticking. Paris kept us moving on first down, breaking through a hole in the middle and nearly break loose for a touchdown, but an ankle tackle would trip him up and limit the run to a 14 yard gain, good for another first down at the 34. An 8 yard rush by May on first down was followed by the defense standing May up for no gain, leaving third and two from the 25 yard line, Colorado State taking their first timeout with 1:52 remaining. Paris returned to the backfield on third down, but even he would be unable to finish the job, tackled for a one yard loss to leave us with fourth and three, Colorado State’s second timeout called with 1:48 left. Somehow, Doug Marcus ended up missing the 43 yard field goal SHORT, and Colorado State got the ball back at their 26 yard line with 1:44 left in the game, down by only one point and needing only a field goal to win, instead of down by four and needing a touchdown.

The Rams weren’t about to take their sweet time, as Bright came out passing on first down, standing up in the face of pressure from our blitz and hitting Wade over the middle, a bad tackle attempt by the safety allowing Wade to run downfield for a 30 yard gain, tackled at our 43 yard line. Rushing a pass on first down after the Rams went no-huddle, the ball intended again for Wade was off the mark and incomplete, bringing up second down, 1:35 left in the game. Defensive tackle Adam Grant would utterly ruin the second down screen pass attempt by the Rams, as Grant managed to get to Bright before he could throw the ball, sacking him for a 10 yard loss and leaving the Rams facing third and 20 at their 47 yard line, the clock down to 1:20 and ticking as Colorado State saved their last timeout. A 10 yard completion to Wade would bring up the play of the game, Colorado State lining up on fourth and 10 from our 43 yard line. Despite the clock ticking down, the Rams tried a hard snap count. Unfortunately, it would work as defensive end Caleb McBride jumped offside, the 5 yard penalty helping the Rams by leaving just fourth and 5 from the 38 yard line. The defense would rein supreme as the blitz forced Bright to take off scrambling, running straight into the waiting arms of the blitzing Dunn, who recorded his third sack of the day against Bright, this one going for a 7 yard loss and forcing the turnover on downs at our 46 yard line, just 27 seconds left on the clock.

Barnes dropped to a knee on first down, Colorado State using their third and final timeout with 26 seconds remaining. One more kneel down by Barnes and our second straight victory, a 30-29 upset of Colorado State, was final.

With the win, we improve to 2-6, 2-2 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Colorado State drops to 3-5, 1-3 in Mountain West play. Up next, we return home for a visit from annual buzz saw Boise State. The Broncos enter the game a bit beaten up, coming in at 2-5, 2-1 in Mountain West action. Boise State started their year off with a 28-20 loss to Ole Miss, a 31-27 loss at Connecticut and a 34-14 whooping from Louisiana-Lafayette. The Broncos finally turned things around with a 24-14 win against UNLV and a 24-10 win at San Jose State. They've since gone back into a slide, losing 27-10 to BYU and 35-23 at Fresno State heading into our game.

Final Score

30, 29




Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A rather quiet day for Barnes, going 9-19 for 151 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions. Rushing, Paris led the way today with 164 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries (thanks in part to his 62 yard TD run). Next up was Roberson with 76 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, and May ended with 17 yards on 5 rushes. Receiving, McKinney was the top receiver with 47 yards on three catches. In all, seven receivers caught at least one pass, McKinney was the only one to have more than one reception with three catches. Six receivers ended with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – The defense was shutdown solid for the entire first half. They fell apart a bit in the third quarter, and was good and bad in the fourth quarter. Special teams again was bad, giving up a 98 yard kickoff return and an 81 yard punt return, both in the third quarter, that allowed Colorado State to get back in the game when it was turning into potentially a blow out.

Utah State Kicking – Marcus missed his only field goal attempt of the day, from 43 yards out. He did go 4-4 in PATs.




Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
	7	14	7	2	30
	0	3	19	7	29

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
4:07		Touchdown	P. Roberson, 6 yard run (D. Marcus kick)	7-0
Second Quarter
8:24		Touchdown	P. Roberson, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)	14-0
1:40		Touchdown	P. Roberson, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)	21-0
0:00		Field Goal	A. Love, 32 yard field goal	21-3
Third Quarter
6:58		Touchdown	M. Schneider, returned punt 81 yards (A. Love kick)	21-10
6:14		Safety	Team Safety: B. Paris tackled in end zone	21-12
4:25		Field Goal	A. Love, 28 yard field goal	21-15
3:37		Touchdown	B. Paris, 62 yard run (D. Marcus kick)	28-15
3:23		Touchdown	M. Schneider, returned kickoff 98 yards (A. Love kick)	28-22
Fourth Quarter
7:32		Touchdown	D. Newby, 1 yard run (A. Love kick)	29-28
4:24		Safety	Team Safety: C. Rivas tackled in end zone	30-29

Game Stats

Utah State	Stat	Colorado State
30	Score	29
17	First Downs	13
391	Total Offense	250
48 - 240 - 4	Rushes - Yards - TD	28 - 20 - 1
9 - 19 - 0	Comp - Att - TD	15 - 28 - 0
151	Passing Yards	230
1	Times Sacked	7
6 - 12 (50%)	3rd Down Conversion	2 - 10 (20%)
0 - 0 (0%)	4th Down Conversion	0 - 3 (0%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	0 - 0 (0%)
4 - 3 - 0 (75%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	5 - 1 - 2 (60%)
2	Turnovers	1
2	Fumbles Lost	0
0	Intercepted	1
51	Punt Return Yards	111
122	Kick Return Yards	222
564	Total Yards	583
4 – 35.0	Punts - Average	4 - 47.5
2 - 20	Penalties	1 - 1.5
23:17	Time of Possession	12:43

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal	XP Reward	Completed
Win a Game	100	x1
Score a Touchdown	25	x4
Force a Turnover	25	x1
Rush for 100 Yards	25	x1
Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead	10	x1
3+ Sacks	50	x1
Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards	50	x1
Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards	50	x1
Score 21 or More Points	50	x1
350+ Offensive Yards	50	x1
10+ First Downs	50	x1
4+ 3rd Down Conversions	25	x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal	Expectations	Progress
Target Wins Per Season	7	2

Job Security Status

100%

[SmoothPancakes]

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Oklahoma escaped West Virginia 24-21. #2 Ohio State slipped past Rutgers 28-21. #3 USC survived Colorado 31-27. #4 Michigan held off Minnesota 28-21. In the upset of the week, Arizona State knocked off #5 Notre Dame 41-38 in double overtime. #6 Texas beat #12 TCU 38-17. #7 Texas A&M topped LSU 44-26. Virginia stunned #8 Georgia Tech 26-21. #9 Virginia Tech edged out North Carolina 28-24. #10 Michigan State ruined #22 Indiana's perfect record 24-7.

Maryland knocked off #11 Penn State 35-16, knocking the Nittany Lions from the unbeaten ranks. #13 Alabama defeated Tennessee 28-19. #14 Baylor held off Oklahoma State 34-27. #15 Miami beat Duke 42-14. #16 Washington trounced California 62-13. NC State upset #17 Clemson 28-7. #18 UCLA thrashed MTSU 42-10. #19 Auburn beat Purdue 35-21. #20 Louisville handled Florida State 42-20. Washington State stunned #21 Arizona 38-31. #23 Northwestern beat Iowa 21-9. Utah knocked off #24 Oregon State 44-31. Missouri knocked off #25 South Carolina 33-31.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 7-0 (4-0 Big Ten) with a 28-21 win over Rutgers. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 3-3 (1-2 Big 12) with a 24-21 loss to #1 Oklahoma. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 4-3 (3-0 C-USA) with a 31-20 win over Massachusetts. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 4-3 (1-3 Pac-12) with a 41-38 double overtime upset of #5 Notre Dame. LeeSO, #19 Auburn improves to 6-2 (3-2 SEC) with a 35-21 win over Purdue. SCClassof93, #25 South Carolina drops to 5-3 (5-2 SEC) a 33-31 loss to Missouri. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 5-1 (2-0 Sun Belt) with a 37-12 win over New Mexico State. Florida International remains 2-5 (2-1 C-USA) with a bye week. Navy drops to 5-3 (4-3 American) with a 25-21 loss to Central Florida. Tulsa improves to 4-4 (3-3 American) with a 23-21 win over Memphis.

In Mountain West action, Utah State edged out Colorado State 30-29, Air Force beat Wyoming 17-14, San Jose State beat New Mexico 34-14, Fresno State topped Boise State 35-23, Nevada held off BYU 31-26 and San Diego State smacked Houston 40-21.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #11 Penn State and #22 Indiana both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 5. #1 Oklahoma (6-0), #2 Ohio State (7-0), #3 USC (8-0), #4 Michigan (7-0) and Army (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 2 teams still looking for their first win: UNLV (0-6), and UTSA (0-8).

Teams getting their first win this week was: SMU (28-14 over 1-6 Tulane).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Oklahoma (39 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (21 votes) remains #2, USC (1 vote) remains #3, Michigan remains #4 and Texas climbs one to #5. Texas A&M moves up one to #6, Virginia Tech jumps two to #7, Michigan State climbs two to #8, Alabama jumps four to #9 and Baylor climbs four to #10. Miami jumps four to #11, Washington climbs four to #12, Notre Dame drops eight to #13, UCLA climbs four to #14 and TCU falls three to #15. Auburn climbs three to #16, Louisville jumps three to #17, Army enters the poll at #18, Penn State falls eight to #19 and Northwestern climbs three to #20. Georgia Tech plummets thirteen to #21, Indiana remains #22, Clemson drops six to #23, Arizona falls three to #24 and Oregon (163 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon State (from #24) and South Carolina (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Washington State (145 points) is #26, followed by Illinois (117), Oklahoma State (105), Kansas State (63) and Kentucky (13) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Arizona State (6).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Oklahoma (39 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (24 votes) remains #2, USC (1 vote) remains #3, Michigan (1 vote) remains #4 and Texas A&M climbs one to #5. Texas jumps one to #6, Virginia Tech moves up two to #7, Michigan State jumps two to #8, Miami climbs four to #9 and Baylor jumps four to #10. Alabama leaps five to #11, UCLA climbs three to #12, Notre Dame drops eight to #13, Washington moves up three to #14 and TCU falls four to #15. Louisville jumps three to #16, Auburn climbs three to #17, Georgia Tech falls ten to #18, Army enters the poll at #19 and Penn State plummets eight to #20. Northwestern enters the poll at #21, Indiana climbs one to #22, Arizona drops two to #23, Clemson falls six to #24 and Illinois (229 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon State (from #22), Florida (from #24) and South Carolina (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Washington State (203) is #26, followed by Oregon (187), Kansas State (139), Oklahoma State (131) and Oregon State (88) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Kentucky (82), Arizona State (35) and Central Florida (9).

Taking a look at the new BCS rankings: #1 Oklahoma (1.000), #2 Ohio State (0.995), #3 USC (0.989), #4 Michigan (0.984), #5 Texas (0.976), #6 Texas A&M (0.976), #7 Virginia Tech (0.968), #8 Michigan State (0.963), #9 Alabama (0.952) and #10 Miami (0.952). Others: #16 Auburn (0.896).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #2 (LW: #2), Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #3 (LW: #5), Alabama QB Aaron Walters is #4 (LW: NR) and Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #5 (LW: #4). Dropping off the Heisman Watch list this week was USC HB William Mann (LW: #3).

[SmoothPancakes]

Ok, so Colorado State was apparently the addendum to the Hawaii game. A punt return for a touchdown, a kickoff return for a touchdown, TWO safeties (one for each team), sweet Jesus. These last couple games have been some serious odd ass games. I've seen things I've never seen before in an NCAA game.

As for Boise State and the rest of the schedule, this is going back on hiatus until probably Sunday at the earliest. I have a roughly 17 hour day tomorrow with an all day live drive from 6am to 7pm on one station, live drives from 8-10am and 3-5pm on another station, a HS football state title game at 11am, HS basketball at 7:30pm. I'm not going to be home once from 5:30am until 9:30pm at the earliest. Then I turn around Saturday morning, get up at 2:30am, work in studio from 3:30-8:30am, then spend the rest of the day at a live drive as the 13 hours from day one extends into a second day from 7am-3pm. Finally, after 3pm-ish on Saturday afternoon, my two days of hell come to a close and I can pass the hell out for the rest of the weekend.

[SmoothPancakes]

Here's the video from the game-winning pass/fumble/safety. One of the most bizarre damn plays I've ever seen.

[SmoothPancakes]

Game Nine





Game Story

--- In the midst of a surprising two game winning streak, we were going to be hard pressed to advance it to three in a row as an under-performing, but always dangerously talented Boise State team entered Romney Stadium. Head to head in ratings, Boise State was easily better than us on both offense and defense. Looking at national rankings, our offense had performed better to date than that of the Broncos, but their defense was one of the better ones in college football, entering #23 nationally in total defense, #37 nationally in rush defense and #27 nationally in pass defense. It was going to be a up-hill battle anyway we looked at it. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Travis Bolden gave Boise State the ball at their 27 yard line to start the game. The first down pass from Danny Chavis, intended for Kyle Young, was broken up by the defense near the first down line, leaving Boise State with an early second down. The second down pass from Chavis to Bolden was briefly caught along the first down line, before a well timed hit by safety Sam Vinson knocked the ball loose to bring up third down. The Broncos would find a way to get the first down, as Chavis threw a pass into the middle of the defense, a diving Young coming down with the ball for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 42 yard line. Put under immediate pressure by the first down blitz, Chavis was forced to throw the ball away to bring up another second down. Bringing the house on second down, our blitz would end up blowing up in our face, as a screen pass to Matt Pierce left him wide open along the right sideline, able to run his way along the sideline for a 34 yard gain, finally pushed out of bounds for a first down at our 25 yard line. A quick pass over the middle to Bolden ended up dropped by the receiver, setting up second and 10 for the third time this drive. A quick pass to Matt Morton picked up 10 yards on the play, Morton tackled just shy of the first down line to leave Boise State with third and inches. Chris Martin would take the handoff on first down and had no trouble picking up the first down, rushing for a gain of four yards to move the chains to our 11 yard line. Pierce would finish the drive off on first down, bouncing outside the right guard and taking it in for an 11 yard touchdown, giving Boise State a 7-0 lead with 7:27 left in the first quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return by David Douglas got us started from our 24 yard line. Starting our drive on the ground, Preston Roberson took the handoff up the middle for a 5 yard gain, followed by a two yard gain to leave us looking at third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Jason Barnes dropped back from under center and fired off a pass to Maurice Martin, the pass complete for a 24 yard gain and a big first down at the Boise State 45 yard line. Throwing from the shotgun on first down, Barnes found Travis Munoz over the middle for an 18 yard gain and another set of downs at the 27. The first down pass from Barnes to Douglas was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving us facing second down. Handing the ball off on second down, Roberson fought his way to a 7 yard gain to bring up third and three. The third down pass from Barnes, intended for Ryan Conley, was no good as Barnes got hit as he threw, forcing us to settle for three points. We wouldn’t even get that, as the 37 yard field goal by Doug Marcus was no good, bouncing off the right upright and landing in the end zone, giving Boise State the ball at their 20 yard line.

Lining up on first down, the Broncos came out passing again as Chavis tried to connect with Young over the middle, but the pass ended up behind the receiver and incomplete, leaving Boise State with a familiar second and 10. Our blitz would finally win a round on second down, as middle linebacker Justin Dunn came blitzing through between the right guard and tackle, chasing a scrambling Chavis down from behind to sack him for a 7 yard loss, setting up third and 17. A third down screen pass to Pierce initially hit him in the hands, but a well timed hit by Dunn was enough to jar the ball loose and incomplete, forcing Boise State to punt on fourth down. A 8 yard return by Roberson on the 38 yard punt set us up with beautiful field position at the Boise State 42 yard line.

Taking over at the Broncos 42 yard line after the punt, Roberson went to work on the ground on first down, taking the handoff for a two yard gain to leave second and 8. The second down pass intended for Munoz was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, and we were left with third down and 8. A quick pass to tight end Jack Long on a comeback route picked up 11 yards over the middle, saving our drive with a first down at the 30 yard line. Taking the ball on the ground on first down, Roberson was again limited to just a two yard gain. Trying to get a little tricky on second down, an attempt flea flicker ended in disaster as the blitzing defense blew the play up within moments of the snap, causing a fumble on the play. Left tackle Derek Smith would thankfully recover the fumble for our offense, but he would end up stumbling backwards while picking it up off the ground, tackled by the defense for a 10 yard loss on the play to bring up third and 18. Conley briefly had the first down for us, pulling in a pass from Barnes for what appeared to be a 20 yard gain, before a hit from behind by the safety knocked the ball loose and incomplete, leaving us punting on fourth and 18. The 38 yard punt would bounce down at the three yard line and roll into the end zone for a touchback, giving Boise State the ball at their 20 yard line.

Starting their drive on the ground, the Broncos pitched the ball to Pierce towards the right sideline, Pierce shaking off two tacklers before finally being dragged down for a one yard gain. That one yard gain would turn into extra however, as Dunn was flagged for a facemask penalty on the play, the 15 free yards setting Boise State up with a first down at the 36 yard line. Our defense would win a minor victory on first down, forcing Chavis to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, leaving second down. Pierce took the ball on the ground on second down, but our defense was ready and waiting, bringing him down for a gain of just two yards to bring up third and 8 for the offense. It would turn into a first down as Chavis connected with an open Bolden over the middle for a 16 yard gain, moving the chains to our 46 yard line. The defense would again screw up a first down play by the Broncos, as Chavis was again forced to get rid of the ball, throwing it out of bounds to bring up second down. P.J. Nance would keep the offense moving on second down, as a misread by our outside linebacker allowed Nance to get open near the left sideline and pull in a pass from Chavis for a 17 yard pickup and a first down at the 29. Going to the ground on first down, Pierce took the handoff for a three yard gain, followed by a 12 yard rush around the left tackle to give Boise State another first down at our 14 yard line. That would be the final play of the first quarter, Boise State holding onto a 7-0 lead.

Opening up the second quarter, Boise State lined up on first down from our 14 yard line. It would take them just one play to get back into the end zone as Eric Miles cut across the field and got open just a yard into the end zone, hauling in the pass from Chavis for a 14 yard touchdown to give Boise State a 14-0 lead with 8:57 left in the second quarter.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Douglas gave us the ball at our 26 yard line for our next drive. Handing the ball off on first down, Roberson plowed up the middle for a 5 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush that left us looking at third and two. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back and rifled a quick pass to Martin, but it wasn’t meant to be as the outside linebacker just got a hand on the ball to deflect it incomplete, and our punt team came out once more on fourth and short. A 38 yard punt out of bounds gave Boise State the ball at their 27 yard line.

Lining up on first down from their 27 yard line, Boise State came out passing, but the throw from Chavis to Bolden was dropped incomplete, leaving second and 10. Going with an empty backfield on second down, Chavis was able to avoid a sack and complete a pass to Morton, but the defense limited it to just a four yard gain, bringing up third and 6 for the offense. Our defense would fail against as Chavis hit Jason Henderson over the middle for a 22 yard gain, giving Boise State a first down at our 47 yard line, causing a chorus of boos from our, maybe, quarter capacity crowd. One could potentially make the case that Boise State’s fans outnumbered our own fans on our home field. Keeping the aerial assault going, Chavis hit Bolden for a four yard gain on first down, followed by a 5 yard pass to Henderson to set up third and one. Dunn would save our defense on third down, deflecting a pass intended for Jason Meyer along the right sideline to force fourth and short. Boise State, sitting at our 38 yard line, elected to go for it on fourth down. Despite lining up in a goal line defense to stop the assured run, it wouldn’t matter one bit as Pierce took the handoff and went straight up the middle through the heart of our defense, briefly breaking into the open before being dragged down from behind for a 14 yard gain, giving the Broncos a first down at our 24 yard line. Another handoff to Pierce picked up three yards, before our defense would finally come through on second down, Vinson blitzing in from the safety position and sacking Chavis from behind for a 7 yard loss to leave Boise State facing third and 14. Despite putting pressure on Chavis, he was able to step up in the pocket and fire a pass to the end zone intended for Miles. We would catch a break as Vinson came through again, getting his body in front of Miles to break up the pass and force Boise State to settle for a field goal on fourth down. It was shaping up to be a clanking kind of day, as the 45 yard field goal by Ben Richardson, kicked from the right hash mark, sailed across the face of the goal post and appeared to be going wide, until at the last moment it clanked off the left upright and fell into the end zone no good, giving us the ball at our 28 yard line. Thus far, one field goal attempt apiece, both teams have clanked a kick off the uprights, Utah State the right upright, Boise State the left upright. And ironically enough, both missed field goals happened on the very same goal post.

Taking over after the missed field goal, we came out with our rushing game leading the way, Roberson taking the first down handoff for an 8 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard dash around the right end to pick up a quick first down at the 41 yard line. Another rush by Roberson netted three yards, making it second and 7. Calling a play action pass on second down, Barnes was able to avoid being sacked from behind and rolled out to his right. Throwing on the run, Barnes was able to complete a pass to tight end Cedric McKinney, though the on the move throw left it underthrown and forced McKinney to come back for it, resulting in a completion for a gain of only four yards, leaving us lining up on third and three. Giving the ball to Roberson on third down, he was able to find a hole for a four yard gain and keep our drive moving, advancing the chains to the Boise State 48 yard line. Throwing on first down, Barnes connected with Munoz for a 9 yard gain, followed by Roberson being stood up for no gain to bring up third and one. Brian Paris came in on third down, fighting his way to a 5 yard gain to pick up the first down at the 34 yard line. Keeping through the air on first down, Barnes found Conley for a 9 yard gain, before a pass over the middle intended for Long was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, leaving third and one. Lining up on third down, Roberson received the handoff and went straight up the middle for a gain of three yards and a first down at the 21 yard line. Rushing to the line after the first down play, a quick audible into a play action pass was sufficient to keep the defense guessing, allowing McKinney to get open for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the 10 yard line, our first timeout called with 43 seconds left in the second quarter. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, the pass intended for Walter Johnson was broken up by the middle linebacker to bring up second down. We would finally reach the end zone on the next play, as the second down pass to Conley along the left hash was hauled in near the three yard line. From there, Conley was able to beat the descending safety to the goal line and his momentum carried him into the end zone for a 10 yard touchdown, cutting Boise State’s lead in half to 14-7 with 37 seconds left until halftime.

A 20 yard kickoff return by Pierce left Boise State starting from their 19 yard line, just 33 seconds left. Chavis dropped back on first down, but our coverage left no one open and forced him to attempt a bad pass to Pierce, the ball broken up and incomplete by our secondary to leave second down. Dropping back to pass once more, Chavis again came up pressure, managing to shake his way out of one sack and standing up in the pocket, only to get flattened from behind by 273 pound defensive end Kevin “Bubba” Tolbert, sacked for a 6 yard loss to leave third and 16. Boise State seemingly was content to just into halftime with the 7 point lead, as they didn’t call a timeout and huddled up after the sack, the clock down to 22 seconds and still ticking. That would in fact end up being the last play of the half as the clock ran out without another snap, and we headed into halftime, Boise State holding a 14-7 lead.

Opening up the second half, a 33 yard kickoff return by Douglas gave us the ball at our 33 yard line to start the third quarter. Roberson got us started on the ground with a two yard run, before Barnes tried to keep the ball himself on second down, only to get demolished for a three yard loss to bring up third and 11. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Barnes was able to connect with Munoz over the middle for a 16 yard gain, keeping our drive alive with a first down at the 49 yard line. Returning to the ground, Roberson was able to pick up four yards on the first down carry, followed by a three yard rush by Paris that left us facing third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back and threw a quick pass to Johnson for a 9 yard gain, moving the chains to the Boise State 36 yard line. A pair of rushes by Roberson only went for gains of two and four yards, leaving us lining up on third and four. Going into the air on third down, a dump pass to Dante May went for a four yard gain, but it wasn’t enough for the refs, as we were marked short, fourth and inches from the 26. Not trusting Marcus enough on a 43 yard field goal from the hash, we went for it on fourth down, Roberson taking the handoff up the middle for a 6 yard gain to pick up the first down at the 21 yard line. Roberson kept us moving on the ground with a four yard rush, followed by a three yard rush by Paris to leave third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back and rifled a quick pass to Johnson for a 5 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 9 yard line. Roberson took the handoff on first down, but was lucky if he even got one yard, leaving second and goal. An option pitch to Paris on second down only resulted in us going backwards, Paris tackled for a two yard loss to leave third and goal at the 10 yard line. The pass, intended for Martin over the middle, got deflected up in the air at the line of scrimmage. Conley tried to race over from the left side of the field and actually got his hands on the ball for a moment, but he was unable to hold on and it landed incomplete, bringing up fourth and goal. About to give the entire coaching staff a damn heart attack, the 27 yard field goal by Marcus sailed right towards the right upright, again, and clanked off the right upright, again! Very luckily for us, this time, instead of clanking dead center on the middle of the upright, hit at an angle from the left half, causing the ball to carom off the upright and miraculously through the goal post for three points to cap off the 16 play, 6:41 long drive, further cutting Boise State’s lead down to 14-10 with 2:19 left in the third quarter.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Bolden gave Boise State the ball at their 25 yard line, the Broncos looking to respond. Starting the drive in the air, Chavis fired up a pass to Miles for a quick 8 yard gain, leaving second and two. Turning to the ground, an end around by Miles picked up 6 yards and gave Boise State the first down at the 40 yard line. Our first down blitz would pan out, as Chavis was forced to throw the ball away to avoid being sacked, leaving second and 10 for the Broncos. Our blitz would be decidedly less effective on second down, as Chavis stepped up in the pocket this time and found Morton for a 22 yard gain, giving Boise State a first down at our 38 yard line. Pierce took the ball on first down, rushing for a four yard gain, followed by another handoff for a pickup of 11 yards and a first down at our 24 yard line. Keeping the ball himself, Chavis would take off running on first down, picking up a pair of blocks on his way to an 18 yard gain, sprinting all the way down to our 6 yard line where the Broncos would have first and goal. Pitching the ball to Pierce on first down, Boise State would go nowhere but backwards, Pierce instantly surrounded by blue jerseys and tackled for a loss of 5 yards, leaving Boise State with second and goal from our 11 yard line. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the clock hit all zeroes, Boise State holding a 14-10 lead and knocking on our front door.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Pierce would make up those lost yards from the previous play, taking the handoff around the right tackle and shedding a pair of tackles before finally being brought down for a 6 yard gain, the result bringing up third and goal from the 5 yard line. Trying to pass the ball on third down, Chavis found himself under immediate pressure as we brought the house, initially wrapped up by McBride from behind, before trying to dump the ball off to Bolden while in the process of being sacked. The ball would not reach its target, instead ending up in the thigh of the center and incomplete, forcing the Broncos to settle for a field goal on fourth and goal. The 22 yard field goal by Richardson was good, finally a kick that didn’t touch one of the uprights in any way, shape or form, giving Boise State a 17-10 lead with 8:31 left in the fourth quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Douglas gave us the ball at our 28 yard line, needing a touchdown to even things up. Starting our drive on the ground, Roberson took the first down handoff for a four yard gain, followed by a rush by Paris for no gain, leaving third and 5. Munoz would come through for us on third down with a 13 yard reception from Barnes, giving us a fresh set of downs at the 45 yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, Paris was stood up for a gain of only one yard, leaving second and 9. A second down pass across the field to Conley was good for a pickup of 11 yards, moving the chains once more to the Boise State 43 yard line. Keeping through the air on first down, Barnes tried to connect with Douglas deep down the right sideline, but the cornerback closed on the pass too quickly and broke it up to bring up second and 10. Aaron Allen would get us some positive yards on second down, pulling in a pass from Barnes for a 5 yard gain. A 9 yard catch by Paris over the middle would keep our drive moving with a first down at the 29 yard line. Roberson returned to the backfield on first down with a 9 yard rush up the middle, before Paris would get stood up for no gain to leave third and one. Going no huddle, we audibled to a play action pass out of the same formation, but while we would catch the defense slightly off guard, it ultimately wouldn’t matter as the pass caught by Johnson along the right hash would be dropped just moments later as the cornerback made contact on Johnson, the dropped pass leaving us with fourth and one. Needing a touchdown to tie, we decided to take our chances and go for it on fourth down. After the hard snap count failed to get Boise State to jump offside, we would run our play as designed, Barnes keeping it on the QB sneak, picking up two yards to give us a fresh breath of air and a new set of downs at the 18 yard line. Handing the ball off on first down, Paris got a massive hole up the middle, combined with plowing over a pair of Boise State defenders, Paris rushed his way to a 16 yard gain before being spun down to give us first and goal at the two yard line. Paris would finish the drive off on first down, dashing through the defense and into the end zone for a two yard touchdown, tying the game up at 17-17 with 3:52 left to play.

A 27 yard kickoff return by Pierce gave Boise State the ball at their 25 yard line, lining up in a whole brand new ballgame. Handing the ball off on first down, Pierce took the ball for an 8 yard gain around the right tackle, leaving second and two. Matt Daniels would pick up the first down with a two yard gain, giving Boise State a first down at the 35 yard line. Chavis kept the ball himself on first down, only gaining two yards on the play to leave second and 8. Cornerback Kevin Moore almost made the biggest defensive play of the game, getting between Young and the pass from Chavis, initially getting his hands onto the ball, but unable to complete the interception, instead dropping the ball incomplete to leave Boise State in possession on third and 8. We would catch a huge break on third down as Chavis again targeted Young, who this time was sprinting down the left sideline completely behind his secondary. Luckily for us, the pass from Chavis caught too much air and overshot Young by a good 10 yards, the incomplete pass forcing Boise State to punt the ball away on fourth and 8. A botched punt return by Douglas nearly screwed us, Douglas managing to just recover the 39 yard punt at our 33 yard line before a Boise State player could dive on it.

The botched punt would leave us starting our drive from our 33 yard line instead of potentially closer to midfield, just 2:27 left on the clock. Lining up on first down, Paris took the first down handoff up the middle for a three yard gain to leave second and 7. Lining up under center on second down, Barnes dropped back and threw a play action pass to McKinney, but the defense wouldn’t bite on the fake, the pass broken up incomplete to leave us facing third and 7. The third down pass intended for Conley would also end up broken up, and just like that, we were forced to punt the ball back on fourth down. A fair catch by Bolden on the 42 yard punt left Boise State lining up from their 21 yard line, just 1:35 remaining.

Lining up on first down at their 21 yard line, time was short for the Broncos. A first down screen pass to Pierce picked up 11 yards and a quick first down at the 32 yard line. Going no-huddle on first down, Chavis tried to launch a pass down the left sideline to Miles, but Moore was there to get in front of the ball and break it up, leaving second and 10, 1:22 left on the clock. Another screen pass to Pierce gained four yards to leave third and 6. It could have been so much more as a missed tackle left Pierce with nothing but green in front of him, but he would be unable to gain his balance and would fall down, limiting his gain on that play. Despite just 1:06 on the clock, Boise State didn’t call a timeout, and chose to huddle up, as they faced an important third down play. Boise State wouldn’t get anything out of the play as the pass from Chavis intended for Morton was off the mark and sailed out of bounds, leaving the Broncos punting the ball away on fourth and 6. Sending the house after the punt, we came up just short of blocking it, no return by Douglas on the 41 yard punt giving us the ball at our 22 yard line, 48 seconds left in the game.

Lining up in the shotgun on first down, we had a lot of yards to gain and little time to gain them. In the worst possible timing, the first down pass down the left sideline intended for Conley ended up being intercepted by safety Mike Washington for the game's first turnover, his momentum taking him out of bound without a return, giving Boise State the ball at our 46 yard line, 44 seconds remaining.

Lining up at our 46 yard line after the interception, the Broncos came out in the shotgun and needed just one play to set themselves up for victory, as Chavis connected with Bolden over the middle, Bolden able to break free from his defender and race up field before being tackled from behind for a 34 yard gain, giving Boise State a first down, dead center of the field, at our 12 yard line, our first timeout called with 37 seconds remaining. Boise State wasn’t about to just settle for a field goal, as Pierce took the first down handoff and rolled outside to the left, picking up a pair of blocks and finding his way into the end zone for a 12 yard touchdown, giving Boise State a 24-17 lead with 32 seconds left in the game.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Conley left us only starting at our 22 yard line, just 27 seconds remaining. A first down pass to Conley only gained 9 yards, forcing us to take our second timeout with 19 seconds left, facing second and one. Trying to hit Max Rhodes deep over the middle, the pass got broken up by the outside linebacker to leave us with third and short, 15 seconds to go. Another pass downfield, this time intended for Munoz, was again incomplete, and we lined up on fourth and one with 10 seconds to play. Rhodes would keep us on life support as he was able to pull in a pass from Barnes for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 45 yard line. Rushing to the line of scrimmage with 5 seconds left, we quick snapped it and Barnes rifled a pass to Munoz down the right sideline, but it again would be broken up, leaving second down and just one second left on the clock. Calling our last timeout to reorganize, we came out for the last play of the game. Praying for a successful Hail Mary, the pass deep down the middle to Allen near the 10 yard line would end like damn near every other pass did, broken up, and that was the game as Boise State walked out with a 24-17 win.

With the loss, we drop to 2-7, 2-3 in Mountain West action and are eliminated from bowl game eligibility. With the win, Boise State improves to 3-5, 3-1 in Mountain West play. Up next, it’s back on the road as we head to Colorado Springs to take on Air Force. The Falcons enter the game 5-3, 2-2 in Mountain West action. Air Force opened up their year with a 45-0 pounding of Georgia Southern and a 31-0 thrashing of Rutgers, before suffering a 17-10 loss to San Jose State, a 34-3 loss to Navy and a 25-21 loss at Nevada. The Falcons would break the losing streak and reverse trend, reeling off three straight wins, 30-24 over Hawaii and 17-14 at Wyoming, finishing with a huge win, knocking off ranked rival #18 Army 27-24 in overtime. That victory could cause issues for us, as we'd be entering enemy territory at the Air Force Academy, one week after they not only beat rival Army, but also beat a rival Army that was undefeated and ranked #18 at the time. Nothing like throwing fuel on a fire.

Final Score
24, 17




Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A mediocre day for Barnes, going 18-35 for 191 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 82 yards on 23 carries, Paris ended the day with 31 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries. Receiving, Munoz was the top receiver today with 56 yards on four catches. Next was Conley with 39 yards and the lone receiving touchdown on four receptions. In total, ten different receivers caught at least one pass today, seven of them ending with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – For the most part, a fairly good defense today. Collapsed on a couple drive that result in points for Boise State, but otherwise, held firm and put together some tough defensive stands that either forced Boise State to punt or left them attempting field goals.

Utah State Kicking – Perfection was elusive once again today. Marcus ended 1-2 in field goal attempts, successfully kicking a 27 yard field goal, but bouncing a 37 yard attempt off the right upright. He did at least go 2-2 in PATs.




Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
	7	7	0	10	24
	0	7	3	7	17

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
7:27		Touchdown	M. Pierce, 11 yard run (B. Richardson kick)	7-0
Second Quarter
8:57		Touchdown	E. Miles, 14 yard pass from D. Chavis (B. Richardson kick)	14-0
0:37		Touchdown	R. Conley, 10 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)	14-7
Third Quarter
2:19		Field Goal	D. Marcus, 27 yard field goal	14-10
Fourth Quarter
8:31		Field Goal	B. Richardson, 22 yard field goal	17-10
3:52		Touchdown	B. Paris, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)	TIED 17-17
0:32		Touchdown	M. Pierce, 12 yard run (B. Richardson kick)	24-17

Game Stats

Boise State	Stat	Utah State
24	Score	17
16	First Downs	18
313	Total Offense	303
21 - 94 - 2	Rushes - Yards - TD	35 - 112 - 1
15 - 33 - 1	Comp - Att - TD	18 - 35 - 1
219	Passing Yards	191
3	Times Sacked	0
4 - 10 (40%)	3rd Down Conversion	10 - 18 (55%)
1 - 1 (100%)	4th Down Conversion	3 - 3 (100%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	0 - 0 (0%)
4 - 3 - 1 (100%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	4 - 2 - 1 (75%)
0	Turnovers	1
0	Fumbles Lost	0
0	Intercepted	1
0	Punt Return Yards	8
93	Kick Return Yards	121
406	Total Yards	432
3 – 38.7	Punts - Average	3 - 39.3
0 - 0	Penalties	1 - 15
14:41	Time of Possession	21:19

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal	XP Reward	Completed
Score a Touchdown	25	x6
Rush for 100 Yards	25	x1
3+ Sacks	50	x1
Play in an ESPN Classic Game	75	x1
Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards	50	x1
Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards	50	x1
Pass Completion Over 50%	30	x1
10+ First Downs	50	x1
4+ 3rd Down Conversions	25	x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal	Expectations	Progress
Target Wins Per Season	7	2

Job Security Status

100%

[SmoothPancakes]

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Oklahoma fought off #15 TCU 31-21. #2 Ohio State smoked Maryland 42-17. #3 USC dominated #24 Arizona 41-10. In the game of the week, #8 Michigan State knocked off #4 Michigan 20-14. #5 Texas held off Kansas State 48-34. Ole Miss scored the upset of the week, knocking off #6 Texas A&M 24-17. #7 Virginia Tech beat Boston College 34-21. #9 Alabama manhandled LSU 47-17. #10 Baylor edged out Iowa State 24-13.

#12 Washington handled #25 Oregon 41-28. #13 Notre Dame beat Navy 41-20. #14 UCLA destroyed Stanford 48-10. #16 Auburn defeated Arkansas 35-21. #17 Louisville beat Syracuse 34-24. Air Force knocked off #18 Army 27-24 in overtime, ruining the perfect season of the Black Knights. #20 Northwestern survived Nebraska 27-24. #21 Georgia Tech topped Duke 38-17. Rutgers handed #22 Indiana their second straight upset loss, 26-21 and Wake Forest knocked off #23 Clemson 35-26.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 8-0 (5-0 Big Ten) with a 42-17 win over Maryland. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 4-3 (2-2 Big 12) with an extremely tight 37-35 win over Kansas, thanks to a 19 yard field goal with 12 seconds left. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 5-3 (4-0 C-USA) with a 44-41 win over Old Dominion. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 5-3 (2-3 Pac-12) with a 38-35 win over Oregon State. LeeSO, #16 Auburn improves to 7-2 (4-2 SEC) with a 35-21 win over Arkansas. SCClassof93, South Carolina improves to 6-3 (6-2 SEC) a 63-7 violation of Vanderbilt. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 6-1 (3-0 Sun Belt) with a 34-13 win over South Alabama. Florida International drops to 2-6 (2-2 C-USA) with a 38-10 loss to UAB. Navy drops to 5-4 (4-3 American) with a 41-20 loss to #13 Notre Dame. Tulsa drops to 4-5 (3-4 American) with a 14-7 loss to Houston.

In Mountain West action, Boise State beat Utah State 24-17, Nevada topped Colorado State 31-23, San Diego State edged out Hawaii 30-25, New Mexico beat Wyoming 14-7 in overtime, Fresno State topped UNLV 38-24 and Air Force knocked off #18 Army 27-24 in overtime.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #4 Michigan and #18 Army both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 3. #1 Oklahoma (7-0), #2 Ohio State (8-0) and #3 USC (9-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 2 teams still looking for their first win: UNLV (0-7), and UTSA (0-8).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Oklahoma (39 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (21 votes) remains #2, USC (1 vote) remains #3, Texas climbs one to #4 and Michigan State jumps three to #5. Virginia Tech moves up one to #6, Alabama jumps two to #7, Michigan drops four to #8, Baylor climbs one to #9 and Miami jumps one to #10. Washington climbs one to #11, Notre Dame moves up one to #12, UCLA jumps one to #13, Auburn climbs two to #14 and Louisville jumps two to #15. Texas A&M falls ten to #16, Penn State climbs two to #17, Northwestern jumps two to #18, Georgia Tech moves up two to #19 and TCU drops five to #20. Washington State enters the poll at #21, Oklahoma State enters the poll at #22, Kentucky enters the poll at #23, Army drops six to #24 and Arizona (183 points) drops one to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Indiana (from #22), Clemson (from #23) and Oregon (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Arizona State (176 points) is #26, followed by Louisiana-Lafayette (159), Ole Miss (125), South Carolina (114) and Central Florida (96) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Florida (70), West Virginia (55), Arkansas State (53) and Indiana (5).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Oklahoma (36 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (28 votes) remains #2, USC (1 vote) remains #3, Michigan State leaps four to #4 and Texas jumps one to #5. Virginia Tech climbs one to #6, Michigan drops three to #7, Miami moves up one to #8, Baylor climbs one to #9 and Alabama jumps one to #10. UCLA moves up one to #11, Notre Dame climbs one to #12, Washington jumps one to #13, Louisville climbs two to #14 and Texas A&M drops ten to #15. Auburn climbs one to #16, Georgia Tech moves up one to #17, Penn State jumps two to #18, Northwestern climbs two to #19 and TCU drops five to #20. Washington State enters the poll at #21, Oklahoma State enters the poll at #22, Arizona remains #23, Army drops five to #24 and Kentucky (165 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Indiana (from #22), Clemson (from #24) and Illinois (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Arizona State (141 points) is #26, followed by UCF (93), Florida (68), Ole Miss (63) and Louisiana-Lafayette (50) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points include West Virginia (11) and Arkansas State (8).

Taking a look at the new BCS rankings: #1 Oklahoma (1.000), #2 Ohio State (0.995), #3 USC (0.989), #4 Michigan State (0.981), #5 Texas (0.981), #6 Virginia Tech (0.974), #7 Michigan (0.966), #8 Alabama (0.960), #9 Miami (0.958) and #10 Notre Dame (0.942). Others: #15 Auburn (0.905).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #2 (LW: #2), Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #3 (LW: #3), Alabama QB Aaron Walters is #4 (LW: #4) and Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #5 (LW: #5). No one dropped off the Heisman Watch list this week.

Looking at Awards Semifinalists, middle linebacker Justin Dunn somehow qualified as a semifinalist for Best LB, though he is currently ranked #10 on the list.

Looking at the bowl picture, 14 teams punched their tickets this week, giving us 34 teams that have reached the 6 win plateau. 4 teams, including Utah State saw their bowl hopes end, leaving 80 teams still having a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave 114 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots.

[SmoothPancakes]

Well, that's it. It was a nice run, but I'm gonna be sitting at home this holiday season as my run of 10 straight bowl games as coach comes to an end.