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Summing up my thoughts on the end of the game.
Facemask penalty to give Utah an untimed down at our 38 yard line:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOvbvmPi-cI
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wcKpoAQKj4
The interception to end the game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fZCCAqoSwY
On a bye week, so lets get right into it.
Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State beat Northern Illinois 42-7. In the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, #18 Clemson knocked off #2 Texas A&M 56-39. Washington State shocked #3 USC 41-35. #4 Miami outgunned #22 Nebraska 37-28. In the game of the week, #6 Notre Dame beat #16 Louisville 48-30. #23 Oregon upset #7 Michigan State 38-31. #8 South Carolina fought off Georgia 54-45.
In the 2022 Cowboys Classic, Wisconsin knocked off #10 Alabama 49-40. #11 Stanford beat Colorado 35-24. #12 UCLA thrashed UNLV 42-3. #14 Georgia Tech blanked Tulane 45-0. #15 Florida topped Florida Atlantic 56-21. #17 Texas held off Rice 42-33. #20 Washington escaped Hawaii 27-21. #21 Virginia Tech throttled East Carolina 59-28. Auburn recovered from week one by knocking off #24 Kentucky 41-24. #25 Oregon State beat FCS Midwest 45-12.
For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State opens the year 1-0 (0-0 Big Ten) with a 42-7 win over Northern Illinois. Morsdraconis, West Virginia opens the year 1-0 (1-0 Big 12) with a 41-28 win over Texas Tech. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 1-1 (0-0 C-USA) with a 31-14 win over Texas State. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 1-1 (0-0 Pac-12) with a 39-24 win over FCS East. LeeSO, Auburn improves to 1-1 (1-0 SEC) with a 41-24 upset of #24 Kentucky. SCClassof93, #8 South Carolina improves to 2-0 (2-0 SEC) with a 54-45 win over Georgia. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State opens the year 0-1 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a 30-14 loss to Missouri. Florida International opens the year 1-0 (0-0 C-USA) with a 48-0 win over FCS East. Navy remains 0-0 (0-0 American) with a bye week. Tulsa remains 0-0 (0-0 American) with a bye week.
In Mountain West action, Air Force beat Old Dominion 31-14, Boise State beat BYU 34-14, New Mexico shocked NC State 38-14, Colorado State stunned Minnesota 28-22, UCLA slapped UNLV 42-3, Washington edged out Hawaii 27-21, Utah escaped Fresno State 45-38, California outlasted San Diego State 28-24, Arizona handled Nevada 47-21, Eastern Michigan topped Wyoming 28-14 and FCS Midwest knocked off San Jose State 24-21.
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (35 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Miami (23 votes) climbs two to #2, Oklahoma (1 vote) jumps two to #3, Notre Dame (1 vote) jumps two to #4 and South Carolina (1 vote) climbs three to #5. Michigan moves up three to #6, Stanford jumps four to #7, Texas A&M drops six to #8, UCLA climbs three to #9 and Florida State jumps three to #10. Georgia Tech moves up three to #11, USC drops nine to #12, Florida climbs two to #13, Michigan State falls seven to #14 and Clemson only climbs three to #15. Washington State enters the poll at #16, Texas remains #17, Central Florida climbs one to #18, Washington jumps one to #19 and Oregon climbs three to #20. Virginia Tech remains #21, Louisville drops six to #22, Alabama falls thirteen to #23, Oregon State climbs one to #24 and Nebraska (215 points) drops three to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Kentucky (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Connecticut (205 points) is #26, followed by Ole Miss (127), Auburn (117), Louisiana-Lafayette (51) and Cincinnati (14) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Virginia (14) and Maryland (1).
An early season look at the Heisman race, Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #1 (LW: #1), UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #2 (LW: #2), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #3 (LW: #3), Stanford QB Roger Langford is #4 (LW: NR) and Miami HB Tony Martinez is #5 (LW: #5). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Alabama HB Derek Scott (LW:#4).
One thing I'm thinking of, as I sit in the early second quarter against Michigan, I may have to up my quarter length.
Right now I'm sitting at 9 minutes per quarter, which I've been rolling with since my OC days at FIU on NCAA '12. Lately I've noticed, and especially so in the first quarter against Michigan, it is not all unusual anymore for me to chew up over half of a quarter on a single offensive drive. Unless I'm in a two minute offense or going up-tempo/no-huddle, I take my time on offense. I take my time choosing plays, I take my time lining up and reading the defense, and it is not at all unusual for me to snap the ball with only 5-10 seconds left on the play clock, even without chew clock turned on.
As a result, some games I've noticed, both myself and the CPU can struggle to reach even 50 or 60 offensive plays for the game. I'm debating on an increase in time to 10 or 11 minutes per quarter, see if maybe that will give both teams some increased offensive production and more snaps.
Game Two
:Utah_State: :@: #6 :Michigan:
Game Story
--- In one game we had already shown improvement over last season, earning a victory in the very first game of the season, instead of the seventh game of the season like last year. However, our “undefeated” record was going to be put right to the immediate test against the toughest opponent we would face the entire season, as we hit the road to the Big House to take on a big, tough, mean Michigan team ranked 6th in the nation, a Wolverines squad coming off of a win over a then-#23 ranked Oregon State team. To say that today was not going to be easy would be the understatement of all understatements.
While the sample size was small, with only one game to pull stats from, the stats Michigan put up in that one game were impressive to say the least. Against a ranked Oregon State team, Michigan put up 482 yards of offense (#17 nationally), 186 yards rushing (#30 nationally) and 296 yards passing (#22 nationally). Defensively, they only gave up 356 yards of offense (#35 nationally), 139 yards rushing (#36 nationally) and 217 yards passing (#53 nationally). On the flip side, in our one game, against a moderately decent Utah squad, we put up 365 yards of offense (#80 nationally), 207 yards rushing (#22 nationally) and 158 yards passing (#103 nationally). Defensively, we only gave up 228 yards of offense (#7 nationally), 36 yards rushing (#2 nationally) and 192 yards passing (#34 nationally).
We would quickly find out whether or not those defensive ratings were grossly overrated. Needless to say, we weren’t going to get much love from the pundits, nor from Vegas, who had Michigan as a 27.5 point favorite in this game. Michigan won the coin toss and elected to kick, putting our offense on the spot right away.
A 17 yard kickoff return by Eric McGuire got us started at our 24 yard line for our first drive of the game. Matt Leierer took the first down handoff up the middle for a four yard gain to get the drive underway. A third rush by Leierer went for a 7 yard gain and we were able to get an early first down at the 35 yard line. Another rush by Leierer gained four more yards, followed by a 5 yard gain to set up third and one. Tyson Taylor came in on third down and took the handoff, fighting his way to a two yard gain to reset the downs at the 46 yard line. Continuing to pound away on the ground, Leierer could only pick up one yard on the first down carry, the defensive stop sending the already deafening crowd into a fury. Taking advantage of our run, run and run some more start, the second down play action pass caught Michigan cheating, allowing Raymond Watson to get open from the tight end slot for an 18 yard gain and a first down at the Michigan 35 yard line. A first down rush by Leierer gained three yards, before a second down power option attempt resulted in Adam Powers being tackled for a one yard loss, bringing up third and 8. Despite the roaring crowd, we would somehow get the first down on the third down pass. Powers threw over the middle, the pass intended for Dre Martin, only to have the ball broken up by the middle linebacker. However, before the ball hit the ground, McGuire was able to snag the ball out of the air for what was ruled on the field as a 10 yard completion and a first down at the 23 yard line. The play wouldn’t be reviewed, and whether it really was a catch or not could now no longer be questioned as we snapped the ball, Leierer taking the handoff on first down for a four yard gain. Taylor would enter the backfield on second down, fighting forward for a 7 yard gain on the ground to give us yet another first down at the 13. Lining up under center on first down, Powers dropped back and quickly rifled a pass over the middle to tight end Jack Long, who briefly pulled in the pass near the two yard line before being flattened by both safeties to knock it incomplete. Another pass over the middle, this time to Taylor, was again briefly caught before being jarred loose by a tackle, leaving us with third down. The third time would prove to be the charm as a pass off near the right sideline to Greg Miller was completed for a 12 yard gain, setting us up with first and goal from the one yard line. A one yard rush by Leierer moved the ball just inches away from the goal line, but not enough for the touchdown, leaving second and goal. A second attempt by Leierer would get the job done and he punched it in for the one yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 2:35 left in the first quarter and stunning the crowd to near total silence. Needless to say, if we had any hope of winning today, we were going to have to have drives exactly like that. A drive that lasted 17 plays and chewed up over two-thirds of the entire first quarter, keeping Michigan’s potent offense stuck sitting and watching from the sidelines.
A 28 yard kickoff return by Michael Muse however unleashed that potent offense, as the Wolverines lined up for their first drive of the game from the 28 yard line. Our blitz at least momentarily was effective, limiting the first down rush by Ray Smith to just a one yard gain, bringing up second and 9. Another rush by Smith went for a gain of 6, setting up third and three. The offense for Michigan started to show their skill, as Smith took the handoff on third down, rushing straight up the middle through the heart of our defense for a 13 yard gain, picking up the first down at the 48 yard line. Selling out on the blitz on first down would only serve to screw us, as Carl Ginn faked the handoff and quickly took a three step drop back, chucking up a pass to a wide open, completely uncovered Freddie Hall, who torched us for a 46 yard completion before finally being pushed out of bounds to give Michigan first and goal at our 6 yard line. A pitch to the right to Smith gained two yards, setting up second and goal at the four. Muse would cap off the drive on second down, taking the handoff around the left tackle and scurrying into the end zone for a four yard touchdown, tying the game back up at 7-7 with 41 seconds left in the first quarter.
A 14 yard kickoff return by Leonard Hart left us starting at our 22 yard line. A first down carry by Leierer only gained two yards, followed by a four yard rush to leave third and four. That would be the final play as the clock ran out, ending the first quarter knotted up at 7-7.
Opening the second quarter, we lined up in the shotgun on third and four, as Powers rifled a pass right by the head of the outside linebacker and into the hands of Taylor, the pass complete for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 41 yard line. A first down rush by Leierer resulted in a one yard loss as the defense filled the backfield in an instant, leaving second and 11. The second down pass intended for McGuire was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, setting up third and long. Dropping into the shotgun on third down, Powers went right back to McGuire, connecting with him for a 16 yard completion and a big first down to keep our drive alive at the Michigan 43 yard line. A first down carry by Leierer went for an 8 yard gain, followed by a one yard loss to leave third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Powers dropped back and quickly threw to Cedric McKinney, the pass complete for a 9 yard gain and a first down at the 28. Going into the shotgun on first down, trips to the right and a convergence of passing routes left Michigan’s secondary running into each other, allowing Adam Washington to get open on a flag route for a 23 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 5 yard line, the crowd entirely deflated and taken out of the game by now. Leierer received the handoff on first down, but was stood up for no gain to leave second and goal. Another rush by Leierer resulted in a three yard gain, leaving third and goal at the two yard line. Taking our chances on the ground, the crowd livened for third down. Leierer took the handoff and found the slimmest of holes to dive through hand avoid the closing defense, scoring a two yard touchdown and giving us a stunning 14-7 lead with 4:45 left in the second quarter.
A 27 yard kickoff return by Michael Bates gave Michigan the ball at their 27 yard line. The drive got off to a poor start as the first down pass ended up sailing out of bounds and incomplete. It would get worse as the Wolverines tried to run an option play on second down, Ginn tackled for a four yard loss to leave third and 14. As has become the norm, our defense would screw the pooch on third down, as a very drawn out screen pass from Ginn to Smith left our defense chasing after Smith, finally managing to drive him out of bounds after a 37 yard reception, giving Michigan a first down at our 40 yard line. Ginn would drop back to pass on first down, forced to roll out from the pressure, but instead of getting rid of the ball, ended up dragged down from behind and sacked for a 7 yard loss, leaving second and 17. The offense would make up some of the lost yards as Ginn connected with Heath McAfee for a 6 yard gain near the left sideline, but Michigan was still left facing third and 11. Bringing the blitz on third down would result in a victory for our defense, sacking Ginn a second time this drive, this time for a 5 yard loss to leave the Wolverines punting on fourth and 16. No return by McGuire on the 40 yard punt left us starting at our 6 yard line.
Lining up deep in our territory, Leierer got the drive started with a 7 yard rush, followed by a two yard gain to leave third and one. Keeping it on the ground on third down, Leierer would get shut down for no gain, leaving us with fourth and one, Michigan calling their first timeout with 1:47 left in the half. A 21 yard return by Muse on the 40 yard punt left Michigan with great field position at our 35 yard line.
Taking over after the punt, the Wolverines came out passing as Ginn found Hakim Watson for a quick 12 yard strike and a first down at the 23 yard line. Ginn dropped back to pass on first down, but quickly attempted to scramble to avoid the blitz, ending up sacked in the process for a three yard loss, leaving second and 13. In a shocking turn of events, Ginn chucked up a very dangerous pass into double coverage, trying to connect with Alex King near the 18 yard line. Instead, the pass would end up intercepted by cornerback Charles Noble, who proceeded to return it 19 yards to our 40 yard line before losing his balance and stumbling to the ground, giving us back the ball with 50 seconds remaining in the half.
Returning to the field after the interception, we came out looking to quickly move the ball down the field. The first down pass from Powers down the left sideline, intended for McGuire, ended up broken up by the cornerback, leaving second down. Washington would get us moving with a 12 yard reception along the right sideline, tackled out of bounds for a first down at the Michigan 48 yard line, stopping the clock with 42 seconds to go. We would end up giving the ball right back to Michigan as the first down pass intended for Max Rhodes was intercepted by safety Dan Holycross, returned 12 yards to give the Wolverines possession at their 45 yard line with 33 seconds to go.
Our defense would again break Michigan’s pass coverage and turn Ginn into a piņata, sacking him for a huge 9 yard loss to leave second and 19 and force Michigan to call their second timeout with 29 seconds remaining. Ginn would prove on second down that he does have some legs if he can escape our defense, scrambling to avoid the pass rush and getting into open field, running down the right sideline for a 26 yard gain before finally being shoved out of bounds at our 37 yard line with 21 seconds to go. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Ginn threw underneath to Jon Ford, who was quickly tackled for a three yard gain before he could get out of bounds. With the clock still running, Michigan quickly lined up and snapped the ball, Ginn throwing along the right sideline to Nick Rogers, who was tackled short of the first down for a 6 yard gain, as well as tackled in bounds, forcing Michigan to burn their third and final timeout with three seconds left, facing third and one at our 29 yard line. Instead of attempting the lengthy field goal, the Wolverines went for it on third down, Ginn chucking the ball into the pile of Michigan and Utah State bodies in the end zone, but the ball would end up batted down incomplete, sending us into halftime with a shocking 14-7 lead that would have people nationwide taking notice.
Opening up the second half, Muse returned the kickoff 22 yards to give Michigan the ball at the 21 yard line to start the third quarter. Dropping back to pass on first down, Ginn threw a pass over the middle to a wide open Michael Bates, only to have Butterfingers dropp the pass incomplete, bringing up second down. Another screen pass on second down would end disastrously for our defense, as Smith caught the pass and took it up the left sideline, breaking two tackles and outrunning the rest of our defense for a 79 yard touchdown reception, tying the game back up at 14-14 just two plays into the second half with 8:41 left in the third quarter.
A 16 yard kickoff return by Hart gave us the ball at our 24 yard line, looking for an answer as the hostile crowd returned to life. Leierer took the first down handoff, fighting his way to a two yard gain, followed by a three yard rush that left us with third and 5. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Powers tried to fire a ball over the middle to Martin, but the ball ended up broken up by the cornerback, forcing us to punt on fourth down. It would instantly get worse as Muse fielded the punt, getting some big blocks to the left side of the field and took the return straight up the sideline, outracing multiple diving tackle attempts for a 69 yard punt return touchdown, giving Michigan their first lead of the game, 21-14 with 7:28 left in the third quarter.
A huge 49 yard kickoff return by Hart gave us the ball with excellent field position, starting at the Michigan 41 yard line and looking to stop the bleeding. Leierer took the ball on first down, but the reenergized Michigan defense stifled him for a gain of just one yard, leaving second and long. Going into the air on second down, we lined up in the shotgun as Powers dropped back and threw a pass to Rhodes, good for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the 29 yard line. Another pass from the shotgun, intended for McGuire, nearly found the hands of the middle linebacker, the pass broken up to leave second and long. Dumping off the ball underneath on second down, Powers was able to connect with Miller for a 5 yard gain, leaving us a reasonably manageable third and 5. Lining up under center on third down, Powers dropped back and hurled a quick pass up the middle to Long, complete for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 12 yard line. The first down rush by Leierer gained only two yards to leave second and 8. Running a play action pass on second down, the defense bit just enough to allow Watson to get open on a flag route, hauling in the pass at the one yard line and turning into the end zone just in front of the safety for a 10 yard touchdown, knotting things up once more at 21-21 and again stunning the home crowd.
Our special teams again nearly blew things for us, as Muse took the kickoff straight up the right sideline for a 59 yard return, only finally driven out of bounds by kicker Doug Marcus at our 40 yard line. Smith took the ball on first down straight up the middle for a 7 yard gain, followed by a three yard carry to get the first down at our 30 yard line. Going into the air on first down, McAfee would claim the Butterfingers honor, as the pass that hit him squarely in the hands was dropped, ruining a chance Michigan had for a big gain with no defender within 5 yards of him. Despite bringing the heat on second down, Ginn kept the ball on second down with a QB read play, and found room to run around the right tackle for an 11 yard gain before finally being spun down for a first down at our 19 yard line. Smith would cap the drive off on first down, taking the handoff from Ginn and running around the right end, right past three defenders who failed to react in time, taking it in for the 19 yard touchdown to give Michigan a 28-21 lead with 3:55 left in the third quarter.
A 17 yard kickoff return by McGuire left us starting at our 25 yard line, looking to once again stem the bleeding. A first down rush by Leierer nearly ended in disaster as he was stripped of the ball, tight end Long diving on the loose ball to recover it for our offense, Long ultimately credited with the three yard gain on the play that left us with second and 7. Another rush by Leierer would pick up 5 yards, setting up third and two. Not trusting Leierer to get the job done this time on third down, we lined up in the shotgun, Powers dumping off a quick pass to Taylor that resulted in a three yard gain and a first down at the 37. Trying our luck on first down, we lined up in 5 wide, Powers chucking the ball deep intended for Martin, but the ball was broken up by the cornerback at the Michigan 15 yard line, leaving second and 10. Staying in the air on second down, the pass over the middle intended for Martin was nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker, but he was unable to hold onto the ball and dropped it incomplete, keeping it in our possession with third and long. Rhodes would keep us breathing on third down, hauling in a pass from Powers and just getting to the first down line for a 10 yard completion, moving the chains at the 47 yard line. A 6 yard rush on first down by Leierer was followed by a gain of just one yard, leaving third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Powers dropped back and hurled a quick pass to McGuire on a slant, the toss complete for a 5 yard gain to extend our drive at the Michigan 42 yard line. Martin would keep us moving on first down, hauling in a pass from Powers for a 12 yard gain and another reset of the downs at the 30 yard line. Looking to connect with McKinney over the middle on first down, he was briefly able to pull in the pass from Powers, but lost the ball as he was hit by the safety, the incompletion bringing up second down. Another incomplete pass, this time intended for McGuire, brought up third and 10. Third time would be the charm as Powers would connect with McGuire this time around, this time for a 30 yard touchdown pass as McGuire was able to snake his way between the secondary, knotting the game up once again at 28-28 with three seconds left in the third quarter.
A 26 yard kickoff return by Muse to the 26 yard line would bring the third quarter to a close, the score all tied up at 28-28 in a game that nobody in the nation saw playing out like this.
Opening up the fourth quarter, Michigan lined up to start their drive at the 26 yard line, the Wolverines still trying to pull away from our scrappy Utah State squad. It didn’t take Michigan to start lighting our defense up, as Smith took the first down handoff right up the middle for an 11 yard gain, advancing the chains to the 37. Ginn briefly dropped back to pass, before quickly taking off in a scramble attempt, only to scramble right into our defensive line and end up sacked for a two yard loss, bringing up second and 12. Smith took the ball on second down, trying to find a lane around the left end only to end up tackled for a one yard gain, leaving third and 11. The defense would win again on third down, as defensive end Caleb McBride broke through his blocker and hit Ginn, knocking the ball loose. While a Michigan lineman would recover the fumble, it was ultimately marked down in the book as a sack for an 8 yard loss, forcing Michigan’s punt team onto the field on fourth and 23. Our special teams would once again screw us, this time as McGuire bobbled the punt return, the fumbled ball recovered by a Michigan gunner to give the ball right back to the Wolverines at our 36 yard line.
Michigan lined up on first down from our 36 yard line after the fumbled punt return. Smith wasted little time in taking advantage of the turn of events, receiving the first down handoff, racing around the left end and sprinting up the sideline for a 29 yard rush to give Michigan first and goal from our 7 yard line, a desperation dive that forced him out of bounds the only thing that kept it from being a touchdown run. Dropping back to pass on first down, Ginn found a wide open field in front of him as the offensive line drove our pass rush out of the way, allowing Ginn to take off scrambling and punch it in himself for a 7 yard touchdown, giving Michigan a 35-28 lead with 7:11 left in the game.
An 18 yard kickoff return by McGuire gave us the ball at our 25 yard line and in dire need of points. Starting our drive in the shotgun, Powers quickly hit Martin over the middle for a 6 yard gain, before a pass up the middle to Long gained 12 yards, giving us a first down at the 44 yard line. A first down pass intended for Watson was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, bringing up second down. McGuire would keep us moving with a 13 yard reception over the middle, moving the chains to the Michigan 43 yard line. A first down pass to Washington along the right sideline was briefly caught, but a hit to the back by the safety knocked it loose to bring up second down. Martin would come through for us on second down, as the blitz by the defense left the middle of the field completely uncovered, allowing Martin to pull in the pass from Powers for a 15 yard gain and another first down at the 28 yard line. A risky pass over the middle to Taylor paid off, as Powers whistled that pass just over the head of the middle linebacker and into the hands of Taylor for a 16 yard reception, giving us a new set of downs at the 12 yard line. The first down pass intended for Miller was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, leaving us with second down. Rhodes would push us forward with a 9 yard reception over the middle, leaving third and one at the three yard line. Taking a chance on the ground, Leierer took the third down handoff and dived forward for a miraculous two yard gain, giving us first and goal at the one yard line. Leierer received the handoff on first down, but was instantly hit in the backfield for a one yard loss, leaving second and goal at the two yard line. Another rush attempt by Leierer resulted in no gain, bringing up third and goal at the two. Lining up under center on third down, Powers took a shot through the air on a pair of quick slant routes, but he would be unable to get the pass off, hit as he tried to throw resulting in an incomplete pass and leaving us with fourth and goal. With only 3:12 remaining in the game and a field goal doing us absolutely no good, we had no choice but to go for it on fourth down. We were forced to call our first timeout of the half to set up the play, as the play clock starting running out before we could get lined up. Looking to catch the defense by surprise, we took a major gamble, running a play action pass on fourth down. While the defense did bite a little bit, it wasn’t enough as the Wolverines were able to break up the pass intended for Long in the back of the end zone, albeit with a painful looking jumping, half twisting, behind the back swat to knock the ball down, forcing the turnover on downs and giving Michigan the ball at their two yard line with 3:08 remaining in the game.
Lining up on first down in the run game, Michigan was going to have to earn these yards, as we brought the house on first down. Ryan Griffin took the ball on first down, rushing up the middle for a 5 yard gain. We would get some help from Michigan’s offensive line on second down. While trying to run down the clock and running a hard snap count, the right tackle flinched and was flagged for false start, pushing the Wolverines back four yards to leave second and 9 at the four yard line, as well as stopping the clock for us, keeping them from being able to run it down for another 12 seconds. Smith got the call on second down, rushing for a gain of only one yard to leave third and 8, our second timeout called with 2:27 remaining. It would all be for nothing as Smith took the ball again on third down, breaking four separate tackle attempts and pushing his way forward for a 9 yard gain, finally driven out of bounds to give Michigan a first down at the 13 yard line. Brining the entire house on first down, it would end up supremely biting us in the ass as Michigan ran a fake and instead of handing the ball off, Ginn dropped back three steps and rifled a pass to McAfee. McAfee shook loose from his coverage and with a downfield block eliminating the only remaining Aggies defender in front of him, took it up the sideline unchallenged for an 87 yard touchdown, giving Michigan a 42-28 lead with 1:40 left in the game.
A 17 yard kickoff return by McGuire gave us the ball at our 26 yard line, just 1:37 left and down by two scores. Anything short of a miracle today would not be enough. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Powers hurled a quick pass over the middle to Martin for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down at the 38 yard line. Hurrying to the line, Powers took a shot deep, trying to connect with McGuire, but the pass got broken up to leave second down. Another pass intended for McGuire again got broken up by the defense, bringing up third and long. Martin would keep us on life support with a 17 yard reception over the middle, giving us a first down at the Michigan 45 yard line. The plug would be yanked out on that life support one play later, as a pass over the middle intended for Rhodes was intercepted by outside linebacker Davon Barr, returned 9 yards to give Michigan the ball at our 49 yard line with 1:07 left on the clock and no way to get the ball back.
Lining up on first down after the interception, Michigan came out running the ball as Smith took the handoff around the left end for a 7 yard gain, our final timeout worthlessly called to stop the clock with 1:01 remaining in the game, only delaying the inevitable. Rubbing salt into the already hemorrhaging wound, our defense would find one last way to faceplant and fail, as Smith took the second down handoff around the right end, beating our containment and racing up the right sideline, beating a last desperation dive by Hart to take it in for a 42 yard touchdown, increasing Michigan’s lead to 49-28 with 53 seconds left in the game.
A 20 yard kickoff return by Hart gave us the ball at our 29 yard line, just 48 seconds left in the contest. With nothing left to play for, we decided what the hell and subbed in our second team offense, hoping to give them at least two or three plays of offensive experience in one of the top college stadiums in the nation. It would end up being just one play, as the first down pass over the middle from Jason Barnes, intended for Rhodes, was intercepted by middle linebacker Melvin Williams, who returned it 11 yards to our 24 yard line to give Michigan back possession with 42 seconds remaining.
Lining up after the interception, Ginn would twice drop to a knee and run out the remaining time on the clock, giving Michigan the 49-28, harder than expected fought, victory.
With the loss, we drop to 1-1, 0-0 in Mountain West action. With the win, Michigan improves to 2-0, 0-0 in Big Ten play. Up next, we get another bye week before finally heading home for the first time this season as we host BYU in a battle for the Old Wagon Wheel, as well as the Beehive Boot. The Cougars enter the game 1-3 on the season. BYU opened their year losing at #24 Nebraska 45-13 and losing to Boise State 34-14. The Cougars would get into the win column by a victory at Southern Miss 52-28, before losing to #6 Michigan 59-17.
Final Score
#6 :Michigan: 49, :Utah_State: 28
Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - Another rough day for Powers as he ends the day 25-44 for 309 yards and two touchdown, but also two interceptions. Barnes, in only one play of the game, ended 0-1 with one interception. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 77 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries, Taylor had 9 yards on two rushes, Long had three yards on one rush and Powers ended with negative one yard on one rush. Receiving, McGuire led the way with 74 yards and a touchdown on five receptions. Watson had 28 yards and the other receiving touchdown on two catches. In total, nine receivers caught at least one pass today and eight of them ended with double digit yards.
Utah State Defense/Special Teams – About what I expected defensively, and for the first half, better in fact. Our defense did an incredible job in the first half, limiting the Michigan offense to only a couple of drives and only 7 points. The second half however, they started to show their fatigue, as Michigan wrecked them for 42 points in the third and fourth quarters, with touchdown passes of 79 yards and 19 yards and touchdown runs of 42 yards and 7 yards, as well as multiple broken tackles, multiple missed tackles and multiple failed chances to stop the Wolverines from picking up a first down. Special teams was especially horrible, giving up a 69 yard punt return for a touchdown, as well as a fumble on one of our punt returns that ended up giving Michigan back the ball deep in our territory and let the Wolverines take the lead for good at 35-28.
Utah State Kicking – Another perfect day for Marcus, only because he didn't attempt any field goals. He did go 4-4 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score :Utah_State: 7 7 14 0 28 :Michigan: 7 0 21 21 49
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 2:35 :Utah_State: Touchdown M. Leierer, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 7-0 0:41 :Michigan: Touchdown M. Muse, 4 yard run (G. Smith kick) TIED 7-7 Second Quarter 4:45 :Utah_State: Touchdown M. Leierer, 3 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 14-7 Third Quarter 8:41 :Michigan: Touchdown R. Smith, 79 yard pass from C. Ginn (G. Smith kick) TIED 14-14 7:28 :Michigan: Touchdown M. Muse, returned punt 69 yards (G. Smith kick) :Michigan: 21-14 5:00 :Utah_State: Touchdown R. Watson, 10 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick) TIED 21-21 3:55 :Michigan: Touchdown R. Smith, 19 yard run (G. Smith kick) :Michigan: 28-21 0:03 :Utah_State: Touchdown E. McGuire, 30 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick) TIED 28-28 Fourth Quarter 7:11 :Michigan: Touchdown C. Ginn, 7 yard run (G. Smith kick) :Michigan: 35-28 1:40 :Michigan: Touchdown H. McAfee, 87 yard pass from C. Ginn (G. Smith kick) :Michigan: 42-28 0:53 :Michigan: Touchdown R. Smith, 42 yard run (G. Smith kick) :Michigan: 49-28
Game Stats
Utah State Stat Michigan 28 Score 49 24 First Downs 10 397 Total Offense 439 34 - 88 - 2 Rushes - Yards - TD 28 - 163 - 4 25 - 45 - 2 Comp - Att - TD 8 - 13 - 2 309 Passing Yards 276 0 Times Sacked 6 14 - 17 (82%) 3rd Down Conversion 3 - 6 (50%) 0 - 1 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 0 - 0 (0%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 4 - 3 - 0 (75%) Red Zone - TD - FG 3 - 3 - 0 (100%) 4 Turnovers 1 1 Fumbles Lost 0 3 Intercepted 1 0 Punt Return Yards 90 164 Kick Return Yards 160 561 Total Yards 689 2 – 40.0 Punts - Average 2 - 40.0 0 - 0 Penalties 1 - 4 23:39 Time of Possession 12:21
Utah State Coach Goals
Goal XP Reward Completed Score a Touchdown 25 x4 Force a Turnover 25 x1 Pass for 250 Yards 25 x1 3+ Sacks 50 x1 Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards 50 x1 Pass Completion Over 50% 30 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
97%
Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week, #1 Ohio State handled #21 Virginia Tech 38-21. #3 Oklahoma, after being tied 21-21 at halftime and leading only 35-28 in the early fourth quarter, hammered Fresno State 56-28. #4 Notre Dame dropped Purdue 41-14. #5 South Carolina thrashed East Carolina 45-7. #6 Michigan beat Utah State 49-28. #7 Stanford edged Arizona State 38-28. #9 UCLA humiliated Nevada 49-6. #10 Florida State pulled away from Virginia 38-24.
#11 Georgia Tech topped Wake Forest 38-10. #12 USC beat #24 Oregon State 41-17. #13 Florida handled Ole Miss 24-7. #14 Michigan State demolished Central Michigan 48-3. #15 Clemson obliterated Tulane 45-3. Wyoming shocked #16 Washington State 27-24. Penn State knocked off #18 Central Florida 42-14. #19 Washington held off Boise State 38-17. #20 Oregon topped Georgia State 41-17. Kentucky knocked off #22 Louisville. #23 Alabama held off Vanderbilt 36-24. #25 Nebraska beat Maryland 52-24.
For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 2-0 (0-0 Big Ten) with a 38-21 win over #21 Virginia Tech. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 2-0 (1-0 Big 12) with a 42-10 win over FCS East. Souljahbill, Southern Miss falls to 1-2 (0-0 C-USA) with a 52-28 loss to BYU. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 1-2 (0-1 Pac-12) with a 38-28 loss to #7 Stanford. LeeSO, Auburn improves to 2-1 (2-0 SEC) with a 38-24 win over Mississippi State. SCClassof93, #5 South Carolina improves to 3-0 (2-0 SEC) with a 45-7 win over East Carolina. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 1-1 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a 34-6 win over FCS Northwest. Florida International remains 1-0 (0-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Navy opens the year 1-0 (1-0 American) with a 38-21 win over SMU. Tulsa opens the year 1-0 (0-0 American) with a 47-27 win over Florida Atlantic.
In Mountain West action, Wyoming knocked off #16 Washington State 27-24, Hawaii topped FCS Midwest 28-18, San Diego State beat FCS Midwest 41-24, #3 Oklahoma manhandled Fresno State 56-28, #6 Michigan trounced Utah State 49-28, #9 UCLA dominated Nevada 49-6, #19 Washington topped Boise State 38-17 and Pittsburgh beat San Jose State 28-10.
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (38 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Miami (22 votes) remains #2, Oklahoma (1 vote) remains #3, Notre Dame remains #4 and South Carolina remains #5. Michigan remains #6, Stanford remains #7, Texas A&M remains #8, UCLA remains #9 and Florida State remains #10. Georgia Tech remains #11, USC remains #12, Florida remains #13, Michigan State remains #14 and Clemson remains #15. Texas climbs one to #16, Washington jumps two to #17, Oregon moves up two to #18, Alabama jumps four to #19 and Virginia Tech climbs one to #20. Nebraska jumps four to #21, Connecticut enters the poll at #22, Central Florida drops five to #23, Penn State enters the poll at #24 and Auburn (161 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Washington State (from #16), Louisville (from #22) and Oregon State (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Louisiana-Lafayette (139 points) is #26, followed by Kentucky (128), Cincinnati (105), Oregon State (71) and Louisville (71) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Marshall (60), Arizona (55), Wisconsin (36) and Ole Miss (29).
An early season look at the Heisman race, Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #1 (LW: #1), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #2 (LW: #3), UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #3 (LW: #2), Stanford QB Roger Langford is #4 (LW: #4) and Auburn HB Nick Bowers is #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Miami HB Tony Martinez (LW: #5).
I have to say, despite how badly our offense, defense and special teams all screwed the pooch in the fourth quarter, I'm damn proud of them. To go into the Big House, against the #6 ranked team in the nation, and put up that kind of a fight. Hold Michigan to just a single touchdown for the entire first half, have a 14-7 halftime lead, be tied with them at the end of the third quarter, that is one hell of an impressive showing by our team. Taking away the collapse in the fourth quarter, and the defense/special teams failures in the third quarter, that was one of the best damn performances by our team my entire team at Utah State. If they can keep playing like that and come out and perform like that in future games, we can make some noise this year and at the minimum get over the 6-win hump.
Rolling on with another bye week.
Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State beat Minnesota 49-24. #3 Oklahoma escaped Tulsa 31-24. #4 Notre Dame dropped Syracuse 41-24. #9 Texas A&M knocked off #5 South Carolina 38-16. #6 Michigan routed BYU 59-17. #7 Stanford escaped Arizona 42-38. #8 UCLA doubled up Washington State 56-28. #10 Florida State held off Duke 34-21. #11 Georgia Tech beat NC State 45-10. #12 USC topped California 35-23. #13 Florida edged Tennessee 34-24.
Ohio toppled #14 Michigan State 40-14. #15 Clemson beat North Carolina 45-26. Louisiana-Lafayette shocked #17 Washington 28-9. San Diego State stunned #18 Oregon 35-28. #19 Alabama smoked Colorado State 48-21. #20 Virginia Tech hammered Georgia State 49-13. #21 Nebraska defeated South Alabama 34-13. #22 Connecticut topped Houston 42-35. #23 Central Florida beat Middle Tennessee State 27-17. Northwestern upset #24 Penn State 36-22. #25 Auburn beat Idaho 45-27.
For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 3-0 (1-0 Big Ten) with a 49-24 win over Minnesota. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 2-1 (1-0 Big 12) with a 38-31 loss to Maryland. Souljahbill, Southern Miss remains 1-2 (0-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 2-2 (0-1 Pac-12) with a 45-17 win over Arkansas State. LeeSO, #25 Auburn improves to 3-1 (2-0 SEC) with a 45-27 win over Idaho. SCClassof93, #5 South Carolina drops to 3-1 (2-1 SEC) with a 38-16 loss to #9 Texas A&M. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State drops to 1-2 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a 45-17 loss to Arizona State. Florida International drops to 1-1 (0-0 C-USA) with a 38-33 loss to Illinois. Navy improves to 2-0 (2-0 American) with a 31-21 win over Memphis. Tulsa drops to 1-1 (0-0 American) with a 31-24 loss to #3 Oklahoma.
In Mountain West action, San Diego State knocked off #18 Oregon 35-28, UNLV beat Troy 38-21, Air Force topped UAB 38-17, Wyoming beat Northern Illinois 35-24, Boise State outlasted Virginia 52-42, Alabama smoked Colorado State 48-21, South Florida lit up Nevada 40-14, Wisconsin hammered San Jose State 41-10 and Colorado edged out Hawaii 31-28.
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (39 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Miami (21 votes) remains #2, Oklahoma (1 vote) remains #3, Notre Dame remains #4 and Michigan climbs one to #5. Texas A&M jumps three to #6, Stanford remains #7, UCLA remains #8, Florida State climbs one to #9 and Georgia Tech jumps one to #10. Florida jumps two to #11, South Carolina drops seven to #12, USC falls one to #13, Clemson climbs one to #14 and Texas jumps one to #15. Alabama climbs three to #16, Virginia Tech jumps three to #17, Nebraska moves up three to #18, Connecticut jumps three to #19 and Louisiana-Lafayette enters the poll at #20. Central Florida jumps two to #21, Washington falls five to #22, Auburn climbs two to #23, Michigan State drops ten to #24 and Oregon (186 points) drops seven to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Penn State (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Cincinnati (170 points) is #26, followed by Ohio (89), Oregon State (81), Marshall (70) and San Diego State (52) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is TCU (27).
Taking a look at the first Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (37 first place votes) is the #1 team, Miami (25 votes) is #2, Texas A&M is #3, Notre Dame (2 votes) is #4 and Oklahoma (1 vote) is #5. Michigan is #6, Stanford is #7, Clemson is #8, Florida State is #9 and UCLA is #10. South Carolina is #11, Georgia Tech is #12, USC is #13, Florida is #14 and Texas is #15. Virginia Tech is #16, Louisiana-Lafayette is #17, Alabama is #18, Nebraska is #19 and Connecticut is #20. Auburn is #21, Washington is #22, Oregon is #23, Cincinnati is #24 and Michigan State (191 points) is #25. Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Central Florida (191 points) is #26, followed by Ohio (129), Oregon State (119), San Diego State (78) and Marshall (73) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include LSU (71), TCU (63), Kansas (41) and Wisconsin (23).
An early season look at the Heisman race, UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #1 (LW: #3), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #2 (LW: #2), Stanford QB Roger Langford is #3 (LW: #4), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #4 (LW: #1) and Auburn HB Nick Bowers is #5 (LW: #5). No one fell off the Heisman Watch list this week.
Game Three
:BYU: :@: :Utah_State:
Game Story
--- Heading home for the first time in our 2022 season, we entered the game hoping to build on our offense and defense successes from the Michigan contest. While we ultimately ran out of gas and ended up losing by double digits, we had some of our best offensive and defensive production in years, especially against such a highly ranked and talented program. With our prior victory over Utah, a win today over BYU would give us possession of the Beehive Boot for the first time since the 2012 season. A look at the stats from BYU’s first four games, they were by a middle of the road to slightly worse team, they were decent in defending the run, horrible in defending the pass, and their best hope for a win would be via their own passing game. BYU won the coin toss and elected to kick.
A 19 yard kickoff return by Leonard Hart gave us the ball at our 27 yard line to start the game. Starting our drive on the ground, Matt Leierer took the first down handoff up the middle for a 6 yard gain, followed by a two yard rush that left us with third and two. Taking another shot on the ground, Leierer was able to get the conversion with a 6 yard carry, moving the chains to the 41 yard line. Tyson Taylor took over on first down, busting around the right end for a gain of 7 yards, followed by a 5 yard rush to give us another first down at the BYU 47 yard line. Running a play action pass on first down, the BYU defense wasn’t fooled, as the pass from Adam Powers intended for Raymond Watson got broken up, leaving second down. Lining up under center on second down, Powers dropped back quickly and rifled a pass over the middle intended for tight end Cedric McKinney. It wouldn’t reach its target however as the pass was intercepted by outside linebacker Jeff Higgins, who returned the ball 11 yards before being brought down at the BYU 43 yard line.
Taking over after the interception, BYU came out with some sneakiness, running a screen pass on their first play of the game, as Raishaun Fontaine connected with William Hodges for a 10 yard gain, leaving second and inches. A 10 yard rush by Hodges would do the job, moving the chains to our 38 yard line. Another pass to Hodges again left us chasing him, as he was finally tripped up along the right sideline for a 21 yard gain, giving BYU a first down at our 17 yard line. We would finally contain Hodges on first down, limiting him to just a two yard gain on the ground. A dropped pass by Reggie Hendrix would result in BYU facing their first third down of the drive, lining up with third and 8. Fontaine would never get the third down pass off, as outside linebacker Casey Hunter came in from Fontaine’s blind side and sacked him for a 7 yard loss, leaving fourth and 15 from our 22 yard line. BYU apparently didn’t have a kicker capable of making a 39 yard field goal, as the Cougars lined up to go for it on fourth and very long. Our defense would get the job done on fourth down, as the pass from Fontaine intended for Travis McDonald was broken up by cornerback Buck Castillo near our 5 yard line, forcing the turnover on downs.
Taking back possession of the ball after the turnover on downs, we got lined up on our 22 yard line, looking to make this drive just a little bit more successful. Leierer started our drive with a three yard scramble, before a power option pitch to Taylor left the defense tripping over their feet and gained us 10 yards and got the first down at the 34 yard line. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Powers tried to connect with Eric McGuire over the middle, but the safety was able to break the pass up, leaving second down. Staying in the shotgun on second down, Powers hurled up a pass to Max Rhodes along the opposite sideline, who proceeded to shake his way out of one tackle and tip toe up the sideline before finally being driven out of bounds for a 34 yard reception, giving us a first down at the BYU 32 yard line. Turning back to the ground game, Leierer was immediately wrapped up for a gain of just one yard, leaving second and 9. Lining up under center on second down, Powers dropped back and found Walter Johnson out of the backfield for a 6 yard gain, setting up third and three. A quick pass to Dre Martin on the slant route gained us 10 yards and a fresh set of downs at the 15 yard line. A dive up the middle by Taylor from the wingback slot gained 7 yards on the first down carry, followed by a one yard rush by Leierer that left us facing third and two. Taking our chances on the ground, Leierer was able to get the job done with a four yard rush to give us first and goal at the three yard line. Taylor took a crack at the end zone on first down and was able to find a gap in the blitz, plowing his way into the end zone for a three yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 1:04 left in the first quarter.
An 18 yard kickoff return by Hodges gave BYU the ball at their 19 yard line. Hodges took the handoff on first down, but found absolutely nowhere to run as our blitz brought him down in the backfield for a two yard loss. That success would last just one play as Hodges would turn around on second down and burn us for a 15 yard rush, giving BYU a first down at the 32. A first down pass to John Diggs picked up a quick 11 yards and another first down at the 43. Fontaine was just barely able to avoid being sacked, throwing up a dangerous pass intended for Hendrix, but while cornerback Charles Noble jumped the route, he was unable to intercept the pass, leaving second down. A blown defensive play turned what should have been third and maybe short, into a 37 yard pass reception for Hodges, giving BYU a brand spanking new first down at our 21 yard line. A delayed handoff on first down to Hodges picked up three yards. Lining up on second and 7, Fontaine would do the job himself as he rolled out on a QB read and raced up the field untouched for an 18 yard touchdown, tying the game up at 7-7 with 8:33 left in the second quarter.
It would take us just 11 seconds to respond as Hart took the kickoff at our 6 yard line and took off towards the right sideline. A pair of blocks in front of him left both of the guys on the end of BYU’s kickoff team laying flat on their backs, allowing Hart to break free down the sideline and turn on the jets. Another block further downfield eliminated both the kicker and the only Cougar capable of catching up to Hart, enabling him to take the kickoff all the way back for a 94 yard touchdown, giving us a 14-7 lead with 8:22 left in the second quarter.
A 24 yard kickoff return by Hodges set BYU back up on offense from their 25 yard line. A quick pass on first down to Brandon Smith picked up a fast 8 yards for the offense, making it second and two. Fontaine tried to keep the ball himself on second down, but was quickly tripped up in the backfield by the blitz for a 5 yard loss, leaving third and 7. A timely hit by Noble broke up a pass over the middle intended for Hendrix, and on fourth and 7, BYU was forced to punt. A three yard return by McGuire on the 38 yard punt gave us the ball at our 37 yard line.
Coming out in the shotgun on first down, we looked to take a chance deep right off the bat, but the pass down the left sideline intended for McGuire was off the mark and incomplete, leaving second down. The pass on second down intended for Rhodes got batted away from behind by the outside linebacker, and we were left facing third and 10. Taking a chance and going back to Rhodes on third down, he was able to pull in the pass this time for a 15 yard gain, moving the chains to the BYU 48 yard line. A pass over the middle to Martin picked up 17 yards and gave us another fresh set of downs at the 30. Trying to keep the air attack going, an off-balance pass to Greg Miller forced him to come back for the ball, allowing the defense to close on him and force him out of bounds immediately after the catch for no gain, leaving second and 10. A second down pass over the middle to Taylor would get the job done, as he pulled it in for a 16 yard gain and a new first down at the 14 yard line. Another bad pass to Miller resulted in him being tackled yet again for no gain, but instead of facing second and 10, we would get a helping hand from the defense, as middle linebacker Joe Barry was flagged for a facemask infraction on the tackle, the half the distance to the goal penalty gaining us 7 yards and giving us first and goal from the 7 yard line. Leierer took the ball on first down, finding a hole around the right guard and diving for the end zone, but he would come up short, credited with a 6 yard gain to leave second and goal inside the one yard line. Leierer would still fail to get in on second down, getting caught up on the center and tackled sideways for no gain, leaving third and goal outside the goal line. With nothing but mere inches separating the ball and the goal line, Leierer took the ball for a third time, and while again getting turned sideways by the defense, he was able to fall over the goal line this time for the one yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 21-7 with 4:33 left in the second quarter.
A 22 yard kickoff return by Hodges gave BYU the ball at their 24 yard line, the Cougars now finding themselves in a two score hole. Forced to get rid of the ball in a hurry to avoid the blitz, Fontaine found Daniel Frank over the middle, though luckily for us, Frank was unable to turn the wide open field into a big gain, as he lost his balance and fell to the ground for a pickup of only two yards. Our blitz would fail on second down, as Fontaine got the pass away and a failed break on the ball by our cornerback allowed McDonald to haul the pass in and take it down the right sideline for a 43 yard gain, finally dragged down from behind to give BYU a first down at our 31 yard line. A quick pass to Hodges behind the line of scrimmage would turn into a two yard loss of yards, as the defense quickly brought Hodges down before he could turn up the field, leaving BYU with second and 12. A mix of our secondary keeping the receivers wrapped up and our pass rush on second down forced Fontaine to get rid of the ball to avoid a sack, as BYU found themselves quickly facing third and long. Fontaine wouldn’t have any hope on third down as we brought 8 players on the blitz, the safety breaking through and forcing Fontaine to hold onto the ball while he tried to evade the sack, only to end up trapped as 6 other defenders quickly closed on him like a trap, ultimately sacking him for an 8 yard loss and leaving BYU punting on fourth and 20 from our 41 yard line. The 41 yard punt would bounce down at the three yard line and roll into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.
Taking over after the touchback, we again came out on first down looking to take a shot down the field, this time running a play action pass that left tight end Jack Long wide open near the right sideline for a big 34 yard gain and an immediate first down at the BYU 46 yard line. Trying to go deep over the middle to Martin, the pass got broken up by the safety at the last moment, leaving second and 10. Passing to Rhodes on second down, the outside linebacker made a late move at the route and tried to intercept the pass, but he was just a fraction of a second late as Rhodes snagged in the pass while the linebacker’s momentum carried him past the play, allowing Rhodes to turn up the field briefly before being tackled for a 14 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 32 yard line. Throwing over the middle on first down, Powers connected with McGuire on a slant route after the outside linebacker and the cornerback both ran into each other, letting McGuire break open over the top for a 17 yard strike and yet another first down at the 14 yard line. Lining up under center on first down, Powers dropped back and fired a pass to Taylor, only to have it intercepted by defensive end Kendrick Chandler, who returned it two yards before being tackled at the BYU 14 yard line.
BYU’s offense lined up at their 14 yard line after the devastating interception, the Cougars left with just 1:45 remaining on the clock. BYU seemed almost intent to just run out the clock as Fontaine took the snap and tried to take off running on a QB read play. Unfortunately for him, we were bringing the house on first down, resulting on Fontaine running straight into multiple defenders that quickly brought him down for a 5 yard loss, setting up second and 15. Seemingly not ready to yet throw in the towel, BYU called their first timeout after the play, stopping the clock with 1:43 remaining. The defense would strike again on second down as the corner blitz broke past both tackles and into the backfield, sacking Fontaine for a 7 yard loss to leave BYU buried deep, facing third and 22 from their own two yard line. Josh Melton took the handoff on third down, but our blitz limited him to a gain of only two yards on the play, leaving BYU punting on fourth and 20 from their four yard line, our first timeout called to stop the clock with 59 seconds left. Taking a gamble on the return, with BYU punting in such cramped quarters, and bringing everybody to try and block the punt, we were unable to block the punt, but we did the next best thing and didn’t allow the punt to get off, as safety Allen Salyer broke through around the right end and instead of diving to try and get in front of the ball, instead ran right into the punter and tackled him out of the back of the end zone for a safety, increasing our lead to 23-7 with 58 seconds left.
A 24 yard return by Hart on the kickoff following the safety gave our offense the ball at the BYU 44 yard line, just 47 seconds left on the clock and two timeouts left in our pocket. We took a minor gamble on first down, and ran a play action pass. Instead of finding McKinney, the intended target, the ball would end up in the hands of Lawrence Hughes, the BYU cornerback who returned the interception 10 yard before being tackled at the 37 yard line.
BYU’s offense returned to the field after our third interception of the game, the Cougars needing to cover 63 yards in just 40 seconds, and with only two timeouts to aid them. The Cougars, head scratchingly, handed the ball off to Hodges on first down, who was quickly brought down for a gain of just one yard, leaving second and 9 and forcing BYU to instantly burn their second timeout with 37 seconds remaining. Managing to avoid a sack, Fontaine got the pass off to James Fry along the left sideline, but he would proceed to bobble the ball, allowing Noble to close in and hit him from behind to knock the ball incomplete, leaving third and 9, 33 seconds left in the half. We would end up getting the ball right back on third down, as the pass from Fontaine, intended for Hendrix, was intercepted by Hart at the BYU 49 yard line. Hart, after managing to avoid going out of bounds, streaked up the sideline for a 31 yard interception return before being tripped up from a desperation ankle dive by the only defender who could stop him, resulting in us taking over on offense at the BYU 18 yard line with 24 seconds left on the clock.
Lining up at the BYU 18 yard line after the interception, we went straight into the air with just 24 seconds left, as Powers connected with Rhodes near the right hash, unfortunately, for a 9 yard gain after the safety was able to bring him down quickly after the catch, leaving second and one from the 9 yard line and forcing us to use our second timeout with 18 seconds left on the clock. The second down pass over the middle intended for McGuire was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, leaving us facing third and one, 15 seconds left on the clock. The third down pass over the middle intended again for McGuire was likewise broken up by the middle linebacker, bringing up fourth and one, 11 seconds remaining. The 26 yard field goal by Doug Marcus split the uprights, extending our lead to 26-7 with 8 seconds remaining in the half.
With 8 seconds left on the clock, there was too much time for a squib kick to use up, and it would leave BYU in rather decent field position, so we opted to kickoff deep, a 20 yard kickoff return by Fry leaving BYU lining up at their 19 yard line with just 5 seconds left. Dropping everybody deep for an expected pass ended up not being needed, as Fontaine handed the ball off to Hodges, who rushed for a 10 yard gain before being brought down to leave second and inches. The Cougars wouldn’t get a chance at another play as the clock hit all zeroes during the tackle, sending us into halftime with a 26-7 lead.
Opening up the second half, a 19 yard kickoff return by Fry gave BYU the ball at their 19 yard line to start the third quarter. Fontaine briefly dropped back to pass on first down before taking off scrambling with inhuman acceleration, sprinting across the line of scrimmage before anyone on our defense could even react, ultimately gaining 16 yards on the play before sliding for the first down at the 35 yard line. A first down screen pass to Melton resulted in no gain on the play, making it second and 10. A quick pass by Fontaine intended for McDonald ended up being swatted down by Noble, bringing up third and 10 for the Cougars. We got lucky on third down as the pass over the middle intended for Hendrix was dropped, saving our secondary who were out of position and would have led to a potential touchdown on that play. Instead, BYU was left with fourth and 10 and were forced to punt the ball away. A three yard return by McGuire on the 30 yard punt gave us the ball at our 37 yard line.
Lining up after the punt, it was back to our roots as Leierer took the first down handoff for a gain of only one yard, leaving second and 9. With the Cougars surprisingly ready still for our run game, it was back into the air on second down as Powers dropped back and tried to connect with McGuire, only to have the pass dropped incomplete to bring up third down. Rhodes would get us positive gain on third down, but it wouldn’t be enough as he was immediately tackled after the catch, limited to just an 8 yard gain, leaving fourth and one at the 46 yard line. A very short, under-kicked punt nearly worked in our favor as the ball ended up bouncing straight into the shins of Fry and then ricocheted back towards the direction the punt came. Unfortunately, our closest player was locked up in a block and was unable to shed it in time, as Fry was able to run up and dive on top of the loose ball to reclaim it for BYU, giving them a first down at their 33 yard line.
Taking over after the nearly disastrous punt return, the Cougars got their drive started through the air, but it was a less than stellar start as Fontaine was forced to throw the ball away, resulting in a quick second down. We would get burned on second down as Hodges pulled in a screen pass near the left sideline and while tip toeing and working his way up the sideline, managed to somehow forced four different defenders to miss him, before finally be violently shoved out of bounds after a 34 yard gain that gave BYU a first down at our 32 yard line. Dropping back to pass again on second down, Fontaine tried to connect with McDonald on the opposite sideline, but he ended up telegraphing his throw, the resultant pass ending up intercepted by Hart for his second pick of the day, returned 10 yards before McDonald tripped him up at our 38 yard line.
Lining up at our 38 yard line after the interception, Taylor received the ball on first down on a dive from the wingback slot, stuffed by the defense for a gain of just two yards, BYU keeping our run game under tight control this half. Running a play action pass on second down, the pass to Johnson ended up gaining us only two yards as well, leaving third and 6. Rhodes would keep our drive alive this time, as he hauled in the third down pass for a gain of 12 yards to move the chains to the BYU 47 yard line. A first down power option pitch to Taylor also netted just two yards, our run game nearly worthless this second half. Lining up under center on second down, Powers dropped back and threw a pass over the middle to Long for a 13 yard completion, keeping the drive moving with a first down at the 32 yard line. Returning to the shotgun on first down, the pass intended for Rhodes was broken up by the cornerback, leaving second down. Martin would keep us moving on the next play as he broke open over the middle on a slant route, the pass good for a 19 yard pickup and a new set of downs from the 13 yard line. Trips to the left in the short field would leave the defense running into each other and allowed Miller to get open on an out route, pulling in the pass from Powers and heading for the pylon for a 13 yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 33-7 with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
A 28 yard kickoff return by Fry gave BYU the ball from their 28 yard line, the Cougars almost out of all hope of a comeback in this one. Fontaine came out passing on first down, connecting with McDonald for an 11 yard gain and a quick first down at the 39. Going five wide on first down, Fontaine found Taylor Hayes along the right sideline for an 18 yard strike, pushed out of bounds at our 43 yard line. A first down pass over the middle to Smith gained 13 yards and the Cougars kept their streak of first downs going with a new set of downs at our 30 yard line. Fry would keep the streak going as he pulled in the first down pass from Fontaine for a 16 yard gain, moving the chains yet again to our 14 yard line, our defense suddenly incapable of stopping anything at all. Turning to their ground game, Fontaine handed the ball off to Fry on first down, our defense finally managing to do something as he was quickly brought down for no gain on the play, leaving second and 10. We were able to bring Fry down extremely quickly on second down, but a facemask penalty on Hunter turned what would have been a two or three yard loss into a 7 yard half the distance to the goal gain, giving BYU first and goal from our 7 yard line. Running a play action fake on first down left Fontaine scrambling for his life as our blitz closed in on him. Taking off scrambling, he had a chance at the touchdown but a tackle attempt at his ankles that left him spinning around caused him to lose his balance and fall to the turf, the play officially recorded as a sack for a two yard loss to bring up second and goal at the 9 yard line. Hodges took the ball on second down, rushing straight up the middle for a 7 yard gain before being body slammed by the last man standing between him and the end zone, leaving third and goal at the two yard line. Hodges would fail on the third down attempt, trying to take the handoff around the right end, only to run into multiple defenders and end up tackled for no gain, forcing BYU to settle for a field goal on fourth and goal from the two. The 19 yard field goal by Joshua McCarthy was good, cutting our lead to 33-10 with 11 seconds left in the third quarter.
An 18 yard kickoff return by Hart gave us the ball at our 20 yard line, looking to put this game on ice. Tossing the dice, we ran the ball on first down, Leierer fighting his way to a four yard gain to leave second and 6. That would be the final play of the third quarter, our lead sitting at a commanding 33-10.
Opening up the fourth quarter, we lined up on second and 6, still trying to get our run game going consistently. Another rush by Leierer would gain just two yards, as he continued failing to get a kick of speed when needed to hit the hole, instead letting the defense bringing him down at the line of scrimmage. Lining up on third and four, we ran a play action pass, the extremely ballsy wingback toss pass play call paying off as Taylor went in motion to the right, receiving the pitch from Powers on the snap and after avoiding the blitzing defensive end, chucked a pass downfield to a double teamed Martin, who managed to beat both defenders to the ball and not only pull it in, but hold onto it as he was sandwiched on the tackle, the play resulting in a shocking 13 yard completion and a first down at the 39 yard line. A botched pitch on first down, caused by the defensive blitz, resulted in a fumble near the line of scrimmage which Powers quickly dived on top of to recover for our offense, Powers credited with a one yard gain on the play to leave second and one. Dropping back to pass on second down, Powers would be unable to get the pass away as he was sacked from behind by the cornerback for a loss of 7 yards, leaving third and 15. Powers was again hit in the backfield by the defense, this time fumbling the ball instead of being sacked, though Leierer was nearby to save our hides and recover the loose ball, leaving us punting away on fourth and 20. An 11 yard return by Fry on the 37 yard punt gave BYU the ball at their 43 yard line.
The first play of BYU’s drive saw Fontaine drop back to pass, but he was forced to throw the ball away as we kept his targets under wrap and bottled him up to keep him contained, resulting in second down. Another incomplete pass, this time intended for McDonald, sailed long and incomplete to bring up third down. Unfortunately, our defense couldn’t keep it up on third down as Smith hauled in a pass for a 16 yard gain on an out route, tackled out of bounds to give BYU a first down at our 41 yard line. Rushing only our four front linemen now and dropping everyone else into coverage, Fontaine was forced to take off scrambling, managing to stiff arm his way past one of the defense tackles and one of the defensive ends, before the linebackers collapsed down and brought him down for a loss, the play recorded by the officials as a sack for a loss of four yards, making it second and 14. Keeping Fontaine contained on first down, he had no choice but to take a chance down the field, but his pass intended for Smith sailed long and well out of bounds, leaving third and 14. Taking a chance on the ground on third down, Fontaine handed the ball off to Hodges, who was able to pick up 6 yards before being spun down from behind to bring up fourth and 8 and the Cougars lining up to go for it. Despite needing just 8 yards, just needing to get to our 31 yard line, Fontaine would take a shot down the left sideline, looking to connect with Hendrix near our 20 yard line. In this case, the pass would not make it to the intended target as cornerback Mike Moses jumped the route, intercepted the ball and returning it 7 yards before being dragged down, giving us possession at our 27 yard line with 4:45 left in the game.
Lining up on first down after the interception, we came out running as we tried to run some time off of the clock, Leierer taking the first down handoff up the middle for a gain of four yards. Another rush by Leierer would be more productive as he took the handoff initially up the middle, but was forced to bounce outside to find space, racing the defense to the left sideline before being tackled for a gain of 6 yards and a first down at the 37 yard line. Another handoff to Leierer gained just two yards, followed by a 6 yard carry by Taylor to set up third and two, needing this first down to be able to run out the final couple minutes. Leierer would get the conversion with a 6 yard rush up the gut, giving us a first down at the BYU 49 yard line with 2:05 remaining on the clock. Sensing the impossibility of their situation, BYU didn’t bother calling any of their three timeouts as the clock continued ticking away. A first down rush by Leierer went for a 10 yard gain that left us looking at second and inches. Snapping the ball with 53 seconds left on the clock, Taylor received the handoff for a two yard gain, getting the first down at the 38 yard line, and with 45 seconds left on the clock, a single knee was all that remained until final victory. Lining up in victory formation on first down, Powers snapped the ball with 25 seconds left and kneeled down, running out the final sections and sealing our 33-10 victory over BYU. This proved to be quite the massive victory, as it resulted in not only a victory over rival BYU, but the return of the Old Wagon Wheel to Logan and Utah State’s first possession of the Beehive Boot since 2012, winning the tri-way battle for the boot with victories over both Utah and BYU. It was also a milestone victory for Coach Marko Ramius, who recorded his 100th victory as a coach in the college ranks.
With the win, we improve to 2-1, 0-0 in Mountain West action. With the loss, BYU drops to 1-4. Up next, it’s back on the road as we visit neighboring Nevada for our 2022 conference opener. The Wolf Pack enter the game 0-3, 0-0 in Mountain West action. Nevada stumbled right out of the gate to open their year with a 47-21 loss to Arizona, a 49-6 hammering at #8 UCLA and then a 40-14 drubbing at South Florida.
Final Score
:Utah_State: 33, :BYU: 10
Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - Another poor day for Powers, going 18-30 for 241 yards and one touchdown, but also ending with another three interceptions. Due to a trick play, Taylor ended up 1-1 for 13 yards in passing today. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 61 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries, Taylor had 39 yards and one touchdown on 8 rushes, Powers ended with negative 9 yards on two rushes. Receiving, Rhodes led the way with 92 yards on six receptions. Miller had 14 yards and the lone receiving touchdown today on three catches. In total, seven receivers caught at least one pass today, six ended the day with double digit yards.
Utah State Defense/Special Teams – A solid day by the defense. Ended the game with three interceptions that kept BYU's offense consistently cut off at the knees. Still gave up 237 yards passing though, having trouble a couple of times stopping anything and everything BYU threw out there, as well as trouble stopping Hodges at times on the ground. Special teams was solid today with a pair of decent punts and then a kickoff return by Hart to immediately respond after BYU's lone touchdown, not allowing the BYU the chance to build up any momentum off of their score.
Utah State Kicking – A perfect day for Marcus going 1-1 in field goals with a 26 yard kick, and going 4-4 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score :BYU: 0 7 3 0 10 :Utah_State: 7 19 7 0 33
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 1:04 :Utah_State: Touchdown T. Taylor, 3 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 7-0 Second Quarter 8:33 :BYU: Touchdown R. Fontaine, 18 yard run (J. McCarthy kick) TIED 7-7 8:22 :Utah_State: Touchdown L. Hart, returned kickoff 94 yards (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 14-7 4:33 :Utah_State: Touchdown M. Leierer, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 21-7 0:58 :Utah_State: Safety Team Safety: A. Payne tackled in end zone :Utah_State: 23-7 0:11 :Utah_State: Field Goal D. Marcus, 26 yard field goal :Utah_State: 26-7 Third Quarter 3:12 :Utah_State: Touchdown G. Miller, 13 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 33-7 0:11 :BYU: Field Goal J. McCarthy, 19 yard field goal :Utah_State: 33-10 Fourth Quarter --- --- --- --- ---
Game Stats
BYU Stat Utah State 10 Score 33 14 First Downs 20 283 Total Offense 345 23 - 46 - 1 Rushes - Yards - TD 31 - 91 - 2 15 - 30 - 0 Comp - Att - TD 19 - 31 - 1 237 Passing Yards 254 5 Times Sacked 1 1 - 9 (11%) 3rd Down Conversion 8 - 11 (72%) 0 - 3 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 0 - 0 (0%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 3 - 1 - 1 (66%) Red Zone - TD - FG 5 - 3 - 1 (80%) 3 Turnovers 3 0 Fumbles Lost 0 3 Intercepted 3 10 Punt Return Yards 5 129 Kick Return Yards 152 422 Total Yards 502 3 – 36.7 Punts - Average 2 - 32.5 1 - 7 Penalties 1 - 7 15:00 Time of Possession 21:00
Utah State Coach Goals
Goal XP Reward Completed Win a Game 100 x1 Score a Touchdown 25 x4 Kick/Punt Return Touchdown 50 x1 Force a Turnover 25 x3 Pass for 250 Yards 25 x1 Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead 10 x1 3+ Sacks 50 x1 Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards 50 x1 Beat a Rival School 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 2
Job Security Status
100%
Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State routed Wisconsin 42-14. #2 Miami topped Louisville 31-21. #3 Oklahoma handled Tennessee 45-24. #4 Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh 37-21. #5 Michigan beat Northwestern 37-14. #6 Texas A&M survived Arkansas 42-35. #7 Stanford beat Utah 49-37. In the game of the week, #8 UCLA outlasted #22 Washington 35-28. #9 Florida State barely beat out Wake Forest 31-28. #10 Georgia Tech escaped Temple 21-20.
Kentucky stunned #11 Florida 20-10. #12 South Carolina walloped Washington State 52-20. #13 USC edged out #25 Oregon 42-35 in overtime. Duke knocked off #14 Clemson 31-21. #16 Alabama fought off Ole Miss 28-20. #17 Virginia Tech topped NC State 27-7. #19 Connecticut toppled Tulsa 52-20. #20 Louisiana-Lafayette beat Louisiana Tech 35-13. #21 Central Florida escaped Tulane 14-10. #23 Auburn edged out Missouri 38-31. #24 Michigan State beat Illinois 49-35.
For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 4-0 (2-0 Big Ten) with a 42-14 win over Wisconsin. Morsdraconis, West Virginia surprisingly improves to 3-1 (2-0 Big 12) with a 42-38 win over Oklahoma State. Souljahbill, Southern Miss remains 1-2 (0-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Jaymo, Arizona State remains 2-2 (0-1 Pac-12) with a bye week. LeeSO, #23 Auburn improves to 4-1 (3-0 SEC) with a 38-31 win over Missouri. SCClassof93, #12 South Carolina improves to 4-1 (2-1 SEC) with a 52-20 win over Washington State. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 2-2 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a 39-38 win over Marshall. Florida International drops to 1-2 (0-1 C-USA) with a 21-17 loss to Western Kentucky. Navy improves to 3-0 (3-0 American) with a 45-28 win over Houston. Tulsa drops to 1-2 (0-1 American) with a 52-20 loss to #19 Connecticut.
In Mountain West action, Utah State beat BYU 33-10, Hawaii topped Colorado State 35-28, Air Force handled UNLV 31-10, San Jose State knocked off Wyoming 44-40 and New Mexico improves to a shocking 3-0 by beat Fresno State 42-24.
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (41 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Miami (20 votes) remains #2, Oklahoma remains #3, Notre Dame remains #4 and Michigan remains #5. Texas A&M remains #6, Stanford remains #7, UCLA remains #8, Florida State remains #9 and Georgia Tech remains #10. South Carolina climbs one to #11, USC jumps one to #12, Texas moves up two to #13, Alabama jumps two to #14 and Virginia Tech climbs two to #15. Nebraska climbs two to #16, Connecticut jumps two to #17, Louisiana-Lafayette climbs two to #18, Florida drops eight to #19 and Central Florida climbs one to #20. Auburn jumps two to #21, Michigan State climbs two to #22, Cincinnati enters the poll at #23, Kentucky enters the poll at #24 and Ohio (174 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Clemson (from #14), Washington (from #22) and Oregon (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Washington (168 points) is #26, followed by Oregon State (124), Clemson (103), San Diego State (71) and Oregon (64) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is TCU (61).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (36 first place votes) remains #1 team, Miami (21 votes) remains #2, Notre Dame (6 votes) climbs one to #3, Texas A&M drops one to #4 and Oklahoma (1 vote) remains #5. Michigan (1 vote) remains #6, Stanford remains #7, Florida State climbs one to #8, UCLA jumps one to #9 and South Carolina climbs one to #10. Georgia Tech moves up one to #11, USC climbs one to #12, Texas jumps two to #13, Virginia Tech moves up two to #14 and Louisiana-Lafayette climbs two to #15. Alabama jumps two to #16, Nebraska moves up two to #17, Connecticut climbs two to #18, Florida drops five to #19 and Auburn climbs one to #20. Cincinnati jumps three to #21, Central Florida enter the poll at #22, Michigan State jumps two to #23, Clemson plummets sixteen to #24 and Kentucky (203 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Washington (from #22) and Oregon (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Ohio (182 points) is #26, followed by Washington (156), Oregon State (120), San Diego State (92) and Oregon (69) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Indiana (19).
An early season look at the Heisman race, UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #1 (LW: #1), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #2 (LW: #2), Stanford QB Roger Langford is #3 (LW: #3), Auburn HB Nick Bowers is #4 (LW: #5) and Ohio State HB Tom Williams is #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins (LW: #4).
Now, while this season is going much better, sitting at 2-1 as we reach the quarter mark of the schedule, Jesus our passing game is horrible this year.
The dynasty season record (counting every season at FIU, Tulsa and Utah State) for most interceptions in one season is 17, set by Brandon Booth during my first season at Tulsa (the same year he also set the season record for most TD passes at 47).
So far, through three games of this current season, Powers has a grand total of 708 yards passing, 4 touchdowns and 8 interceptions! Right now he's on pace for 32 interceptions by season's end if he keeps going at this rate. Just for comparison, in real college football, this season's interception leader, for all 125 (or whatever the number is) teams, is Washington State QB Connor Halliday, who led the entire NCAA by throwing 22 interceptions this season (along with 34 touchdowns).
This could be a long year, despite starting 2-1. If we can't stop throwing 3 or 4 damn interceptions every game, we're gonna end up losing multiple games just solely because we can't stop turning the ball over.
Smooth are you playing next gen Madden now??? :D On next gen madden and NCAA I have thrown more pics this year than any other (well maybe I threw more in NCAA 08 on 360???). Defenders have an uncanny ability to contort their bodies and move great distances quickly. When I think my QB is ice cold I throw in the backup and it uses changes how aggressive the cpu plays.Quote:
Originally Posted by SmoothPancakes
Good luck next game!
:D Yeah, I'm wondering if someone switched the labels on my discs. At least two interceptions every single game, it's gonna kill us as this season goes on.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaymo76
Appreciate it. Nevada is going to be an interesting one. 0-3, got blown out in all three games, and they're a team I've never played before, so it's going to be a pure unknown test.
I lowered CPU picks with my sliders. What I noticed is that the secondary is either completely out of position or in perfect position. There's very little inbetween so swats are too low and picks are too high.
Yep, that's what I've discovered. Every play, every pass, it's either going to have a receiver be completely open due to the secondary out of position or the secondary will be guaranteed to swat the ball down/intercept the ball. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what all I can do. I already have interceptions turned down to a low enough level that if I go any lower, the CPU will never intercept a single pass. So I'm basically stuck between a rock and a hard place. Throw 3+ interceptions every game, or go entire seasons without ever throwing a single interception. :smh:
Game Four
:Utah_State: :@: :Nevada:
Game Story
--- Coming off our rivalry win over BYU, we headed back onto the road to open up conference play for another season, this time with a trip to a winless Nevada squad. It was not a successful season thus far for the Wolf Pack, entering 0-3 with one of the worst statistical teams in college football. They only averaged 13.7 points/game (#125 nationally), their offense only put up 268.7 yards/game (#125 nationally), 101.7 yards rushing (#118 nationally) and 167.0 yards passing (#117 nationally). Defense was even worse, where Nevada was giving up a whopping 546.0 yards/game (#125 nationally), with 240.7 yards rushing (#125 nationally) and 305.3 yards passing (#120 nationally). Even their turnover differential was one of the worst, entering the game with a differential of negative 5, good for a national ranking of #112. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.
A 15 yard kickoff return by Eric Kenney gave Nevada the ball at their 20 yard line to start the game. The Wolf Pack came out passing on first down as Charles Tidwell heaved up a duck to Wallace Harris, good for a 15 yard completion and a quick first down at the 35 yard line. Kenney took the ball on first down for an 8 yard rush, followed by a four yard carry by Lorenzo Harris to pick up another first down at the 47. Kenney took the handoff on first down, but had nowhere to run as the blitz quickly brought him down for a four yard loss, leaving second and 14. Another handoff to Kenney gained three yards, setting up third and 11. Despite shaking off a sack attempt from behind, Tidwell was unable to find an open receiver and threw the ball over the middle into open space, the incomplete pass leaving fourth and 11 and bringing out the Nevada punt team. A 7 yard return by Eric McGuire on the 34 yard punt gave us the ball at our 26 yard line.
Starting our first drive of the game at our 26 yard line, Matt Leierer got us underway with a four yard rush up the middle, followed by a rush around the left end for a 6 yard gain, good for a first down at the 36 yard line. Calling the power option on first down was disastrous, as the pitch from Adam Powers to Tyson Taylor was interrupted by the defense, resulting in a fumble bouncing all over the field. Thankfully, right guard Shelton Woods was able to fall on top of the loose football, limiting the damage to a loss of 6 yards to leave second and 16. Lining up in the shotgun on second down, we were able to make up those lost yards and then some as Powers connected with McGuire over the middle for an 18 yard pickup, giving us a fresh set of downs at the 49. A first down rush by Leierer gained four yards, followed by a one yard rush to leave third and 5. Lining up under center on third down, Powers rifled a pass to tight end Cedric McKinney, the pass complete for a 12 yard gain to advance the chains to the Nevada 33 yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, Leierer rushed ahead for a gain of 5 yards, followed by a three yard rush that left third and two. Taking our chances on the ground on third down, Taylor was able to get the job done with a 5 yard rush around the left tackle, picking up the first down at the 20 yard line. Running a play action pass on first down caught the defense with their pants down, enabling McGuire to get open on an out route and haul in the pass from Powers for a 16 yard gain, setting up first and goal from the four yard line. The first down rush by Leierer ended up going backwards, tackled for a one yard loss to leave second and goal at the 5. A toss left to Taylor gained only a single yard, leaving third and goal from our original starting spot at the four yard line. The third time would prove to be the charm as a slant route by Dre Martin across the middle of the end zone was enough for him to get open and pull in the pass from Powers for a four yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 1:07 left in the first quarter.
A 22 yard kickoff return by Kenney got some additional help by our kickoff team, as Adam Washington was flagged for a facemask penalty during the tackle, the 15 free yards resulting in a first down at the 43 yard line for Nevada. Our defense continued to shutdown the Nevada running game, as Kenney took the first down handoff only to be tackled for a three yard loss, leaving second and 13. Tidwell tried to take off running on a QB keeper, but he too was quickly brought down, tackled for no gain to bring up third and 13. Even going into the air on third down wasn’t going to get the job done, as a screen pass to Harris was completed and looked to gain some yards, but a diving tackle at the ankles by defensive tackle Ernest Sims was enough to bring Harris somersaulting to the ground for no gain, bringing out Nevada’s punt team on fourth and 13. That would be the final play of the first quarter, our lead sitting at 7-0.
Opening up the second quarter with a Nevada punt, a 5 yard return by McGuire on the 34 yard punt got us back in action from our 31 yard line.
Lining up on first down after the punt, we came out passing on first down, but the pass intended for McKinney was broken up by the cornerback, leaving a quick and disappointing second down. Another incomplete pass, this time intended for McGuire, and our drive was quickly in danger of coming to an end. Powers would never get the pass off on third down, sacked from behind for a 9 yard loss to leave us punting the ball right back on fourth and 19. A 14 yard return by John Thomas on the 42 yard punt gave Nevada the ball at the 50 yard line to start their next drive.
Another Nevada drive got off to yet another loss, as the Wolf Pack tried to run the option on first down, only to quickly get tackled before he could get the pitch off, resulting in another four yard loss and leaving second and 14. A second down pass intended for Greg Burnett got broken up by the secondary, and Nevada was left with third and 14. A pair of missed tackles would doom us on third down, allowing Burnett to haul in the pass this time around and race our safeties for the sideline for a 14 yard gain and a first down at our 40 yard line. Kenney kept the offense moving with a 9 yard rush, followed by a 5 yard gain to get another first down at the 26. A 7 yard rush by Tidwell was followed with a two yard completion from Tidwell to Kenney, setting up third and one. Tidwell would fake the handoff to Kenney and try to do the job himself, but was set airborne on the tackle by Sims, resulting in a three yard loss to leave fourth and four at the 20 yard line. It would get even worse for Nevada, was the 37 yard field goal by Micah Whitehead bounced off the right upright and no good, giving us back the ball at our 20 yard line.
Leierer got our next drive started off on the ground, taking the handoff straight up the middle for an 8 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard carry to get an early first down at the 34. Another rush by Leierer picked up 7 yards, before a two yard carry by Taylor left us looking at third and one. Leierer took the handoff on third down and was able to just get across the line for a two yard gain, moving the chains at the 45 yard line. A play action pass on first down to McGuire was complete, going for a gain of 13 yards and giving us a new set of downs at the Nevada 42 yard line. Trying to go back to McGuire on first down, the pass got broken up by the Nevada secondary, leaving second down. Powers tried to connect with Max Rhodes on second down, but the pass sailed long and wide, the incompletion bringing up third and 10. Forced to roll out to avoid the blitz, Powers tried to connect with an open Washington along the right sideline, but throwing across his body while on the move, the pass from Powers was woefully off target and sailed out of bounds, leaving us stranded on fourth down. A four yard return by Garry Davis on the 30 yard punt gave Nevada the ball at their 26 yard line.
Nevada opened their drive up with a screen pass to Kenney, but our defense was able to string him along horizontally enough to eventually force him out of bounds for a gain of just two yards. Faking the handoff on second down, Tidwell again tried to roll out to the left and tuck it and run, managing to gain four yards this time before our defense tripped him up short of the first down, leaving the offense looking at third and four. Going into the air on third down, despite having two receivers wide open together along the right sideline, Tidwell was unable to hit either of them, his wounded duck of a pass sailing over both receivers and landing incomplete out of bounds to force a punt on fourth and four. A 13 yard return by McGuire on the 41 yard punt got us back in action from our 40 yard line.
Lining up on first down with just a minute and a half left until halftime, we came right out passing on first down, as Powers connected with McGuire for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down at the Nevada 48 yard line. All of that momentum would quickly be shot and thrown overboard, as middle linebacker Derrick Williams intercepted the first down pass by Powers over the middle, returning it 12 yards to give the ball right back to Nevada’s offense at our 44 yard line.
Coming out on first down, Nevada went right into the air but nearly had it backfire, as cornerback Leonard Hart almost intercepted the first down pass intended for John Miller, leaving Nevada with a quick second down. A dropped pass by a wide open Jeremy Fontenot left Nevada staring at third and long. A third down screen pass to Kenney would gain just three yards before being tackled out of bounds, leaving Nevada with fourth and 7 and stopping the clock with 1:03 remaining. The 41 yard punt would bounce into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line, 57 seconds left to go.
Beginning our drive from the 20, we still had all three timeouts and wanted a chance for at least a field goal before half’s end. The first down pass over the middle intended for Martin was almost again disastrously intercepted, the thankfully dropped and incomplete pass leaving second down. Rhodes would get us moving on second down, pulling in the pass from Powers for a 17 yard gain and a fresh set of downs at the 37 yard line. Sprinting to the line, another quick pass to Rhodes caught the defense off guard and allowed for a very quick 12 yard gain, giving us yet another first down at the 49 yard line, our first timeout called with 43 seconds remaining. The first down pass intended for Greg Miller was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving second and 10. The second down pass to Rhodes was complete, but he was stopped short for a gain of just 9 yards, leaving third and one and forcing us to call our second timeout with 33 seconds to go. Trying to get the first down with a quick rush, it wasn’t meant to be as Leierer was tackled for a two yard loss, leaving fourth and three with the clock still ticking. Taking a gamble on fourth down, as we were well outside of field goal range, the play action pass intended for McGuire got broken up along the left sideline, turning the ball over on downs at the Nevada 44 yard line with 11 seconds left.
Taking over after the turnover on downs, Nevada came out running a screen pass on first down, the pass from Tidwell to Kenney resulting in a two yard loss to leave second and 12, Nevada calling their first timeout with 7 seconds remaining. Yet another screen pass from Tidwell to Kenney went for a even bigger loss, this time going backwards for 5 yards, leaving Nevada with third and 17, their second timeout taken with two seconds left. The Hail Mary attempt down the left sideline was batted down incomplete, sending us into halftime with a 7-0 lead.
Opening up the second half, a 29 yard kickoff return by Hart gave us the ball at our 32 yard line to start the third quarter. Leierer got our drive started on the ground, picking up two yards before behind horsecollared from behind. Leierer was quickly stood up for no gain on the second down carry, leaving us with third and 8. Martin was briefly able to pull in the third down pass from Powers, but he would drop the ball on contact by the cornerback, leaving us punting on fourth down. A 10 yard return by John Thomas on the 32 yard punt gave Nevada the ball at their 44 yard line.
The Wolf Pack started their drive on the ground, Kenney rushing for a 6 yard gain around the left tackle to bring up second and four. That gain would get reversed on second down, as defensive end Shaun Peterson came blitzing in from the blind side and sacked Tidwell for a 7 yard loss, leaving Nevada facing third and 11. The third down pass over the middle, intended for Miller, sailed over the head of the receiver and incomplete, forcing Nevada to punt once more. An 11 yard return by McGuire on the 36 yard punt set us up at our 31 yard line.
We again started our offense drive on the ground, Leierer taking the first down handoff for again a two yard gain, leaving second and 8. Abandoning the run game and heading into the air on second down, the move paid off as Powers connected with Rhodes for a huge 18 yard gain and a first down at the Nevada 48 yard line. Taking a gamble with the power option on first down resulted in snake eyes, as the pitch to Leierer sent us backwards with a four yard loss, leaving second and 14. Our aerial assault would again come through, as Powers lined up under center, before firing a pass over the middle to tight end Jack Long, complete for a 22 yard gain and a new set of downs at the Nevada 30 yard line. A comeback pass to McGuire netted us 12 more yards and another first down at the 18. Our running game finally opening up, Leierer was able to take the ball on first down, powering his way to a 10 yard gain to leave second and inches at the 9 yard line. A two yard rush by Leierer would get the job done and give us first and goal at the 7 yard line. A first down rush by Taylor would only gain two yards, leaving second and goal from the 5. A dangerous pass to McGuire, that somehow wasn’t intercepted, ended up complete at the goal line for a 5 yard touchdown, extending our lead to 14-0 with 2:34 left in the third quarter.
A 24 yard kickoff return by Kenney gave Nevada the ball at their 27 yard line for their next drive. Nevada wasted no time in trying to respond, as a pair of missed tackles allowed Kenney to break free for a 28 yard rush, giving Nevada a quick first down at our 45 yard line. A rush by Harris the opposite direction ended up gaining 33 yards, giving Nevada a first down at our 12 yard line, our defense suddenly shoving their heads up their ass. A first down pass to Fontenot gained three yards, followed by a four yard rush by Kenney to leave third and three. Blitzing like hell on third down, Kenney would be unable to get outside the tackles this time, brought down in the backfield for a three yard loss to leave fourth and 6 at the 8 yard line. Unfortunately our shutout was no more, as Whitehead sent the 25 yard field goal sailing through the uprights to cut our lead to 14-3 with 53 seconds left in the third quarter.
A 29 yard kickoff return by McGuire gave us the ball at our 27 yard line. Leierer got our drive started with a 5 yard rush up the middle, followed by a 6 yard gain to get the first down at the 38 yard line. That would be the final play of the third quarter, our lead standing at 14-3.
Opening up the fourth quarter, Leierer tried to keep us moving on the ground, but got quickly stood up for no gain to leave second down. Going into the air on second down, the pass over the middle to Martin was good for a big 19 yard gain, giving us a first down at the Nevada 43 yard line. Leierer managed three yards on the first down carry, before seemingly being tackled for no gain. Instead, a late flag came out for a facemask penalty on Nevada safety Garry Davis, the 15 free yards giving us a first down at the 24 yard line. Taylor kept us going on the ground with a four yard carry, followed by a 6 yard gain to leave third and inches. Leierer would return to the backfield on third down, fighting his way to a two yard gain and a first down at the 12 yard line. Taylor kept plugging away on first down with a 5 yard carry, followed by a 5 yard rush by Leierer to bring up another third and inches at the two. Leierer would settle to end the drive on third down, taking the handoff and diving into the end zone for a two yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 21-3 with 5:16 left in the game.
A 32 yard kickoff return by Thomas gave Nevada the ball at their 32 yard line. Dropping back to pass on first down, Tidwell was able to avoid a sack by defensive end Caleb McBride, but it would still be a wasted down as he was hit as he threw, his pass intended for Fontenot going backwards and landing incomplete to bring up second down. Managing to actually get the ball off on second down, the result was still the same, as the pass intended for Fontenot sailed incomplete and left Nevada with third and 10. Taking a shot deep down the middle on third down, our defense would put an end to the drive as safety Sam Richwalski intercepted the pass to give us back possession at our 35 yard line.
Taking over after the interception, our offense lined up at our 35 yard line, just 4:57 away from victory. Leierer got our drive started with a rush up the middle for three yards, followed by a second three yard gain to leave us with third and four at the 41 yard line. Running a play action pass on third down, the pass intended for fullback Raymond Watson was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving us punting on fourth down. A very solid 42 yard punt angled towards the opposite sideline, landed at the 20 yard line and promptly bounced out of bounds, leaving Nevada lining up for their next drive at their 17 yard line.
Nevada came out passing to start their drive, as Tidwell rifled a pass to Miller for a 10 yard gain and a quick first down at the 27. Going no huddle on first down, Tidwell tried to connect with Harris over the middle, but the pass sailed long and incomplete, leaving second down. Despite bringing a heavy blitz, Tidwell was able to get the pass off, finding Harris over the middle for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 42 yard line. Going no huddle again, Nevada tried to get cute with a pass behind the line of scrimmage to Kenney, but he was sent helicoptering through the air during the tackle by Hart, the play going for a three yard loss to leave second and 13. As if an 18 yard completion to #7, giving Nevada a first down at our 43 yard line wasn’t bad enough, a roughing the pass flag on McBride was really killer, as the penalty gave Nevada even more free yards and set them up with a first down at our 28 yard line after the dust had all settled. Again going no huddle on first down, this time our defense would set up to the plate, sacking Tidwell from behind for a 7 yard loss to leave Nevada with second and 17, the clock at 2:12 and still ticking. The defense would win another round, as our second down blitz again resulted in a sack, Sims tripping up Tidwell for a second 7 yard loss, bringing up third and 24 from our 42 yard line, the clock continuing to tick away. Tidwell dropped back to pass on third down, and nearly was sacked again despite just a four man pass rush, but while he was able to get the pass off this time, the result was still negative, as the ball intended for Harris was broken up, leaving fourth and 24, the game coming down to this one play as the clock stopped with 1:32 remaining. Sending everybody back to defend the pass as Nevada went for it on fourth down, the Wolf Pack would never have a chance as Richwalski intercepted his second pass of the game, giving us the ball at our 9 yard line with 1:24 remaining in the game.
Taking over at our 9 yard line after the interception, Taylor started our drive on first down with a three yard rush to leave second and 7. Nevada seemingly accepted their defeat and didn’t bother to use any of their three timeouts, and so with 40 seconds left on the clock, Powers dropped to a knee, leaving third and 9, the play clock and game clock exactly in sync. We wouldn’t need to take another snap as the game clock would run out just a hair before the play clock hit zero, sealing our 21-3 victory over Nevada.
With the win, we improve to 3-1, 1-0 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Nevada drops to 0-4, 0-1 in Mountain West play. Up next, we head back home to take on a second straight winless team, as Fresno State comes to town. The Bulldogs enter the game 0-4, 0-1 in Mountain West play. Fresno State opened their year with a 45-38 loss to Utah, then lost 56-28 at #3 Oklahoma, 42-24 to New Mexico and finally got edged out at Ole Miss 25-22.
Final Score
:Utah_State: 21, :Nevada: 3
Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A fair day for Powers, going 14-25 for 189 yards, two touchdowns, but also one interception. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 85 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. Taylor had 28 yards on 8 rushes. Receiving, McGuire was the top receiver with 76 yards and a touchdown on six catches. Martin added 23 yards and a touchdown on two receptions. In all, only five receivers caught a pass today, all five ending with double digit yards.
Utah State Defense/Special Teams – A dominating day, giving up just 144 yards of offense, limiting Nevada to just 71 yards rushing and a shocking 73 yards passing. Other than two plays where Nevada ran for gains of 28 and 33 yards on their way to a field goal, the defense kept Nevada locked up on offense all game.
Utah State Kicking – Another perfect day for Marcus, only because he didn't attempt any field goals. He did go 3-3 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score :Utah_State: 7 0 7 7 21 :Nevada: 0 0 3 0 3
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 1:07 :Utah_State: Touchdown D. Martin, 4 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 7-0 Second Quarter --- --- --- --- --- Third Quarter 2:34 :Utah_State: Touchdown E. McGuire, 5 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 14-0 0:53 :Nevada: Field Goal M. Whitehead, 24 yard field goal :Utah_State: 14-3 Fourth Quarter 5:16 :Utah_State: Touchdown M. Leierer, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 21-3
Game Stats
Utah State Stat Nevada 21 Score 3 19 First Downs 9 291 Total Offense 144 39 - 102 - 1 Rushes - Yards - TD 20 - 71 - 0 14 - 25 - 2 Comp - Att - TD 13 - 26 - 0 189 Passing Yards 73 1 Times Sacked 3 6 - 11 (54%) 3rd Down Conversion 1 - 11 (9%) 0 - 1 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 0 - 1 (0%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 3 - 3 - 0 (100%) Red Zone - TD - FG 2 - 0 - 1 (50%) 1 Turnovers 2 0 Fumbles Lost 0 1 Intercepted 2 36 Punt Return Yards 28 56 Kick Return Yards 96 383 Total Yards 266 4 – 35.0 Punts - Average 5 - 37.4 2 - 30 Penalties 1 - 15 24:23 Time of Possession 11:37
Utah State Coach Goals
Goal XP Reward Completed Win a Game 100 x1 Score a Touchdown 25 x3 Force a Turnover 25 x2 Rush for 100 Yards 25 x1 Kneel Last Minute 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 10+ First Downs 50 x1 4+ 3rd Down Conversions 25 x1
Utah State Contract Goals Update
Goal Expectations Progress Target Wins Per Season 7 3
Job Security Status
100%
Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the upset of the week, winless Wake Forest shocked #2 Miami 27-20. #5 Michigan held off Illinois 38-24. Oklahoma State knocked off #6 Texas A&M 42-24. #7 Stanford escaped Washington State 31-21. #9 Florida State defeated Maryland 31-16. #10 Georgia Tech topped Clemson 31-14. #11 South Carolina fought off #24 Kentucky 30-26.
#12 USC beat Utah 31-17. #13 Texas beat Cal 45-21. #14 Alabama doubled up FCS Southeast 48-24. #15 Virginia Tech thrashed Syracuse 37-13. #16 Nebraska escaped Rutgers 20-13. #23 Cincinnati knocked off #17 Connecticut 41-17. Army upset #19 Florida 35-20. Tulsa shocked #20 Central Florida 45-24. #25 Ohio steamrolled Eastern Michigan 44-3.
For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State remains 4-0 (2-0 Big Ten) with a bye week. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 4-1 (3-0 Big 12) with a 21-10 win over Kansas. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 2-2 (1-0 C-USA) with a 30-24 win over UTEP. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 3-2 (1-1 Pac-12) with a 41-31 win over Oregon State. LeeSO, #21 Auburn remains 4-1 (3-0 SEC) with a bye week. SCClassof93, #11 South Carolina improves to 5-1 (3-1 SEC) with a 30-26 win over #24 Kentucky. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State remains 2-2 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a bye week. Florida International drops to 1-3 (0-1 C-USA) with a 35-28 loss to LSU. Navy improves to 4-0 (3-0 American) with a 34-24 win over Air Force. Tulsa improves to 2-2 (1-1 American) with a 45-24 win over #20 Central Florida.
In Mountain West action, Utah State beat Nevada 21-3, San Diego State edged Boise State 34-27, Colorado State beat UTSA 38-14, New Mexico beat New Mexico State 56-14, Ole Miss topped Fresno State 25-22, Navy beat Air Force 34-24, South Alabama knocked off San Jose State 31-24 and North Carolina thumped Hawaii 59-14.
Looking at undefeated teams left, #2 Miami, #17 Connecticut, Air Force and Kansas all lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 15. #1 Ohio State (4-0), #3 Oklahoma (3-0), #4 Notre Dame (5-0), #5 Michigan (5-0), #7 Stanford (6-0), #8 UCLA (5-0), #9 Florida State (5-0), #10 Georgia Tech (5-0), #18 Louisiana Lafayette (4-0), #23 Cincinnati (4-0), Indiana (4-0), Kansas State (5-0), Navy (4-0), New Mexico (4-0), TCU (5-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 12 teams still looking for their first win: Akron (0-4), Florida Atlantic (0-5), Fresno State (0-4), Louisville (0-5), Memphis (0-5), Nevada (0-4), New Mexico State (0-6), Old Dominion (0-5), Purdue (0-4), Rice (0-4), Tulane (0-5), UTSA (0-5).
Teams getting their first win this week were: Central Michigan (27-20 over 1-3 Miami University), South Alabama (31-24 over 1-4 San Jose State), Toledo (32-26 over 0-4 Akron), Virginia (31-24 over 0-5 Louisville) and Wake Forest (27-20 over 3-1 Miami).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (34 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Notre Dame (25 votes) jumps two to #2, Oklahoma (1 vote) remains #3, Michigan (1 vote) climbs one to #4 and Stanford jumps two to #5. UCLA climbs two to #6, Florida State jumps two to #7, Georgia Tech moves up two to #8, South Carolina climbs two to #9 and USC jumps two to #10. Texas jumps two to #11, Louisiana-Lafayette leaps six to #12, Alabama climbs one to #13, Virginia Tech moves up one to #14 and Nebraska climbs one to #15. Cincinnati leaps seven to #16, Miami plummets fifteen to #17, Texas A&M drops twelve to #18, Auburn jumps two to #19 and Michigan State climbs two to #20. Connecticut drops four to #21, Ohio climbs three to #22, Washington enters the poll at #23, TCU enters the poll at #24 and Florida (138 points) drops six to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Central Florida (from #20) and Kentucky (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, San Diego State (123 points) is #26, followed by Indiana (117), Army (111), Oregon (61) and Kansas State (53) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Kentucky (28).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (36 first place votes) remains #1 team, Notre Dame (22 votes) climbs one to #2, Michigan (2 votes) jumps three to #3, Oklahoma (3 votes) climbs one to #4 and Stanford (1 vote) moves up two to #5. Florida State (1 vote) climbs two to #6, UCLA jumps two to #7, Georgia Tech jumps three to #8, South Carolina climbs one to #9 and Louisiana-Lafayette leaps five to #10. USC moves up one to #11, Texas climbs one to #12, Virginia Tech rises one to #13, Cincinnati leaps seven to #14 and Alabama jumps one to #15. Nebraska climbs one to #16, Miami plummets fifteen to #17, Texas A&M drops fourteen to #18, Auburn climbs one to #19 and Michigan State jumps three to #20. Connecticut drops three to #21, Ohio enters the poll at #22, Indiana enters the poll at #23, Washington enters the poll at #24 and TCU (157 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Florida (from #19), Central Florida (from #22), Clemson (from #24) and Kentucky (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, San Diego State (144 points) is #26, followed by Florida (129), Kansas State (108), Oregon (79) and Clemson (66) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Army (35).
An updated look at the Heisman race, Stanford QB Roger Langford is #1 (LW: #3), UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #2 (LW: #1), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #3 (LW: #2), Georgia Tech QB Phil Terrell is #4 (LW: NR) and Alabama WR Henry Freund is #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Auburn HB Nick Bowers (LW: #4) and Ohio State HB Tom Williams (LW: #5).
Game Five
:Fresno_State: :@: :Utah_State:
Game Story
--- The 2022 season neared the halfway point as we returned home for the second time this season and prepared to entertain the Fresno State Bulldogs. We were by far the favorites in this game, entering with a 3-1 record while Fresno State stumbled in at 0-4. The Bulldogs had a great rushing offense, ranked #13 in the nation, averaging 213.5 yards/game, but everything else about them was awful, with a #101 offense (359.8 yards/game), a #124 pass offense (146.3 yards/game), the #111 defense (454.5 yards/game), the #120 rushing defense (208.8 yards/game) and the #76 passing defense (245.8 yards/game).
On the flip side, our offense sucked, while our defense was great. We entered the game ranked #105 in both offense (349.5 yards/game) and rushing offense (122.0 yards/game) and #71 in pass offense (273.5 yards/game). Defense was what would carry us in this game, as we entered with the #5 defense (273.5 yards/game), the #1 rushing defense (79.0 yards/game) and the #27 passing defense (194.5 yards/game). Our defense would be what would lead us to victory. Our offense and the regular committing of turnovers would be what would lead us to defeat. Fresno State won the coin toss and elected to kick.
It would take a mere 11 seconds for the first score of the game to be made as Eric McGuire set a new NCAA record by returning the opening kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 8:49 still left in the first quarter.
Terrance Green tried his best to replicate the feat for Fresno State, but he would only manage to return the kickoff 26 yards before being dragged down by the ankles, giving the Bulldogs the ball at their 25 yard line. Justin Greer got the offense started for Fresno State, taking a first down handoff up the middle for a gain of just one yard. Quarterback Laron Banks kept the ball on a second down option right, rushing for a gain of three yards to leave third and 6. Thomas Freeman would keep the Bulldogs’ drive alive with an 11 yard reception along the sidelines, shedding one tackle before getting across the first down marker, moving the chains to the 40 yard line. Greer took the handoff on first down, gaining four yards on the carry, followed by an 11 yard option carry by Freeman to pick up another first down for Fresno State at our 45 yard line. The Bulldogs would continue to torch our defense with the option on first down, as Banks kept the ball and turned up the field for a 23 yard gain, pulled down from behind to save the touchdown, giving Fresno State a first down at our 22 yard line. A 6 yard rush by Greer kept the ball moving forward, followed by a two yard gain by Greer to leave third and two. Greer would complete the trifecta with a three yard run to move the chains to the 11 yard line. Reggie Jones took the ball on first down, but he was quickly stuffed for no gain, followed by a three yard run by Greer on second down to set up third and 7. Our defense would get some help from the Bulldogs as the offense got whistled for a false start penalty, leaving their offense facing third and 12 from the 13 yard line. Dropping back to throw his first pass of the game, Banks would never get the chance to complete it as the blitzing defense immediately closed in for the kill, sacking him for a 6 yard loss and leaving Fresno State kicking on fourth and 18. Tariq Bain drilled the 35 yard field goal right down the middle to cut our lead to 7-3 with 4:30 left in the first quarter.
After McGuire’s kickoff return to start the game, Fresno State understandably opted to kickoff to Leonard Hart this time. Hart nearly made them pay again however as he was able to return the kickoff 32 yards and had plenty of open land in front of him, but an ankle tackle from behind would spoil a potential second scoring kickoff return and leave our offense lining up at our 27 yard line. Matt Leierer got our drive started with a three yard carry up the middle, followed by a 7 yard rush around the left side to pick up an early first down at the 37. A third straight rush to start the drive would go nowhere, as Leierer was quickly tackled for only a one yard gain. Dropping back for his first pass of the day, Adam Powers would quickly wish he had not done so, as freshman cornerback Daniel Matthews immediately jumped the pass and intercepted it, giving Fresno State the ball at our 43 yard line.
Chris Vincent got Fresno State started this time on the ground, taking an option pitch to the right for a three yard gain. A QB option keeper would leave our defense burnt to a crisp, as multiple broken tackles would result in a 32 yard rush by Banks, setting the Bulldogs up with first and goal from our 8 yard line. Greer would take the handoff on first down, rushing up the middle for a 7 yard gain to leave second and goal at the one yard line. Greer again took the handoff but our defense was able to meet him at the line, resulting in no gain on the play to leave third and goal. The third time would prove to be the charm for Greer as he took the handoff and waltzed right in behind our blitz to score the one yard touchdown, giving Fresno State a 10-7 lead with 1:22 left in the first quarter.
McGuire was only able to make it 22 yards on the kickoff return, leaving us starting from our 15 yard line. Leierer got us started with a 6 yard carry on first down, followed by a 5 yard rush to gain the first down at the 26 yard line. Leierer kept us moving with a four yard rush, before a mere one yard gain would leave us facing third and 5. That would be the final play of the first quarter as the clock ran out, Fresno State leading 10-7.
Opening up the second quarter facing third down, we decided to try our luck once more through the air, where Raymond Watson would prove lucky as he pulled in the pass from Powers for a 6 yard gain and a first down at the 37 yard line. A first down carry by Leierer picked up 6 more yards, followed by a four yard gain for another first down near midfield. Tyson Taylor would take over on first down, but he would only manage a single yard before being driven into the ground. Dropping back to pass from under center, Powers was able to connect with McGuire on a comeback route, the completed pass gaining 10 yards and moving the chains to the Fresno State 41 yard line. Max Rhodes would keep us moving through the air, as he pulled down a first down pass from Powers for a quick 11 yard gain and another first down at the 30 yard line. Returning to the ground, Leierer took advantage of the defense blitzing, leaving a large hole up the middle for him to gain 8 yards on the first down carry. A second rush by Leierer would go for a three yard gain, moving the chains once more to the 18 yard line. Taylor would again try his luck on the ground, this time managing a four yard gain, followed by a four yard rush by Leierer to leave us facing third and two. Taking our chances on the ground, Leierer was just barely able to beat the blitz to the first down line for a two yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 8 yard line. Taylor would keep our rushing attack going with a two yard gain, before taking the handoff on second down and finding a hole up the middle and proceeding to waltz untouched into the end zone for a 6 yard touchdown, giving us a 14-10 lead with 4:27 left in the second quarter, capping off a 17 play, 85 yard drive.
A 24 yard kickoff return by David Rogers would get Fresno State back in action from their 24 yard line. An errant pass intended for Green got the drive off to a sour start, but it didn’t last for long as Greer took a handoff up the middle on second down, breaking free into the secondary for a 28 yard rush and a first down at our 48 yard line. Jones received the ball on first down, rushing for a gain of four yards, followed by no gain on a rush by Greer, who was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. A false start penalty before the snap on third down would leave Fresno State facing third and 11. Our defense would make up for the earlier miscue by our offense, as the third blitz forced a rushed pass from Banks, the ball underthrown of the intended receiver and ultimately intercepted by cornerback Mike Moses, who returned it four yards to give us the ball at our 46 yard line.
Lining up on offense after the interception, we had the perfect chance to score before halftime and seize some semblance of control in this game. Leierer got us started with a 5 yard rush around the right tackle, followed by a 5 yard dive up the middle to pick up a first down at the Fresno State 44 yard line and get some momentum building for our drive. Despite limited time on the clock, we opted to continue with our run game, as a 6 yard rush by Leierer was followed up with a 6 yard carry by Taylor, gaining us a new set of downs at the 31 yard line as we hit the two minute mark. Taking a shot through the air, we were able to catch the Bulldogs defense sleeping, as tight end Cedric McKinney hauled in a short pass over the middle for a 15 yard gain, moving the chains to the 16 yard line while only 16 seconds removed from the clock. Leierer returned to the backfield on first down, rushing for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 9 yard dash to set us up with first and goal from the three yard line, just over a minute remaining until halftime. Taylor would take the handoff on first down and plow up the middle, scoring his second touchdown of the day with a three yard touchdown rush, giving us a 21-10 lead with 46 seconds remaining until halftime.
A 21 yard kickoff return by Green gave Fresno State the ball at their 24 yard line, 42 seconds left. Dropping back into a prevent defense, Fresno State was limited to just a 9 yard pass from Banks to Jermaine Fenton, Fenton making it out of bounds however to stop the clock with 37 ticks left. A screen pass to Greer on second down would gain less than a year, leaving Fresno State facing third and inches, racing to the line with the clock still ticking. Instead of trying to pick up the first down with a rush or short pass, Banks threw up a ball near the left sideline, intended for Vincent 15 yards downfield, but cornerback Buck Castillo was there to bat it down incomplete, forcing Fresno State to punt the ball from their own 33 yard line with 14 seconds remaining. A 7 yard return by McGuire left us starting at our 29 yard line, just 6 seconds left on the clock. Instead of heaving up a dangerous pass, we opted instead to take a knee and head into halftime holding a 21-10 lead.
Opening up the second half, a 27 yard kickoff return by Green gave Fresno State the ball at their 26 yard line to start the third quarter. Greer got their drive started with a dash straight up the middle for a 9 yard gain, followed by an option keeper by Banks, good for a four yard gain and a first down at the 38 yard line. Freeman tried to run a reverse on first down, but he was quickly shut down by defensive end Caleb McBride, tackled for a two yard loss to leave second and 12. Running the triple option on second down, Banks was able to get the pitch off to Vincent, but the play would end up going for no gain as a pair of blitzing cornerbacks shut down any chances for option success. Going into the air on third down, Banks was able to find a wide open Fenton, who made the catch while falling backwards out of bounds for a 20 yard gain, giving Fresno State a first down at our 44 yard line. Greer would pick up torching our defense again as he received the handoff on first down, finding a gap around the right side for a 10 yard gain, leaving second and inches. Banks would end up converting with an option keeper to the left, breaking free for a 14 yard carry and a first down at our 20 yard line. Another option pitch, this time to Marvin Williams, gained 7 yards before he was driven out of bounds at the 13 yard line. Banks would finish off the drive on the next play, keeping the ball again during an option run and breaking three different tackle attempts on his way to a 13 yard touchdown rush, cutting our lead to 21-17 with 6:19 left in the third quarter.
A big 37 yard kickoff return by Hart, that would have gone for more if not for a lucky ankle tackle, set our offense up at our own 35 yard line for our first offensive drive of the second half. Leierer got our drive started on the ground as he rushed up the middle for a 6 yard gain, followed by a four yard dash around the left side that came up just short, leaving us with third and inches. The third time would prove to be the charm for Leierer, as he was able to pick up three yards on the carry, giving us a first down at the 48 yard line. Managing to catch the defense cheating towards the run, Powers dropped back on first down and was able to rocket a pass to Rhodes, good for a 16 yard gain to move us into Fresno State territory with a first down at their 36 yard line. Leierer tried to keep us moving on the ground with a first down rush, but he was only able to manage a two yard gain before being wrapped up. The next play would end up being the last for our drive, as Leierer received a designed pitch from Powers going around the left side. A timely blitz by the Fresno State defense, as well as a couple key blocks by our receivers and fullback, left Leierer with nothing but wide open green between the left sideline and hash mark, allowing him to sprint untouched into the end zone for a 34 yard touchdown, giving us a 28-17 lead with 3:54 left in the third quarter.
A 23 yard kickoff return by Rogers got Fresno State back in action from their 22 yard line. Despite running the triple option around the left side, which appeared it would be fatal for our defense, they were able to somehow quickly recover and adapt to the play, forcing Banks to pitch the ball off to Freeman, who was then quickly dragged down for a gain of just three yards, some rare success by our defense against the option, leaving Fresno State with second and 7. Unfortunately the success was short lived as the Bulldogs came right back at us with the option, this time to the right side, Banks holding onto the ball this time and fighting forward for a 9 yard gain to give Fresno State a first down at the 34 yard line. Another option play saw Banks hold onto the ball again, this time though the defense was able to limit the damage to just four yards. Another option play nearly turned into disaster for the Bulldogs, as a heavy blitz by our defense forced Banks to try and make a risky pitch in the middle of traffic. The pitch was unsuccessful, as the ball ended up on the ground as a fumble. Unfortunately, luck was not any further on our side, as Vincent was right next to the ball and was able to scoop it up to recover the fumble for the Bulldogs and ultimately gain a single yard on the play, leaving third and 5. Fresno State would manage to extend their drive on third down through the air, as Banks rifled off a quick two step pass that found its way into the hands of Green, good for a 6 yard gain and a first down at the 45 yard line. Banks kept the ball on another first down option play, but with our defense starting to get better recognizing where it’s going before the snap, they were able to quickly shut him down and limit him to a single yard gain, leaving second and 9. Banks again kept the ball on an option play to the right, but with a cornerback blitz on, Castillo was able to speeding down from the sideline and blindside Banks near the line of scrimmage, again limiting the gain to just a single yard, bringing up third and 8. This time Banks would not get the third down pass off, as defensive tackle Ernest Sims would break through his blocker, sacking Banks for a 7 yard loss and forcing Fresno State to punt on fourth and 15 from their 40 yard line. A 10 yard return by McGuire on the 41 yard punt gave us the ball at our 28 yard line.
Lining up after the punt return, our offense was sitting at the beginning of a possibly game deciding drive. With only 53 seconds left in the third quarter, a touchdown on this drive (especially if it came after chewing more than a few minutes off the clock), would give us an 18 point lead with less a quarter to go in the game, putting Fresno State squarely behind the 8-ball and forcing them to have to take some big risks and potentially gamble with at least one or two onside kicks if they wanted any chance at a victory. Leierer would get this important drive started again on the ground, taking a handoff up the middle for a 6 yard carry, followed by a three yard rush to leave us facing third and one. That would be the last play as the final couple seconds ticked off the clock, bringing the third quarter to an end with our leading standing at 28-17.
Opening up the fourth quarter, we lined up looking to convert on third and one from our 37 yard line, but we would fail to get it was Leierer got tripped up by his own blocker, allowing Fresno State’s defense to finish the job and bring him down for no gain, setting up fourth and inches from our 37 yard line. Unwilling to take a fourth down gamble from our own 37 yard line while holding an 11 point lead, we brought out the punt team. Proving that we have nothing but bad luck, freshman punter Freddie Arnold would end up shanking the punt out of bounds after traveling just a miserable 19 yards, giving Fresno State prime position with the ball at their 43 yard line.
Fresno State started their drive in outstanding field position after the massive screw up by our punter, and they didn’t waste any time in taking advantage of it, as a successful option pitch from Banks to Freeman would go for a 6 yard gain, followed by a massive 24 yard rush on the option keeper by Banks, giving Fresno State a first down at our 27 yard line. Freeman would keep the torch burning hot as he took the option pitch from Banks, broke one tackle, juked another defender and went up the left sideline for an 18 yard gain, setting the Bulldogs up with first and goal from our 9 yard line. Banks would finish off the anal abuse on first down with another option keeper, racing untouched into the end zone for a 9 yard touchdown. Just to prove that our defense was his bitch, the Bulldogs would go for the two point conversion, Banks again abusing us with another option keeper and again racing into the end zone untouched, cutting our lead to 28-25 with 7:14 left in the game.
A 37 yard kickoff return by Hart got us lined up at our 32 yard line, now in desperate need of a touchdown to keep any hopes of winning this game alive, as our defense cannot in any way be trusted to stop Fresno State’s option offense. Leierer got our hopefully scoring, and clock killing, drive off to a good start with a 7 yard sprint up the middle, followed by a 6 yard rush around the left side to get us a first down at the 44. Keeping the ground game going, and the clock running, Leierer again took the ball on first down, finding a small gap, managing a gain of 5 yards to set up second and 5. Taking over on second down, Taylor took the handoff on second down, but was quickly tripped up for a gain of just two yards, leaving us facing third and three at the Fresno State 49 yard line. After the results on the ground on third and short the previous drive, we opted for the air this time, a decision which would pay off big as Rhodes was able to pull down a pass from Powers, good for a 16 yard gain and a new set of downs at the Fresno 33. Keeping the clock moving, now down to four minutes remaining, we returned to the run game, Leierer taking the ball on first down for a gain of 6 yards to leave second and four. Leierer would keep us moving forward with a four yard rush on second down, but he was marked just shy of the first down line, leaving us facing a monumental third and inches. We opted to put the ball, and potentially the whole game, into the hands of Leierer on third down, and he would not let us down as he was able to dash across the line before being dragged down a blitzing cornerback, the play good for a four yard rush and a first down at the Fresno State 20 yard line, just 2:39 remaining on the clock as we continued chewing off every last possible second we could. Taylor took over in the backfield on first down, managing just a three yard gain before being slammed to the ground, leaving second and 7, Fresno State calling their first timeout with 2:16 to play. A second down rush by Leierer would gain another three yards, setting up a big third down and four from the 14 yard line, Fresno State calling their second timeout with 2:13 left. Going into the air on third down, we would fail to convert as the pass intended for McGuire was broken up by the defense, leaving fourth and four with 2:10 to play. Unfortunately, we only had one option, and that was to go for it on fourth down. Leading by three points with two minutes to go, a field goal would do nothing but require Fresno State to score a touchdown to win, and with the way their offense had been manhandling and having their way with our defense all game, a defensive stand cannot reasonably be hoped for or expected. In this case, worst case scenario, we fail the fourth down attempt, Fresno State drives down and either scores a touchdown anyways, or settles for a field goal with no time left to force overtime. A field goal now does nothing but ensure Fresno State goes all out for a touchdown and most likely guarantees us a loss. Going for it on fourth down, our offense would come through HUGE as tight end Jack Long was able to find some open space over the middle, hauling in a pass from Powers for a massive 12 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the two yard line and forcing Fresno State to burn their final timeout with 2:06 remaining, setting us up for our best odds at victory all day. Leierer would need just one play to put us back in the end zone, scoring a two yard touchdown to give us a 35-25 lead with 2:04 to play.
A 25 yard kickoff return by Green gave Fresno State the ball at their 26 yard line, needing a touchdown, onside kick, and either a second touchdown or a field goal with only 1:59 remaining and no timeouts available. The good news, this would potentially put an end to their triple option as the Bulldogs needed to cover a lot of yards in little time, making the pass the more appealing choice. In a near worst case scenario, the drive would start very poorly for the Bulldogs as our simple four man pass rush was able to break through their blocks, pressuring and ultimately sacking Banks for a 6 yard loss, leaving second and 16 with the clock ticking away. Racing to the line, Banks quickly spiked the ball to stop the clock with 1:42 remaining, but in the process leaving Fresno State facing third and 16, essentially needing a miracle now just to even be in a position to score and then start praying for a possible onside kick. Bringing a couple blitzers and putting Banks under immediate pressure, it turned out, despite having the backbone required to run the triple option, that he wilts under pressure while standing in the pocket trying to pass, as he threw up a hurried and errant pass intended for Rogers, the ball landing well over 5 yards short of its intended target, leaving Fresno State with fourth and 16 from their 21 yard line, any hopes and prayers the Bulldogs might have all coming down to just this single play. Dropping back everybody possible and just rushing three defenders, we weren’t about to make it an easy conversion for the Bulldogs. Their hopes would last all of about one second, as Banks received the snap in the shotgun, dropped maybe two steps and then rifled the ball to Green. While the pass to Green was completed, it was completed while Green was in the middle of four of our defenders, resulting in him instantly being tackled for just a 6 yard gain and Fresno State turning the ball over on downs at their 27 yard line with 1:35 remaining.
With the 10 point victory sealed after the turnover, Powers took three victory formation kneels and ran out the clock on our, extremely, hard fought 35-25 victory.
With the win, we improve to 4-1, 2-0 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Fresno State drops to 0-5, 0-2 in Mountain West play. Up next, it’s back on the road yet again as we head to New Mexico. The Lobos enter the game 5-0, 2-0 in Mountain West play. New Mexico opened their year with a 34-24 win at Arizona State, then beat NC State 34-14. They toppled Fresno State 42-24, slaughtered New Mexico State 56-14 and embarrassed Hawaii 35-0. This could get ugly...
Final Score
:Utah_State: 35, :Fresno_State: 25
Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - An almost non-existent day from Powers, as he only went 7-9 for 86 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. Rushing, Leierer led the way with a big 180 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries while Taylor ended with 27 yards and two touchdowns on 8 rushes. Receiving, Rhodes led the way with 43 yards on three receptions. Only five receivers caught a pass today, Rhodes was the only one with more than one reception. Four of the five reached double digit yards, none had a receiving touchdown.
Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Probably the worst defensive game I have ever witnessed. Drive after drive after drive, Fresno State just absolutely torched, abused and assaulted the defense with the triple option. If the defense shut down the pitch guy, Banks would keep and ended up torching us for 116 yards on his own. If the defense shut down Banks, he pitched it to Greer or Freeman who would then do their own burning of our defense.
Today was a day for the rushing game. The defenses both sucked, but neither team made it beyond 86 yards in passing and neither team reached 300 yards of total offense, solely because all either team did was run. Fresno State ran 49 offensive plays, 39 of which were runs. We ran 55 offensive plays, 46 of which were runs. Both teams took slow grinds up the field on the ground, which in turn kept the clock running, which in turn kept the number of plays and overall the number of yards gained down. Otherwise, with these piss poor defenses on both sides, both teams probably would have topped 450+ yards of total offense.
Utah State Kicking – A perfect day for Marcus, attempting no field goals, but he did go 5-5 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score :Fresno_State: 10 0 7 8 25 :Utah_State: 7 14 7 7 35
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 8:49 :Utah_State: Touchdown E. McGuire, return kickoff 105 yards (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 7-0 4:30 :Fresno_State: Field Goal T. Bain, 35 yard field goal :Utah_State: 7-3 1:22 :Fresno_State: Touchdown J. Greer, 1 yard run (T. Bain kick) :Fresno_State: 10-7 Second Quarter 4:27 :Utah_State: Touchdown T. Taylor, 6 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 14-10 0:46 :Utah_State: Touchdown T. Taylor, 3 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 21-10 Third Quarter 6:19 :Fresno_State: Touchdown L. Banks, 13 yard run (T. Bain kick) :Utah_State: 21-17 3:54 :Utah_State: Touchdown M. Leierer, 35 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 28-17 Fourth Quarter 7:14 :Fresno_State: Touchdown L. Banks, 9 yard run (2-point conversion good) :Utah_State: 28-25 2:04 :Utah_State: Touchdown M. Leierer, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 35-25
Game Stats
Fresno State Stat Utah State 25 Score 35 13 First Downs 18 292 Total Offense 285 39 - 239 - 3 Rushes - Yards - TD 46 - 199 - 4 6 - 10 - 0 Comp - Att - TD 7 - 9 - 0 53 Passing Yards 86 3 Times Sacked 0 5 - 10 (50%) 3rd Down Conversion 5 - 8 (62%) 0 - 1 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 1 - 1 (100%) 1 - 1 (100%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 4 - 3 - 1 (100%) Red Zone - TD - FG 3 - 3 - 0 (100%) 1 Turnovers 1 0 Fumbles Lost 0 1 Intercepted 1 0 Punt Return Yards 17 143 Kick Return Yards 231 435 Total Yards 533 2 – 43.5 Punts - Average 1 - 19.0 2 - 10 Penalties 0 - 0 15:05 Time of Possession 20:55
Utah State Coach Goals
Goal XP Reward Completed Win a Game 100 x1 Score a Touchdown 25 x5 Kick/Punt Return Touchdown 50 x1 Three Consecutive Wins 150 x1 Force a Turnover 25 x1 Rush for 100 Yards 25 x1 NCAA Record: Longest Kick Return (105 Yards) 300 x1 Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead 10 x1 3+ Sacks 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 10+ First Downs 50 x1 4+ 3rd Down Conversions 25 x1
Utah State Contract Goals Update
Goal Expectations Progress Target Wins Per Season 7 4
Job Security Status
100%
Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State defeated Illinois 35-24. #2 Notre Dame slipped past #17 Miami (FL) 30-23. In the game of the week, #3 Oklahoma claimed the Red River Rivalry this year, beating #11 Texas 28-24. #4 Michigan nipped Rutgers 31-30. #5 Stanford routed #23 Washington 49-26. #6 UCLA dominated Cal 45-24. #9 South Carolina survived Arkansas 27-21.
#10 USC rolled Colorado 52-21. #15 Nebraska defeated Penn State 21-14. #16 Cincinnati beat East Carolina 20-14. Mississippi State knocked off #18 Texas A&M 34-27. #19 Auburn beat Ole Miss 24-10. #20 Michigan State topped Purdue 28-17. #21 Connecticut defeated Tulane 24-6. #22 Ohio beat Central Michigan 28-6. Iowa State shocked #24 TCU 29-28. LSU stunned #25 Florida 20-17.
For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 5-0 (3-0 Big Ten) with a 35-24 win over Illinois. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 4-2 (3-1 Big 12) with a 36-33 double overtime loss to Kansas State. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 3-2 (2-0 C-USA) with a 23-21 win over UTSA. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 3-3 (1-2 Pac-12) with a 55-38 loss to Washington State. LeeSO, #19 Auburn improves to 5-1 (4-0 SEC) with a 24-10 win over Ole Miss. SCClassof93, #9 South Carolina improves to 6-1 (4-1 SEC) with a 27-21 win over Arkansas. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State remains 2-2 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a bye week. Florida International improves to 2-3 (1-1 C-USA) with a 40-37 overtime win against Louisiana Tech. Navy improves to 5-0 (4-0 American) with a 56-30 win over South Florida. Tulsa drops to 2-3 (1-2 American) with a 31-10 loss to Temple.
In Mountain West action, Utah State beat Fresno State 35-25, New Mexico abused Hawaii 35-0, Nevada knocked off Wyoming 45-38, San Diego State topped Colorado State 51-35, San Jose State upset Air Force 31-24 and Boise State slipped past UNLV 24-19.
Looking at undefeated teams left, #24 TCU and Indiana both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 13. #1 Ohio State (5-0), #2 Notre Dame (6-0), #3 Oklahoma (4-0), #4 Michigan (6-0), #5 Stanford (7-0), #6 UCLA (6-0), #7 Florida State (5-0), #8 Georgia Tech (5-0), #12 Louisiana Lafayette (4-0), #16 Cincinnati (5-0), Kansas State (4-0), Navy (5-0), New Mexico (5-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 9 teams still looking for their first win: Akron (0-5), Florida Atlantic (0-6), Fresno State (0-5), Louisville (0-6), Memphis (0-5), Old Dominion (0-6), Purdue (0-5), Tulane (0-6), UTSA (0-6).
Teams getting their first win this week were: Nevada (45-38 over 2-3 Wyoming), New Mexico State (45-24 over 1-4 Texas State) and Rice (36-20 over 2-4 UAB).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (38 first place votes) jumps one to #1, Ohio State (21 votes) drops one to #2, Michigan (1 vote) climbs one to #3, Oklahoma (1 vote) drops one to #4 and Stanford remains #5. UCLA remains #6, Florida State remains #7, Georgia Tech remains #8, Louisiana-Lafayette jumps three to #9 and South Carolina drops one to #10. USC drops one to #11, Cincinnati leaps four to #12, Alabama remains #13, Virginia Tech remains #14 and Nebraska remains #15. Texas drops five to #16, Auburn climbs two to #17, Michigan State jumps two to #18, Connecticut moves up two to #19 and Miami drops three to #20. Ohio climbs one to #21, San Diego State enters the poll at #22, Kansas State enters the poll at #23, Army enters the poll at #24 and Washington (84 points) drops two to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Texas A&M (from #18), TCU (from #24) and Florida (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Wisconsin (83 points) is #26, followed by LSU (76), Navy (72), Kentucky (56) and Texas A&M (26) to round out the Top 30.
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (45 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Notre Dame (20 votes) remains #2, Michigan remains #3, Stanford climbs one to #4 and Florida State jumps one to #5. Oklahoma drops two to #6, UCLA remains #7, Georgia Tech remains #8, Louisiana-Lafayette jumps one to #9 and South Carolina drops one to #10. USC remains #11, Cincinnati jumps two to #12, Virginia Tech remains #13, Alabama climbs one to #14 and Nebraska climbs one to #15. Texas drops four to #16, Auburn climbs two to #17, Michigan State jumps two to #18, Connecticut climbs two to #19 and Ohio jumps two to #20. Miami drops four to #21, Kansas State enters the poll at #22, San Diego State enters the poll at #23, Wisconsin enters the poll at #24 and Army (88 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Texas A&M (from #18), Indiana (from #23), Washington (from #24) and TCU (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Indiana (67 points) is #26, followed by Navy (54), LSU (21), Washington (12) and Marshall (3) to round out the Top 30.
An updated look at the Heisman race, Stanford QB Roger Langford is #1 (LW: #1), UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #2 (LW: #2), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #3 (LW: #3), USC QB Frank Campbell is #4 (LW: NR) and Auburn HB Nick Bowers is #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Georgia Tech QB Phil Terrell (LW: #4) and Alabama WR Henry Freund (LW: #5).
Good to see you back at it Smooth! Do you find it tough to go from the 1 graphics back to the 360 crowds, field, etc.? I totally noticed it in my own dynasties,.
Yeah, I've been meaning to get back into this for a while now, I just never ever seem to get around to it. I think about it one day, and even though I have the time, I'll end up having something on TV catch my eye and three hours later, I still haven't turned my 360 on. By that point, as it gets into evening, I have stuff to do around the house and I start getting tired since I've been waking up between 4:30 and 6am every day for the past week or two since my internal clock is fubar right now. So, I never end up getting a game in even though I had an entire free day to do so.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaymo76
In fact, this very game, against Fresno State, took four days to complete, I kid not. I started this game Wednesday evening, I got the first half played and got sidetracked with something, and by the time I got settled back down, it was almost 9pm and I was getting tired, knowing there was no way I'd get the second half played and all the post game stuff typed up that night. So I left the game and my 360 sit the entire overnight Wednesday night. I was going to finish the game Thursday, got sidetracked again with stuff around the house, and while I had felt perfectly fine earlier in the day, by the time I could have sat down and finish the game, I was feeling tired and sort of sluggish, so I didn't feel like even trying to sit there trying to finish the game. So I left it sit again overnight Thursday night. Work and other stuff killed most of my Friday and by Friday evening, I was tired and sort of worn down that I did pretty much nothing but watch TV and dick around on my phone. So it sat yet again Friday night. Had to work up until noon today, was doing a couple other things, then around 4pm, I finally sat down, switched my TV back to the HDMI input of my 360, and finally unpaused and played the second half of the game.
So, I started the game Wednesday evening around 5 or 6pm, got one half in, then never got a chance to finish until around 4pm today. :D :fp: But, I finally got the game finished, and my poor 360 can finally be turned off and allowed to rest after running nonstop for four days.
Hopefully, I can manage to actually get full games in during a single sitting from here on out. The biggest issues right now is being so busy with things around the house due to what my mother is going through, plus my back has been hurting like a bitch for two weeks now. I don't know if it's a pulled or torn muscle or if it's a pinched nerve or something. It can depend, but simply standing or up and walking around can cause my back to hurt like hell. Other times, like this morning at work, I can move around reasonably well without really any pain. So that's also sort of killed my ability to play this past week or two, since sitting up at times causes my back to hurt, leaving me laying down and completely sprawled out on the couch while watching TV or relaxing, not in the best of positions when trying to play a game of NCAA and type up all the associated details in the game summary for this thread.
As for graphics, honestly, I haven't had a problem switching back and forth. I've been joining my friend in dicking around some older games like MLB 2K13 and Midnight Club: LA recently, so graphics and the stadiums/crowds in something like NCAA Football 14 isn't that big a deal for me to step back to. Now if it was night and day graphics, like going from what we have now on the PS4/One, to something comparable to what we had way back on the PS1 or PS2 or one of those other late 90s/early 2000s consoles, well, then we'd have an issue. :D