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I think before I begin my next NCAA season (probably late May or early June) I am going to edit players from my team and each team I play. Specifically I am going to edit the player injury attribute. Last two seasons injuries have been non-existent. It really hurts the overall realism of the game for me. Have you had this issue as well Smooth?
I've had some injuries pop up here and there. Probably not near as many as there should be, but I'd have to give some thought as to actually changing ratings or not.
Game Six
:Utah_State: :@: :New_Mexico:
Game Story
--- Hitting the halfway point of the season, while it had been a successful campaign thus far, as we entered our sixth game at 4-1, game number six was going to be the biggest game of the year so far in the Mountain Division, as we put our 2-0 conference record on the line against New Mexico, the Lobos entering the contest 5-0, 2-0 MWC. Whoever would win today would have a leg up on potentially claiming the Mountain Division title this season.
It would not at all be simple. New Mexico had turned into a juggernaut in the making over the last year or two, as the Lobos entered the game ranked #5 nationally in points (41.0 points/game), the #2 offense (517.0 yards/game) and the #4 rushing offense (264.6 yards/game). Their passing offense was not quite up to snuff, only ranking #47 (252.4 yards/game), but with the #4 rushing offense and the #2 overall offense, this could turn ugly in a hurry. Defense wasn’t much better on the news, as New Mexico had the #9 defense in the nation (302.6 yards/game) and the #5 passing defense (152.8 yards/game). Their only weak spot on defense was their rush defense, ranking at #42 (149.8 yards/game). Seeing as how our best offensive ranking stood at #95 with rushing offense (137.4 yards/game) and the other offensive rankings were above 100, this was shaping up to be a long, rough day. Just to make matters were, New Mexico came strolling in with a +7 turnover differential, ranking them #3 in the nation for forcing turnovers, while we stumbled in at #85 with a differential of negative two. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.
A 19 yard kickoff return by James Mason got New Mexico underway from their 20 yard line. Mike Robison ran a QB keeper on first down for a gain of just one yard, leaving the Lobos with second and 9. Proving that today could be a long day for our defense, Mason received the handoff on second down, sprinting around the right end and up the field for a 22 yard rush, giving the Lobos a first down at their 43 yard line. A 6 yard gain by Patrick Brown was followed by a three yard rush by Mason to leave third and one. Mason tried to pick up the first down on the ground, but his rush attempt up the middle was quickly met by our blitz, resulting in a two yard loss to leave New Mexico punting on fourth and three. A 7 yard return by Eric McGuire on the 36 yard punt got us started at our 21 yard line.
Matt Leierer got our first offensive drive moving on the ground as he received the handoff on first down, fighting his way to a 6 yard gain. A second rush by Leierer would pick up 5 yards, moving the chains early on to the 32 yard line. The third time would prove not to be the charm, as Leierer’s third straight run was almost instantly stuffed, gaining only a single yard to leave us with second and 9. Taking a shot through the air on second down, the pass over the middle intended for tight end Jack Long was nearly intercepted, bringing up third and 9. Max Rhodes would come through huge on third down, as he pulled in a pass from Adam Powers and was able to get up field for a 17 yard gain, picking up a first down at the New Mexico 49 yard line. A first down pitch left to Tyson Taylor ended horribly, as Taylor was unable to find an opening and was tackled in the backfield for a four yard loss, leaving us with second and 14. Dre Martin would save the drive as he was able to get open over the middle, the pass from Powers completed for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 39 yard line. Staying in the air on first down, it again was nearly a mistake as the pass intended for Raymond Watson was almost intercepted, bringing up second down. A dropped pass over the middle by Taylor would leave our drive struggling to stay above water, as we faced third and 10. Rhodes would again play savior, this time just barely picking up a first down for us with a 10 yard reception to move the chains to the 29 yard line. Returning to our ground game, Leierer was able to weave his way up the middle for an 8 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard rush to pick up the first down at the 14 yard line. Another handoff, this time to Taylor, resulted in another 8 yard gain around the right tackle, before a two yard carry by Leierer set us up with first and goal from the Lobos’ four yard line. Using some great blocking, Taylor was able to just barely punch it in on his first try, scoring a four yard touchdown to give us a 7-0 lead with 2:06 left in the first quarter.
A 22 yard kickoff return by T.J. Gunn got New Mexico back in action from their 23 yard line. Mason picked it right back up on first down with a 12 yard rush and a quick first down for the Lobos at their 35 yard line. This was already turning into a very long day, as Mason completely torched our defense on first down, breaking free down the sideline for a 51 yard gain before being chased down and pushed out of bounds from behind at our 14 yard line. Brown took over on first down, shaking off a pair of tackles on his way to a four yard rush, followed by a 5 yard rush by Nick Harris to leave third and one at our four yard line. Robison would do the honors himself, keeping it on an option left and racing in for a four yard touchdown, tying the game up at 7-7 with 39 seconds left in the first quarter.
A huge 39 yard kickoff return up the right sideline by Leonard Hart gave us incredible field position for our second drive, kicking things off from our 48 yard line. Leierer got us moving with a rush around the left end, but he was only able to pick up three yards before being dragged down. A second rush by Leierer went for 5 yards, leaving third and two. That would be the final play of the first quarter, the game tied up at 7-7.
Opening up the second quarter, we lined up on third and two from the New Mexico 44 yard line, badly needing some points out of this drive after the abuse our defense took last quarter. Leierer would come through huge for us, as he was able to find a hole to sneak past the blitz and into the secondary for an 11 yard rush and a first down at the New Mexico 33 yard line. Catching the Lobos napping a little, Powers was able to rocket a quick pass up the middle to tight end Cedric McKinney, good for a 14 yard gain and another fresh set of downs at the 19 yard line. Returning to the ground game, Leierer rushed for a 5 yard gain on first down, followed by a four yard rush that set up third and one. Leierer tried to convert on third down, but he was stopped just short of the first down marker, leaving us with fourth and inches at the 9 yard line. Settling for the fourth down kick, Doug Marcus nailed the 26 yard field goal down the middle, giving us a 10-7 lead with 6:48 left in the second quarter.
That lead was almost short lived as Mason was also able to find much success with a kickoff return up the right sideline, returning the kick for 48 yards before being chased down from behind and forced out of bounds at New Mexico’s 48 yard line. Continuing to pound it out, Mason took the first down handoff for a gain of just one yard, followed by a two yard carry to leave third and 7. Our defense would come through huge on third down, as a screen pass to Brown ended up being blown up by our secondary, Brown immediately tackled for a two yard loss to force New Mexico to punt away on fourth and 9. A 5 yard return by McGuire on the 36 yard punt left us beginning from our 20 yard line.
Leierer started our drive off on the ground, rushing for a 6 yard gain up the middle, followed by a four yard rush to pick up an early first down at the 30 yard line. Changing things up a little on first down, Powers dropped back to pass, but with all the receivers locked down, the defense was able to break through and sack Powers for a 10 yard loss after a failed scramble attempt, leaving us with second and 20. Lining up in the shotgun on second down, Dre Martin would potentially save the drive with a 19 yard reception over the middle, leaving just third and one. Leierer would take advantage of the situation, rushing around the right guard for a gain of 6 yards and, at one point, an improbable first down at the 45 yard line. Taylor would keep the drive moving on first down, taking a handoff around the left end for an 8 yard gain, before an 8 yard rush by Leierer would move the chains to the New Mexico 39 yard line. A short pass over the middle to McKinney would turn into a gain of 18 yards as he was able to break free up the sideline, giving us a new set of downs at the 21 yard line. Leierer tried to keep things moving on the ground, managing only a three yard gain on the first down carry, followed by a four yard rush by Taylor to set up third and three. Rhodes would come through for us once again on third down, pulling down a 12 yard pass from Powers to set us up with first and goal from the Lobos two yard line. Taylor tried to score his second touchdown of the game, but he was met at the line of scrimmage by the defense, tackled for no gain to leave second and goal, as we called our first timeout of the half with 27 seconds left until halftime. Leierer returned to the backfield on second down, and would waste no time in adding on to our lead, pushing into the end zone for a two yard touchdown and giving us a 17-7 lead with 25 seconds left in the second quarter.
A 23 yard kickoff return by Gunn gave New Mexico the ball at their 24 yard line. We dropped nearly our entire defense back on first down, rushing only three players as we expected the pass. New Mexico had different thoughts however as Robison kept the ball and took off running on a designed run play and picked up 11 yards on the carry, the Lobos calling their first timeout with 16 seconds left. Once again rushing only three defenders, the Lobos this time did drop back to pass, but they would only go backwards as our secondary kept the New Mexico receivers locked up tight and enabled our three rushing linemen to somehow break through and sack Robison for a 7 yard loss, leaving second and 17 from the 27 yard line. New Mexico apparently decided to cut their losses, as they didn’t bother calling either of their two remaining timeouts as the final 10 seconds ticked off the clock, sending us into halftime holding a surprising 17-7 lead and receiving the ball to start the second half.
Opening up the second half, a 21 yard kickoff return by Hart gave us the ball at our 27 yard line to being the third quarter. Leierer began our drive on the ground, as he fought his way up the middle for an 8 yard gain, followed by a four yard rush to pick up a first down at the 39 yard line. Another rush by Leierer gained three yards as he was tackled from behind, before being quickly spun down near the line of scrimmage for a one yard gain on the second down carry, leaving us facing third and 6. Benjamin Silva would keep us moving on third down, as he hauled in a pass from Powers for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the New Mexico 47 yard line. Returning to the ground game, a 6 yard rush by Leierer was followed by a carry for a gain of 7 yards, moving the chains once more to the 34 yard line. Taylor took over duties on first down, but could only manage a two yard gain to leave second and 8. A quick pass over the middle to Long was good for a gain of 11 yards and a new set of downs at the 20 yard line. Taking a shot on first down, Powers lined up in the shotgun and sailed a pass into the end zone intended for McGuire, only to have it intercepted by cornerback Matthew Ortiz, who was tackled in the end zone for a touchback to give New Mexico the ball at their 20 yard line.
Lining up at their 20 yard line after the interception, the Lobos quickly picked up where they left off from the first half, as a QB keeper by Robison went for a 16 yard rush and a quick first down at the 36. Robison kept the ball yet again on first down, gaining 6 yards this time. Dropping back to pass on second down, Robison waited a few seconds before taking off scrambling, racing his way to a 18 yard rush and a first down at our 40 yard line, Robison singlehandedly accounting for all 40 yards so far gained in this drive. Finally giving the ball to someone else, the change in ball carrier didn’t matter the slightest as Mason proceeded to burn our defense for a 16 yard gain, resetting the downs once more at our 24 yard line. Mason kept the pain coming with an 11 yard rush and another set of downs at the 13. Our defense would finally win a battle on first down as they were able to limit Brown to just a three yard rush, but the victory would be short lived as Mason took the handoff on second down, rushing straight up the middle and breaking four tackles on his way to trotting into the end zone for a 10 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 17-14 with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter. The Lobos traversed 80 yards in just 7 plays that drive, all of them on the ground, and it only took them 1:57 to cover that distance. Our team managers were promptly sent to the nearly Sam’s Club for multiple industrial sized tubs of lube.
A 30 yard kickoff return by McGuire gave our offense the ball starting from our 35 yard line. Leierer got this drive started off with an 8 yard gain on the ground, before being wrapped up near the line of scrimmage for just a one yard gain, leaving third and one. Taylor thankfully would come through for us when we needed him most, breaking free on the ground for a 6 yard carry and a first down at the 49 yard line. Leierer returned to the backfield on first down, but was decidedly less successful, as he could only manage a three yard gain on the play, before Taylor got stood up for a gain of just two yards, leaving us facing third and 5. The drive would come crashing to an end on the next play, as the third down pass from Powers intended for Rhodes was horribly overthrown, landing incomplete to leave us punting on fourth and 5. A fair catch by Gunn on the 29 yard punt gave New Mexico the ball from their 16 yard line.
It was more of the same from the New Mexico offense, as Robison kept the ball for himself, ran around the left end and up the left sideline, shaking off three tackle attempts on his way to a 44 yard rush, giving the Lobos a first down at our 39 yard line. Thankfully the Lobos would end up going backwards on first down, as Mason was met in the backfield on an end around, tackled for a three yard loss to leave second and 13. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the clock ran out, our lead just barely hanging on at 17-14.
Opening up the fourth quarter, the Lobos ran a quick pass as Jordan Curry pulled down the ball on a crossing route, only to be quickly tackled by the mob of defenders around him, resulting in a gain of just three yards to leave third and 10. Robison dropped back to pass on third down, but a blitz by our defense had him under instant pressure and forced him to roll out to his right. Despite the speed he had flashed a great many times during his many previous runs, he was clearly still trying to pass as he was quickly caught up to from behind by multiple defenders, ultimately resulting in a sack for a loss of 7 yards and forcing the Lobos to punt on fourth and 17. A 7 yard return by McGuire on the 34 yard punt gave us the ball at our 18 yard line.
Leierer started our drive on the ground with a 7 yard rush, followed by a two yard carry to leave us facing third and one. Taylor would again answer when called upon, rushing for a four yard gain on third down to move the chains to the 31 yard line. Returning to the backfield on first down, Leierer received the handoff and busted up the middle for a 7 yard gain, before squeaking his way to a four yard carry, just picking up a first down at the 42 yard line. Taylor received the handoff on first down, but he was immediately tackled at the line for no gain, leaving second and 10. Dropping back to pass from under center, Powers was able to connect with Long over the middle, the pass complete for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the New Mexico 47 yard line. Our rushing game was seemingly useless now as Taylor was once again stopped for no gain on first down. Taking a shot with a play action pass on second down, the ball intended for Long was underthrown and incomplete, leaving us with third and 10. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Powers tried to connect with Rhodes, but he was hit as he released the ball, causing the pass to go wounded duck and sail into the ground, the incomplete pass forcing us to punt on fourth and 10 with 4:05 left in the game. A 13 yard return by Gunn on the 34 yard punt gave New Mexico the ball at their 26 yard line.
The Lobos shockingly came out passing on first down, Robison just managing to avoid the blitz and poorly dump the ball off to David Turner, who had to dive for the pass, the completion picking up two yards to leave second and 8. A screen pass to Mason likewise would go poorly for the Lobos, as Mason was immediately tackled for a four yard loss, bringing up third and 12. Robison would never get a chance to get the pass off on third down, as we brought 7 defenders, overwhelming the offensive line and sacking Robison for an 8 yard loss to leave New Mexico punting on fourth and 20, just 2:26 left in the game. A 10 yard return by McGuire on the 38 yard punt gave us our best field position of the game, as we lined up with the ball at the New Mexico 44 yard line.
Starting our drive at the Lobos’ 44 yard line and only 2:17 left in the game, we came out running the ball as Taylor took the handoff for a four yard gain, New Mexico calling their first timeout with 2:14 to play. The Lobos would win the battle on second down, tackling Taylor in the backfield for a one yard loss, leaving third and 9, New Mexico’s second timeout called with 2:11 remaining. Going into the air on third down, Adam Washington would come through for us as he pulled in the pass from Powers, however he also failed us as he caught the pass then was carried out of bounds by his momentum, only picking up 6 yards on the play and leaving us punting on fourth and two, New Mexico calling their third and final timeout with 2:07 remaining. The punt would sail into the end zone for a touchback, giving New Mexico the ball at their 20 yard line with 2:02 left in the game.
Returning to their roots proved the wise decision for the Lobos, as they came out running on first down, Mason receiving the handoff and rushing around the right end, breaking multiple tackles on his way to a 29 yard gain and a first down at the 49 yard line. Things would then start to unravel from there, as Robison dropped back to pass on first down, only to end up sacked for a 7 yard loss. Robison was then forced to rush everyone to the line and spike the ball to stop the clock with 1:37 left, leaving the Lobos facing third and 17. Handing the ball off on third down, Brown tried to save the drive, but he ended up being tripped up for a two yard loss, leaving fourth and 19, the clock ticking away with 1:18 to go. New Mexico would get a huge helping hand from our defense, as their fourth down pass attempt was intercepted, only to have the play reversed due to defensive end Caleb McBride being called for an offside penalty, setting up fourth and 14 with 59 seconds left. The Lobos would take full advantage of the reversal of fortune, as a screen pass to Brown was completed for a 17 yard gain, giving New Mexico a first down at our 38 yard line with 49 seconds remaining. We caught one of our biggest breaks of the game on first down, as Turner was able to give his cover the slip, leaving him open for a guaranteed touchdown. Instead, Turner would proceed to bobble and drop the pass at the three yard line, leaving New Mexico lining back up on second down. Proving that lightning can and does indeed strike the same place twice, New Mexico ran the exact same play a second time in a row, and Turner again got past the secondary for the second play in a row, this time catching the pass from Robison in stride and trotting untouched into the end zone for a 38 yard touchdown reception, giving New Mexico a 21-17 lead with just 39 seconds left in the game.
A 16 yard kickoff return by McGuire gave us the ball at our 22 yard line, 35 seconds left on the clock, but still all three timeouts in the bag. A first down pass attempt over the middle to Martin was nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker, thankfully dropped incomplete to leave second down. Another pass attempt over the middle, this time intended for Long, was again broken up to leave us facing third and long, just 27 seconds to go. Able to at least gain something, we went short on third down, as Powers connected with Rhodes for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 34 yard line, a quick timeout stopping the clock with 23 seconds left. A quick first down pass intended for McGuire was, as usual, broken up, leaving second down. Greg Miller would come through huge for us on second down, getting separation on a crossing route over the middle, allowing him to pull in the pass from Powers for a gain of 23 yards and a first down at the New Mexico 43 yard line, our second timeout quickly called to freeze the clock with 15 seconds remaining. Throwing up a long pass to Martin on first down, it was broken up at the last second by the safety, leaving second down and just 9 seconds left. Still stuck on the 43 yard line, we chucked up a pass over the middle, the pass only to end up broken up to leave third and 10 with just four seconds left on the clock. Throwing up a prayer on third down, Martin was able to slip behind both defenders on him, but the pass ended up a little underthrown, allowing the defenders to cut off an open Martin in the end zone and bat the ball down at the 5 yard line, the incomplete pass coming with no time left on the clock to seal the 21-17 win for New Mexico.
With the loss, we drop to 4-2, 2-1 in Mountain West action. With the win, New Mexico improves to 6-0, 3-0 in Mountain West play. Up next, we return home as we welcome the Colorado State Rams into town on Homecoming Weekend. The Rams enter the game 4-3, 1-2 in Mountain West action. Colorado State opened their year with a 48-17 win over Colorado and a 28-22 victory against Minnesota. After that, they went on a two game slide, losing 48-21 at #9 Alabama and 35-28 at Hawaii. The Rams would recover with a 38-14 win at UTSA, but would lose the next week 51-35 to #17 San Diego State before demolishing Wyoming 49-10 to inch about .500 on the year.
Final Score
:New_Mexico: 21, :Utah_State: 17
Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A poor day for Powers, going 13-26 for 177 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 146 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries. Taylor ended with 37 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries. Receiving, Rhodes was the top receiver with 51 yards on four catches. In all, seven receivers caught at least one pass today. Eight were targeted, but Taylor dropped his only targeted pass. Of the seven receivers with at least one catch, six ended with double digit yards.
Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Another piss poor day for the defense, as they get absolutely torched by another nationally top ranked rushing attack, giving up 239 yards rushing to the Lobos on just 28 total carries. Even passing wasn't really kept in check as New Mexico proceeded to go 7 of 8 passing, albeit for only a pedestrian 61 yards. All around another terrible day by the defense, a terrible day that cost us the division lead.
Utah State Kicking – Another perfect day for Marcus, going 1-1 in field goals with a 26 yard kick and 2-2 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score :Utah_State: 7 10 0 0 17 :New_Mexico: 7 0 7 7 21
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 2:06 :Utah_State: Touchdown T. Taylor, 4 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 7-0 0:39 :New_Mexico: Touchdown M. Robison, 4 yard run (D. Sands kick) TIED 7-7 Second Quarter 6:48 :Utah_State: Field Goal D. Marcus, 25 yard field goal :Utah_State: 10-7 0:25 :Utah_State: Touchdown M. Leierer, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 17-7 Third Quarter 3:12 :New_Mexico: Touchdown J. Mason, 10 yard run (D. Sands kick) :Utah_State: 17-14 Fourth Quarter 0:39 :New_Mexico: Touchdown D. Turner, 38 yard pass from M. Robison (D. Sands kick) :New_Mexico: 21-17
Game Stats
Utah State Stat New Mexico 17 Score 21 23 First Downs 11 350 Total Offense 282 46 - 173 - 2 Rushes - Yards - TD 28 - 239 - 2 13 - 26 - 0 Comp - Att - TD 7 - 8 - 1 177 Passing Yards 61 1 Times Sacked 4 9 - 14 (64%) 3rd Down Conversion 1 - 6 (16%) 0 - 0 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 1 - 1 (100%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 3 - 2 - 1 (100%) Red Zone - TD - FG 2 - 2 - 0 (100%) 1 Turnovers 0 0 Fumbles Lost 0 1 Intercepted 0 29 Punt Return Yards 13 103 Kick Return Yards 111 482 Total Yards 407 3 – 33.0 Punts - Average 4 - 36.5 1 - 5 Penalties 0 - 0 24:12 Time of Possession 11:48
Utah State Coach Goals
Goal XP Reward Completed Score a Touchdown 25 x2 Rush for 100 Yards 25 x1 3+ Sacks 50 x1 Play an ESPN Classic Game 75 x1 Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards 50 x1 Pass Completion Over 50% 30 x1 100% Red Zone Efficiency 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 4
Job Security Status
100%
Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week, #1 Notre Dame escaped from #11 USC 42-35 in overtime. #2 Ohio State destroyed Houston 45-14. #3 Michigan slipped past Maryland 42-35. #4 Oklahoma sailed by Kansas 48-27. #5 Stanford beat Troy 59-28. Oregon stunned #6 UCLA 38-20. #7 Florida State shellacked NC State 42-7. #8 Georgia Tech walloped North Carolina 42-6. #9 Louisiana-Lafayette shut out Idaho 49-0. Tennessee upset #10 South Carolina 37-34 in overtime.
BYU knocked off #12 Cincinnati 38-26. #13 Alabama got by Arkansas 35-28. #14 Virginia Tech beat Duke 34-10. #16 Texas topped Iowa State 49-35. Texas A&M stunned #17 Auburn 49-46. Wisconsin knocked off #18 Michigan State 24-21. Navy upended #19 Connecticut 24-21. Virginia upset #20 Miami 37-10. Buffalo shocked #21 Ohio 35-6. #22 San Diego State escaped Nevada 19-17. #23 Kansas State just slipped by TCU 36-35. #24 trout slapped Wake Forest 49-13. #25 Washington beat Arizona 23-10.
For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 6-0 (3-0 Big Ten) with a 45-14 win over Houston. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 4-3 (3-2 Big 12) with a 23-20 overtime loss to Baylor. Souljahbill, Southern Miss drops to 3-3 (2-0 C-USA) with a 36-35 loss to Kentucky. Jaymo, Arizona State remains 3-3 (1-2 Pac-12) with a bye week. LeeSO, #17 Auburn drops to 5-2 (4-1 SEC) with a 49-46 loss to Texas A&M. SCClassof93, #10 South Carolina drops to 6-2 (4-2 SEC) with a 37-34 overtime loss to Tennessee. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 3-2 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a 34-7 win over New Mexico State. Florida International improves to 3-3 (2-1 C-USA) with a 40-23 win over Massachusetts. Navy improves to 6-0 (5-0 American) with a 24-21 win over #19 Connecticut. Tulsa improves to 3-3 (2-2 American) with a 34-27 win over SMU.
In Mountain West action, #22 San Diego State beat Nevada 19-17, New Mexico beat Utah State 21-17, San Jose State topped UNLV 24-17, Air Force beat Hawaii 24-21, Colorado State whooped Wyoming 49-10 and Fresno State beat Central Michigan 33-21.
Looking at undefeated teams left, #6 UCLA and #12 Cincinnati both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 11. #1 Notre Dame (7-0), #2 Ohio State (6-0), #3 Michigan (7-0), #4 Oklahoma (5-0), #5 Stanford (8-0), #7 Florida State (6-0), #8 Georgia Tech (6-0), #12 Louisiana Lafayette (5-0), #23 Kansas State (5-0), Navy (6-0), New Mexico (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 6 teams still looking for their first win: Akron (0-6), Florida Atlantic (0-6), Memphis (0-6), Old Dominion (0-7), Purdue (0-6), UTSA (0-7).
Teams getting their first win this week were: Fresno State (33-21 over Central Michigan), Louisville (32-29 OT over Boston College) and Tulane (45-28 over 0-6 Memphis).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (34 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (23 votes) remains #2, Michigan (1 vote) remains #3, Stanford (2 votes) climbs one to #4, Oklahoma (1 vote) drops one to #5. Florida State jumps one to #6, Georgia Tech moves up one to #7, Louisiana-Lafayette climbs one to #8, Alabama leaps four to #9 and Virginia Tech jumps four to #10. Nebraska climbs four to #11, UCLA drops six to #12, USC falls two to #13, Texas jumps two to #14 and Kansas State leaps eight to #15. Navy enters the poll at #16, San Diego State jumps five to #22, South Carolina drops eight to #18, Wisconsin enters the poll at #19 and Army climbs four to #20. Auburn drops four to #21, Cincinnati plummets ten to #22, Texas A&M enters the poll at #23, Washington climbs one to #24 and Connecticut (275 points) drops six to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Michigan State (from #18), Miami (from #20) and Ohio (from #21). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oregon (243 points) is #26, followed by Michigan State (232), Kentucky (160), New Mexico (99) and Indiana (90) to round out the Top 30. One other team picking up points this week is Marshall (51).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (4 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Notre Dame (23 votes) remains #2, Michigan (1 vote) remains #3, Stanford (1 vote) remains #4 and Florida State remains #5. Georgia Tech jumps two to #6, Oklahoma drops one to #7, Louisiana-Lafayette climbs one to #8, Virginia Tech leaps four to #9 and Alabama moves up four to #10. Nebraska jumps four to #11, Texas climbs four to #12, USC drops two to #13, UCLA falls seven to #14 and Kansas State leaps seven to #15. Navy enters the poll at #16, Wisconsin jumps seven to #17, San Diego State climbs five to #18, South Carolina drops nine to #19 and Auburn falls three to #20. Army climbs four to #21, Cincinnati plummets ten to #22, Connecticut drops four to #23, Indiana enters the poll at #24 and Michigan State (237 points) falls seven to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Ohio (from #20) and Miami (from #21). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oregon (232 points) is #26, followed by Texas A&M (223), Washington (178), New Mexico (81) and Marshall (70) to round out the Top 30. One other team picking up points this week is Clemson (8).
In the first BCS rankings of the year: #1 Notre Dame (0.997), #2 Ohio State (0.997), #3 Michigan (0.989), #4 Stanford (0.984), #5 Florida State (0.974), #6 Oklahoma (0.974), #7 Georgia Tech (0.971), #8 Virginia Tech (0.951), #9 Alabama (0.951) and #10 Louisiana-Lafayette (0.949). Others: #15 Navy (0.897), #18 South Carolina (0.886) and #20 Auburn (0.871).
An updated look at the Heisman race, Stanford QB Roger Langford is #1 (LW: #1), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #2 (LW: #3), UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #3 (LW: #2), Ohio State QB Jordan Watkins is #4 (LW: NR) and USC QB Frank Campbell is #5 (LW: #4). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Auburn HB Nick Bowers is (LW: #5).
Sweet Jesus our defense sucks against the run. :fp:
Now, I don't know how the hell this could be possible, but we are currently ranked #12 in the nation in rushing defense, despite giving up, somehow, exactly 239 yards rushing for two games in a row. 478 yards rushing against our defense in two combined games, 478 yards rushing on only 67 total carries in those two games. All of those rushing yards given up in just those few plays, and we're still somehow ranked #12 in the nation for rushing defense. Talk about absurd.
Either way, we suck. We suck bad when it comes to defending the run. It doesn't get any better as we still play Colorado State (#39 rushing, 180.0 yards/game), Boise State (#90, 140.7 yards/game), Air Force (#5, 239.8 yards/game), Miami University (#50, 175.3 yards/game), UNLV (#123, 90.4 yards/game) and Wyoming (#54, 174.5 yards/game). There's a lot of potential rushing yards to be gained on our defense, ESPECIALLY when we play Air Force. I'm gonna have to have an semi of lube shipped in for that one.
IMO stats in NCAA 14 are pretty borked. Basically if you don't run a hurry up, spread offense you will be near the bottom of the league in offense. Way too many cpu teams put up way, way, way too many yards in the simulated games.Quote:
Originally Posted by SmoothPancakes
True, but looking back at what numbers my defense gave up in opponents' rushing games the last two games, those numbers might be on the low side after I get done playing them! :D :fp:Quote:
Originally Posted by jaymo76
Game Seven
:Colorado_State: :@: :Utah_State:
Game Story
--- As we entered the second half of the 2022 season, it was back home for Homecoming Weekend and a visit from the Colorado State Rams. The slaughterhouse games continued as the Rams came in with average rankings on offense and defense. They had the #45 offense in the nation (418.0 yards/game), the #39 rushing offense (180.0 yards/game) and the #57 passing offense (238.0 yards/game). On defense, the Rams ranked #28 nationally in total defense (347.3 yards/game), #60 in rushing defense (160.9 yards/game) and #18 in pass defense (186.4 yards/game). Throw on top of that the #23 scoring offense (35.3 points/game) and a ranking of #40 nationally in turnover differential, standing at plus-2.
On the flip side, we limped into the contest ranked #113 nationally in total offense (338.8 yards/game), the #85 rushing offense (143.3 yards/game) and #107 passing offense (195.5 yards/game). Defensively, we still rated as one of the top defenses in the nation, sitting on top at #1 for total defense (278.2 yards/game), #12 in rushing defense (132.3 yards/game) and #3 in passing defense (145.8 yards/game). We ranked a pedestrian #89 in scoring offense (25.2 points/game) and sat #88 in turnover differential, standing at negative-3. In regards to the conference race, today was a must win as we sat in a tie for second place in the Mountain Division with Air Force, both teams sitting with a 2-1 conference record, one game behind New Mexico and their 3-0 conference mark. A loss today would effectively eliminate us from an outright division title. Colorado State won the coin toss and elected to kick.
A massive 57 yard kickoff return by Leonard Hart got us off to an incredible start to begin the game, giving our offense the ball at the Colorado State 49 yard line before we even took a single snap. Beginning the drive proper on the ground, Matt Leierer took the hand off on first down, but could only pick up two yards before being leveled by the middle linebacker. A second rush by Leierer did a little better, picking up four yards to leave us facing third and four. Going into the air on third down, a quick pass over the middle to tight end Cedric McKinney would keep our drive moving with an 18 yard reception and a first down at the 25 yard line. A blitz by the Colorado State defense again kept our run game in check, Leierer forced to spin away from a tackle in the backfield, allowing the rest of the defense to close and tackle him for just a two yard gain. Returning to the air on second and 8, Adam Powers lined up in the shotgun and rifled a pass to Max Rhodes, the pass completed for a gain of 16 yards, setting us up with first and goal from the Colorado State 7 yard line. A first down rush by Leierer resulted in a gain of 5 yards, leaving us with second and goal from the two. Tyson Taylor would come in on second down and finish the drive off on his first attempt, receiving the hand off from Powers, finding a hole outside the right guard and leaping up and over a defender and into the end zone for a two yard touchdown rush, giving us a 7-0 lead with 6:15 left in the first quarter.
A 20 yard kickoff return by Matt Schneider gave Colorado State the ball at their 21 yard line. The drive got off to a bit of a sour start as Ryan Buchanan dropped back to pass and threw up a bullet intended for Henry Watkins. The throw was off the mark however and landed well wide of Watkins, bringing up second down. Dropping back to pass again on second down, Buchanan was forced to hurry a pass to avoid a sack, the quick ball caught by Tyler Adams for a four yard gain to leave third and 6. Targeting Watkins a second time, Buchanan was able to complete the pass this time, as Watkins was able to pull in the ball for an 18 yard gain and a first down at the 43 yard line. Everything would quickly unravel for the Rams after that as they went no huddle on first down. Dropping back once more, the pass from Buchanan, intended for Sean Gray, was quickly jumped upon and intercepted by senior safety Charles Noble, who proceeded to race up the field untouched for a 45 yard interception returned for a touchdown, giving us a 14-0 lead with 5:38 left in the first quarter.
It would continue to go from bad to worse for the Rams. During the kickoff return, Schneider fielded the ball at the one yard line, returning it out to around the 17 yard line before being violently hit by middle linebacker Sean Edwards, the ball coming loose during the tackle. A mass of bodies, with multiple players from each team, dived and piled on top of the ball, with outside linebacker Derrick Perez coming out the victor to give our offense the ball at the Colorado State 18 yard line. The Rams however were not about to just hand possession back to us on their doorstep, as they proceeded to challenge the fumble on the play. Unfortunately they would win the challenge, as Schneider’s knee was ruled down before the ball came loose, resulting in the play being reversed and Colorado State holding on to possession of the ball at their 17 yard line. Coming out on first down, the Rams threw a screen pass to Schneider to start the drive, but our defense was able to quickly bring him down for just a one yard gain. That success wouldn’t last for long however as Colorado State instantly went into full blown no huddle offense, a second down pass to Ronald Phillips picking up 12 yards and a new set of downs at the 30 yard line. After an offside penalty called on outside linebacker Perry Johnson, Buchanan kept the ball on a designed QB keeper, rushing for 5 yards to leave second and inches. Continuing with the no huddle, Demetrius Newby would then make his presence known, taking a hand off from Buchanan, breaking FIVE different tackles, and rushing up the sideline for a 39 yard carry, giving Colorado State a first down at our 22 yard line. Another rush by Newby on first down resulted in a four yard gain, before a false start penalty pushed the Rams back 5 yards, leaving second and 11. Bringing the house on second down, we were able to force Buchanan to throw the ball away to avoid taking the sack, bringing up third down. Buchanan would fail to avoid the blitz a second time, as middle linebacker Justin Dunn was able to break through the line unblocked and proceeded to sack Buchanan for an 8 yard loss, leaving Colorado State with fourth and 19 from our 31 yard line. Shockingly, the Rams opted to not attempt the 48 yard field goal, instead punting from such a close distance. Proving that the football gods hate us, the very short field punt worked out in Colorado State’s favor, as Sean Roberson drilled a 29 yard punt out of bounds, forcing our offense to take over from our own one yard line.
Lining up just outside the goal line after the coffin corner punt by the Rams, Leierer had a tall task of gaining yards on the ground on first down. He would manage to do just that, finding a hole for a gain of 6 yards and getting our huddle out of the end zone, leaving second and four. Leierer would receive the handoff once more on second down, picking up another 6 yards and getting a first down at the 13 yard line. Catching the defense sleeping on first down as we lined up under center, McKinney was able to slip past the middle linebacker and get wide open up the middle of the field, hauling in a pass from Powers for a gain of 22 yards and a quick first down at the 35 yard line. Returning to our ground game, Leierer took the ball on first down for a gain of 5, before being tackled for no gain on a second down carry, leaving us with third and 5. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Powers was able to connect with Dre Martin on a crossing route, the pass complete for an 11 yard gain and a new set of downs at the Colorado State 49 yard line. Leierer kept us moving on first down, as he found a hole outside the left tackle, rushing for a gain of 5 yards on the play, followed by a three yard rush to leave us facing third and two. Despite the short yardage, we opted to take a shot through the air on third down, as Powers launched a quick pass to Leierer, who initially was able to get his hands on it, before a hard hit by the safety knocked it loose and incomplete, leaving us punting on fourth down. The 41 yard punt by Freddie Arnold would land near the 7 yard line and bounce into the end zone for a touchback.
Taking over at their 20 yard line after the touchback, Colorado State came out passing on first down as Buchanan rifled a pass to Gray, complete for a gain of 9 yards to leave second and one. That would be the final play of the first quarter as the last three seconds ticked off the clock, our lead standing at 14-0.
Opening up the second quarter, the Rams came out passing on second down, but with our defense creating pressure and breathing down the neck of Buchanan, he was forced to make a rushed throw intended for the Gray, the poorly thrown ball spiking into the ground incomplete just 5 yards down the field. The Rams wouldn’t be denied on third down and one however, as Buchanan kept the ball on an option play to the right, breaking out of one tackle and rushing for a 7 yard gain, picking up a first down at the 35 yard line. Newby took over on first down, stiff arming one defender on his way to a 5 yard gain. Colorado State would end up going backwards however as our defense blitzed on second down, Buchanan finding himself under instant pressure as he dropped back to pass. Buchanan tried to scramble and roll out to his right, but he would end up rolling right into the arms of defensive end Caleb McBride, who sacked him for a loss of 6 yards to leave third and 11. The Rams went into a huddle on third down, but it would do them little good as our four man rush put pressure on Buchanan, collapsing the pocket in on him and forcing him to throw a bad pass down field intended for Watkins, cornerback Buck Castillo getting his arms up in front of Watkins to swat the ball away, forcing the Rams to punt the ball on fourth and 11. A 16 yard return by Eric McGuire on the 45 yard punt gave us the ball at our 37 yard line.
Starting a new drive with pretty decent field position, Leierer started us on the ground, finding a small hole along the left side that allowed him to gain three yards, leaving second and 7. Our drive would come screeching to an end on the next play as a pass attempt over the middle intended for McKinney was intercepted by middle linebacker Brandon Reed, returned three yards to give Colorado State the ball at our 48 yard line.
Taking over after the interception, the Rams came out passing the ball, as Buchanan dropped back and tried to fire a pass to Adams, the would-be first down ball thankfully broken up by Castillo to force second down. A blitz by our defense on second down forced Buchanan to throw the ball away, as our defense started to show signs of life and made it third and 10. In the end, our defense would win the ball right back for us as Buchanan hurled up a ball into coverage on third down, trying to reach his intended target of Brandon Powell near the 23 yard line. Instead, the under thrown ball would be cut off by Johnson, the interception returning possession of the ball to our offense at our 21 yard line.
Taking over at our 21 yard line after the interception, Leierer tried to get us moving on the ground, but could only manage a two yard gain, followed by a second two yard rush to leave us facing third and 6. Saying our prayers and taking a chance through the air, Powers would connect with Rhodes for a gain of 9 yards and a first down at the 35 yard line. Keeping the air game going, Powers, firing a pass from the shotgun, found McGuire over the middle for a 15 yard gain, giving us yet another fresh set of downs at midfield. Returning to the ground on first down, Leierer found a hole up the middle for a 9 yard gain, which was followed up with a 5 yard rush by Taylor to move the chains once more to the Colorado State 37 yard line. Continuing to pound the rock, Leierer returned to the backfield on first down, fighting for a gain of 6 yards, before a 5 yards rush to reset the downs once more, the ball laying at the 26 yard line. Hoping to catch the defense sleeping on first down, we came out running a play action pass on first down, Powers rolling out to his right to avoid the instant collapse of the pocket before firing a bullet to Martin for a 14 yard gain and a new first down at the 12 yard line. Leierer took a hand off on first down, but never had a chance as he was instantly leveled at the line of scrimmage, tackled for no gain to leave second down and long. Dropping back from under center, Powers slung a quick pass over the middle to Raymond Watson, who caught it near the 7 yard line and was able to juke past the nearest defender, fighting his way toward the goal line and turning a minor gain into a 10 yard play, setting us up with first and goal from the two yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, Leierer took the hand off, fighting forward for one yard, leaving second and goal at the one. Taylor would once again come in on second down and pilfer a score from Leierer’s stats, as Taylor dived up the middle for the one yard touchdown, giving us a 21-0 lead with 2:22 left in the second quarter.
A 24 yard kickoff return by Schneider gave Colorado State the ball at their 23 yard line. A failed interception attempt by Castro allowed Buchanan to complete a first down pass to Powell, good for a gain of 10 yards to move the chains to the 33 yard line. Keeping in the air on first down, Buchanan tried to connect with Tevita Wilson over the middle, but the play was broken up by Noble, forcing second and 10. A comeback pass to Adams on second down would pick up 6 yards for the Rams, setting up an important third and four play. Despite putting pressure on Buchanan with our pass rush, the Rams would still convert as a blown assignment by our secondary left Watkins wide open on the left side of the field, allowing him to pull in a pass for a 16 yard gain and a first down at our 45 yard line. It would all unravel from there however as we brought the blitz on first down, forcing Buchanan to try and scramble backwards to avoid a sack. He would fail in that attempt, five different defenders breaking through the pass blocking and collapsing on top of Buchanan. During the melee, Buchanan, trying to make one last ditch effort to avoid a sack, got hit in the back as he tried to spin away from a tackle, fumbling the ball in the process. For a few seconds of mayhem, no fewer than 11 different players gangpiled on top of the ball, but in the end it would be McBride coming up with the fumble for our defense to force the turnover and give us the ball at the Colorado State 42 yard line with 1:40 left in the half.
This time, the Rams were unable to challenge the obvious fumble, and we lined up on offense looking to sling the rock. It would be a poor start to the drive however as Powers tried to connect with Rhodes, only to have the pass dropped as Rhodes was hit from behind by the outside linebacker. Lining up on second down, Powers tried to connect with McGuire over the middle, but he would end up leading McGuire too much and throw the ball out of reach, resulting in third and 10. A second attempt to Rhodes would pay off this time, as he was able to pull in the ball from Powers and hold onto it this time, the pass good for a gain of 12 yards and a first down at the 30 yard line. Throwing from the shotgun on first down, Powers was able to find Martin over the middle, the pass good for a gain of 8 yards, but leaving the clock running. Hurrying to the line, we tried to audible to a run play, but it was quickly blown up as Powers failed to hand the ball off to Taylor while the defense brought the house, Powers just barely able to get back to the line of scrimmage to avoid a loss on the play. We called our first timeout of the half after the play, stopping the clock with 48 seconds left. Going into a hurry up offense, Powers handed the ball off to Leierer, who was able to fight ahead for a 6 yard rush to get a first down at the 15 yard line. Rushing to the line of scrimmage to take advantage of the stopped clock, we called a play action pass out of the same formation. The defense bit on the play action fake hook, line and sinker, allowing McGuire to slip past his man on a flag route while the linebacker who should have been defending him started moving up to try and stop the fictitious run. This allowed McGuire to cut outside in between the cornerback and the safety, pulling in the pass from Powers near the 5 yard line and trotting into the corner of the end zone untouched for a 15 yard touchdown pass, giving us a 28-0 lead with 39 seconds left until halftime.
A 24 yard kickoff return by Newby gave Colorado State the ball at their 26 yard line, just 35 seconds to go. A screen pass to Newby on first down resulted in Colorado State moving backwards, as Newby barely had enough time to catch the ball before being leveled by Castro, the tackle resulting in a 5 yard loss to leave second and 15. Sitting on their own 21 yard line with just 28 seconds left until halftime, the Rams pretty much just threw in the towel, huddling up after the play and not bothering to use any of their three uncalled timeouts. The Rams would let the clock run all the way down to just two seconds before snapping the ball. In the end, the Rams still almost pulled a rabbit out of the hat, as they ran another screen pass, this time getting a good pass off to an open Schneider. With plenty of blocking in front of him, Schneider was able to focus on running down field and breaking through five different tackle attempts for those players who were able to actually get close to him. While he was able to get down the field for a huge gain, it wouldn’t be enough as our defense would eventually force him out of bounds after a 42 yard gain, sending us into halftime with a, thankfully still, 28-0 lead.
Opening up the second half, a 27 yard kickoff return by Newby gave Colorado State the ball at their 26 yard line to start the third quarter. Colorado State’s drive would last all of one play, as Buchanan dropped back to pass on first down, managing to just avoid the blitz and heaving a deep pass 30 yards down the left sideline intended for Adams. Unfortunately for Adams, Buchanan and the Rams, the pass happened to be a hair under thrown and Castillo just happened to be trailing two yards behind Adams, leaving him in perfect position to jump up in front of Adams and intercept the ball, returning it 9 yards to the Colorado State 47 yard line.
Lining up at the Rams 47 after the interception, we let our ground game get the second half started for our offense, as Leierer took the hand off on first down, fighting through a pair of tackles on his way to a 6 yard gain, followed by a 7 yard rush to pick up a first down at the 34 yard line. Taylor took over on first down, but he was quickly spun down for a gain of just a single yard, leaving second and 9. That wouldn’t last for long as we ran a play action pass out of the same formation, once again fooling the defense with the fake hand off which allowed McGuire to get open on an out route, Powers connecting with McGuire for a big 18 yard gain and a first down at the 14 yard line. Trying to go through the air on first down, the defense was ready to play lock down D, resulting in all receivers being covered and Powers nearly being sacked, just able to dump the ball off as he was hit, resulting in an incomplete pass to bring up second down. Powers would not be denied however on second down, as he found Rhodes near the right hash along the 7 yard line, Rhodes managing to pull the ball in and then high-step his way out of a tackle attempt by the outside linebacker, trotting the rest of the way into the end zone untouched for a 14 yard touchdown reception, giving us a 35-0 lead with 7:20 left in the third quarter.
A 21 yard kickoff return by Schneider gave Colorado State the ball at their 20 yard line for their next drive. The nightmare of a game would continue for Buchanan as he dropped back to pass on first down. With the blitz collapsing the pocket and defensive tackle Ernest Sims having just beaten the tackle and having a clear path to Buchanan’s body, he chucked up a high rainbow prayer intended for Powell along the right sideline. Instead, it would be safety Sam Richwalski coming up from the side to cut off the play and jumping in front of the ball, intercepting it while in the air and getting one foot down along the sideline before his momentum carried him out of bounds for another forced turnover, giving us back the ball at the Colorado State 37 yard line.
Lining up after the interception with some of our best field position all game, we got the drive started on the ground, as Leierer took the hand off and tried to find some room, only to be brought down after a gain of just two yards. Lining up in the shotgun on second down, Powers took a HUGE gamble and slung a pass into the middle of triple coverage. Somehow, despite being in the very close quarters mass of three defenders, McGuire was able to somehow how pull down the threading the needle pass to avert a potential turnover and instead turn the play into a gain of 16 yards, giving us a first down at the 20 yard line. Continuing with our passing game on first down, tight end Jack Long pulled down a pass along the right sideline for a 9 yard gain, which was then followed by a 5 yard rush by Leierer, setting us up with first and goal from the 6 yard line. Taylor entered the backfield on first down, but was only able to pick up a single yard on the carry. Leierer tried his luck on second and goal, finding some room to run outside the right tackle, picking up four yards on the play to leave us facing third and goal at the one yard line. Taylor would once more swipe a touchdown from Leierer’s stats, as he took the rock on third down, punching it up the middle for a one yard touchdown to extend our lead to 42-0 with 4:15 left in the third quarter.
A 21 yard kickoff return by Schneider got Colorado State lined up at their 24 yard line. Having had four of their last five drives, and last two drives in a row, end on turnovers, specifically three interceptions and a fumble, the Rams were no doubt praying to every god ever mentioned in history to put together some sort of successful drive this time. Their prayers would seem to be answered as Buchanan was able to complete a pass to Powell down the right side of the field, good for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the 43 yard line. The success would be short lived however as the Rams attempted to run a screen pass on first down. However, due to our defense coming on an all out blitz, McBride was able to break through the line unblocked and dived at the ankles of Buchanan, tripping him up and sacking him for a 10 yard loss before he could try and release the ball, resulting in the Rams being left facing second and 20. Colorado State would go backwards yet again as defensive tackle Lance Nash came plowing through his blocker, sacking Buchanan from behind for a 7 yard loss, leaving third and 17 form the 26 yard line and putting the Rams back nearly where the drive originally started from. In probably the biggest failure by our defense all day, Buchanan would get off a pass on third down, complete underneath the coverage to Gray. The only problem would be that Gray would shake off the tackle attempt of the nearest defender. With Castillo locked up in a block down field near the first down marker, Gray was able to cover the yards needs before running into any more defenders, the total play going for a gain of 30 yards and giving the Rams a first down at our 44 yard line. Running no huddle on first down, Colorado State took advantage of our disorganized defense and was able to run a successful screen pass, Buchanan connecting with Newby for a 9 yard gain to leave second and short. Our defense would strike back however, as a blitz on the second down pass attempt left Buchanan scrambling, only to be tripped up and sacked for a 7 yard loss, leaving third and 7. Another screen pass attempt was quickly destroyed by our blitz, forcing Buchanan to keep dropping back to avoid a sack. Finally, after dropping back 15 yards to keep away from the defense, Buchanan threw the ball away, heaving it out of bounds to escape the sack. While the drive could technically be considered a success, as Colorado State actually managed to move the ball this time, getting as far as our 35 yard line, and all without committing a turnover, it was still officially a failure as the Rams continued to leave a big old goose egg up on the scoreboard. The 42 yard punt would sail long and into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.
Starting our drive from our 20 yard line after the touchback, Leierer got us off and running once more, picking up three yards after a dash up the middle. Dropping back from under center on second down, a quick pass to McKinney resulted in an 8 yard gain and a first down at the 32 yard line. Dropping back into the shotgun on first down, Powers tried to connect with McGuire over the middle, but the pass was nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker, leaving second and 10. Powers tried to hit Long on second down, but the ball was likewise swatted away, this time by the outside linebacker, leaving us with third and long. A third down pass attempt, this time to Rhodes, would finally hit its target, the pass complete just beyond the outstretched arms of the cornerback, good for a gain of 19 yards and a first down at the Colorado State 49 yard line. Taylor got our ground game back in action on first down, rushing up the middle for a four yard gain, followed by a three yard rush by Leierer to leave third and three. The third down pass attempt, intended for Rhodes, was broken up near the line of scrimmage to leave us punting on fourth and three. That would end up being the final play of the third quarter as the clock ran out, our lead sitting at a commanding 42-0.
Opening up the fourth quarter, our punt team lined up on fourth and three from the Colorado State 42 yard line. A pooch punt from Arnold traveled 29 yards, upon which Schneider called for a fair catch in the face of two of our gunners. That fair catch would leave Colorado State beginning their new drive from their 12 yard line. Despite the blowout score, the Rams refused to give up as Buchanan came out passing on first down, slinging the ball into a tight spot between the arms of Richwalski and into the hands of Watkins, the pass good for a gain of 9 yards. Attempting to throw again on second and one, the Rams would only end up going backwards as our 5 man rush defeated Colorado State’s clearly outmatched offensive line, resulting in Buchanan being sacked yet again, this time for a 7 yard loss to leave third and 8. Huddling up this time, the Rams came out on third down surprisingly running the ball, but it wouldn’t be enough as Newby would be tackled just short of the first down line, gaining only 7 yards to force a punt on fourth and one. A 6 yard return by McGuire on the 44 yard punt left us starting from our 41 yard line.
Leierer would get our drive started, as usual, on the ground, rushing up the middle for a gain of 6 yards, followed by a 10 yard rush outside the right tackle, giving us a quick and easy first down at the Colorado State 44 yard line. Taylor would take over on first down, finding a hole for a 6 yard carry, followed by a gain of four yards to get another first down at the 34. A third straight rush by Taylor would result in a 7 yard gain, leaving us with second and three. Running no-huddle on second down, we called a play action pass, hoping to catch the defense off guard. It would do exactly that as McGuire was able to find a gap between the cornerback, outside linebacker and safety, pulling down the pass from Powers for a gain of 14 yards and a first down at the 13 yard line. Handing the reigns back over to the run game, a new face appeared in the backfield as Benjamin Silva took the hand off on first down, fighting his way to a 7 yard gain, followed by a one yard run by Taylor to leave third and two. Passing on third down, Powers was able to sneak a pass into the end zone behind the back of the outside linebacker and into the hands of Rhoads, resulting in a 5 yard touchdown pass to increase our lead to 49-0 with 4:06 left in the game.
A 26 yard kickoff return by Newby gave Colorado State the ball at their 29 yard line. Despite rushing only five men, the offensive line for the Rams still had trouble containing our pass rush, forcing Buchanan to throw the ball out of bounds to avoid the sack, leaving second down. It would get even worse on second down with just a four man pass rush, as McBride was able to shed his blocker and nearly sack Buchanan, forcing him to quickly throw up a pass intended for Wilson. This time the ball was right on target instead of the usual under thrown, however Wilson stopped short on running his route at the last second and squared up to catch the ball in anticipation of being clobbered from behind by Noble upon reception. Due to that sudden stop and square up, the ball traveled past Wilson’s position, enabling cornerback Mike Moses to come running up and intercept the ball, returning it 6 yards to the Colorado State 36 yard line, where Powell tackled him. It would proceed to get worse for the Rams, as Powell, trying to quickly bring down Moses, who was trying to stiff arm his way out of Powell’s tackle, proceeded to tackle Moses by his facemask, the 15 yard penalty assessed at the end of the play, resulting in our offense instead lining up on first down from the Colorado State 21 yard line.
Lining up on offense after yet another interception, Taylor got us moving forward on first down with a 7 yard rush up the middle, followed by a two yard carry to leave us facing third and one. Taylor would fail to convert the third down, tackled for no gain on the play to leave fourth down. Out of position for a field goal, sitting on the hash mark at a sharp angle and with a strong wind blowing across the goal post, we opted not to try the Mickey Mouse field goal attempt, instead letting Powers run a QB sneak on fourth and one in hopes of converting and running out the clock. It was not meant to be however as he was quickly brought down for no gain, forcing a turnover on downs at the 12 yard line.
Taking over at their own 12 yard line with just 2:11 left in the game, Colorado State refused to go quietly, as Buchanan kept slinging up passes. Our defense blitzed on first down, forcing Buchanan to throw the ball away. A simple four man rush somehow managed Buchanan to throw up another hurried, high rainbow throw. It would result in exactly the same end game as every single other high rainbow throw he had tossed up all game. The ball, intended for Watkins near the 25 yard line, was intercepted by a jumping Castillo, his momentum carrying him out of bounds to give us the ball at the Colorado State 22 yard line.
Lining up at Colorado State’s 22 yard line after the ungodly seventh forced turnover by our defense, we set about trying to kill off the final 2:02 on the clock and bring this game to a merciful end. Powers handed the ball off to Taylor on first down, but a blitz by the Rams defense quickly brought him down for no gain to leave second and 10. Taylor would manage to spin and fight his way to an 8 yard gain on the second down carry, setting up third and two, still over a minute on the clock. Instead of hoping Taylor could get the job done this time, we decided to try a conversion through the air. It wasn't meant to be, as the throw from Powers to a wide open Rhodes sailed long and incomplete, leaving fourth and two. This time, despite being on the 13 yard line, we sitting at a decent enough angle to attempt the 30 yard field goal. The kick by Doug Marcus somehow miraculously was good, the ball actually ricocheting off the right upright and somehow managing to inside and over the crossbar for a successful 30 yard field goal, giving us a 52-0 lead with 45 seconds left in the game.
A 22 yard kickoff return by Schneider gave the Rams the ball at their 23 yard line, just 40 seconds left in this lopsided contest. Still insisting on going down swinging, Colorado State and Buchanan came out passing once again, and once again, Buchanan threw up a very ill advised, high rainbow pass across the field to the left sideline, again targeting Watkins on an out route. And again, Castillo was there to jump the pass and intercept the ball for an even more ungodly eighth forced turnover of the game, giving us the ball at the Colorado State 35 yard line with 34 seconds left in the game.
Lining up at the Colorado State 35 yard line after the eighth forced turnover by our defense today, Powers would simply take a single knee to run out the final 34 seconds on the clock and bring our 52-0 drubbing of the Rams to an end.
With the win, we improve to 5-2, 3-1 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Colorado State drops to 4-4, 1-3 in Mountain West play. Up next, it’s back on the road yet again as we head to Boise State. The Broncos enter the game at 4-2, 1-1 in Mountain West action. Boise State opened their season with a 35-28 win over #21 Auburn and a 34-14 victory at BYU. They suffered their first defeat in week three, 38-17 at the hands of #24 Washington. The Broncos would recover with a 52-42 win at Virginia, but would then lose their second game, 34-28 at #17 San Diego State. Boise State would recover once again, beating UNLV 24-19 and defeating Fresno State 38-21 heading into our game.
Final Score
:Utah_State: 52, :Colorado_State: 0
Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - Powers had an impressive day, going 19-28 with 253 yards and three touchdowns. Only sour note was one interception. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 117 yards on 28 carries. Taylor had 49 yards and three touchdowns on 16 rushes. Silva had 7 yards on one carry. Receiving, McGuire led all receivers with 77 yards, as well as having one touchdown on five receptions. Rhodes ended the day with 75 yards and two touchdowns on six catches. In total, six receivers caught a pass today, five of them ending with double digit yards. Rhodes and McGuire were the only ones to have a receiving touchdown, Leierer and Rhodes each had one drop.
Utah State Defense/Special Teams – By far the best defensive game I have ever witnessed. Just the fact that our defense forced 8 turnovers alone is just jaw dropping. To force 7 interceptions in ungodly, the forced fumble and fumble recovery were incredible. The 7 sacks were just the icing on the cake. Castillo set a new team single game record with three interceptions in the game. Richwalski, Noble, Johnson and Moses each had one interception. McBride had a forced fumble and fumble recovery. McBride also finished with three sacks, Dunn and Nash each had two.
If the defense can continue to play like this every single game the rest of this season, there is nothing that can stop us from achieving a Mountain West title. The question is, can they continue to play like this every single game the rest of the season?
Utah State Kicking – A perfect day for Marcus, going 1-1 in field goal with a 30 yard kick, and going 7-7 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score :Colorado_State: 0 0 0 0 0 :Utah_State: 14 14 14 10 52
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 6:15 :Utah_State: Touchdown T. Taylor, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 7-0 5:38 :Utah_State: Touchdown C. Noble, returned interception 45 yards (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 14-0 Second Quarter 2:22 :Utah_State: Touchdown T. Taylor, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 21-0 0:39 :Utah_State: Touchdown E. McGuire, 15 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 28-0 Third Quarter 7:20 :Utah_State: Touchdown M. Rhodes, 14 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 35-0 4:15 :Utah_State: Touchdown T. Taylor, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 42-0 Fourth Quarter 4:06 :Utah_State: Touchdown M. Rhodes, 5 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 49-0 0:45 :Utah_State: Touchdown D. Marcus, 30 yard field goal :Utah_State: 52-0
Game Stats
Colorado State Stat Utah State 0 Score 52 9 First Downs 22 195 Total Offense 424 13 - 14 - 0 Rushes - Yards - TD 48 - 171 - 3 14 - 31 - 0 Comp - Att - TD 19 - 28 - 3 181 Passing Yards 253 7 Times Sacked 0 4 - 9 (44%) 3rd Down Conversion 8 - 12 (66%) 0 - 0 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 0 - 1 (0%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 1 - 0 - 0 (0%) Red Zone - TD - FG 8 - 6 - 1 (87%) 8 Turnovers 1 1 Fumbles Lost 0 7 Intercepted 1 0 Punt Return Yards 22 195 Kick Return Yards 57 390 Total Yards 503 4 – 40.0 Punts - Average 2 - 35.0 2 - 20 Penalties 1 - 5 12:26 Time of Possession 26:58
Utah State Coach Goals
Goal XP Reward Completed Win a Game 100 x1 Score a Touchdown 25 x7 Defensive Touchdown 50 x1 Force a Turnover 25 x7 Pass for 250 Yards 25 x1 Rush for 100 Yards 25 x1 Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead 10 x1 3+ Sacks 50 x1 Opponent Under 10 Points 75 x1 Shutout Opponent 100 x1 Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards 50 x1 Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards 50 x1 Pass Completion Over 50% 30 x1 Score 21 or More Points 50 x1 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 5
Job Security Status
100%
Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week, #2 Ohio State slipped past Rutgers 24-17. #3 Michigan survived Minnesota 27-21. #4 Stanford beat Oregon State 42-21. In the game of the week, #5 Oklahoma outlasted #15 Kansas State 42-32. #6 Florida State shut out Louisville 45-0. #7 Georgia Tech escaped Virginia 24-19. #8 Louisiana-Lafayette shut out New Mexico State 28-0. Tennessee possum stomped #9 Alabama 41-17. #10 Virginia Tech toppled North Carolina 41-18.
#11 Nebraska stomped #19 Wisconsin 45-13. #12 UCLA whooped Utah 35-14. #13 USC thrashed Arizona State 55-35. TCU knocked off #14 Texas 41-37. #16 Navy topped Central Florida 45-28. North Texas shocked #17 San Diego State 49-45. Missouri knocked off #18 South Carolina 41-31. Florida International stunned #21 Auburn 35-13. #22 Cincinnati escaped Temple 28-23. LSU knocked off #23 Texas A&M 47-35. #24 Washington topped Cal 38-21. #25 Connecticut beat East Carolina 31-3.
For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 7-0 (4-0 Big Ten) with a 24-17 win over Rutgers. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 5-3 (4-2 Big 12) with a 28-25 win over Iowa State. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 4-3 (3-0 C-USA) with a 31-22 win over Massachusetts. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 3-4 (1-3 Pac-12) with a 55-35 loss to #13 USC. LeeSO, #21 Auburn drops to 5-3 (4-2 SEC) with a 35-13 loss to Florida International. SCClassof93, #18 South Carolina drops to 6-3 (4-3 SEC) with a 41-31 loss to Missouri. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 4-2 (2-0 Sun Belt) with a 28-3 win over Idaho. Florida International improves to 4-3 (3-1 C-USA) with a 35-13 upset of #21 Auburn. #16 Navy improves to 7-0 (6-0 American) with a 45-28 win over Central Florida. Tulsa improves to 4-3 (3-2 American) with a 38-6 win over Memphis.
In Mountain West action, North Texas stunned #17 San Diego State 49-45, Utah State shut out Colorado State 52-0, New Mexico topped San Jose State 41-20, Air Force beat Wyoming 38-28, Boise State topped Fresno State 38-21 and UNLV beat Nevada 24-20.
Looking at undefeated teams left, #15 Kansas State lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 10. #1 Notre Dame (7-0), #2 Ohio State (7-0), #3 Michigan (8-0), #4 Stanford (9-0), #5 Oklahoma (6-0), #6 Florida State (7-0), #7 Georgia Tech (7-0), #8 Louisiana Lafayette (6-0), #16 Navy (7-0) and New Mexico (7-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 4 teams still looking for their first win: Florida Atlantic (0-7), Memphis (0-7), Old Dominion (0-8), UTSA (0-8).
Teams getting their first win this week were: Akron (24-14 over 5-2 Ball State) and Purdue (42-26 over 4-3 Bowling Green).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (35 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (24 votes) remains #2, Michigan (1 vote) remains #3, Stanford (1 vote) remains #4 and Florida State jumps one to #5. Oklahoma drops one to #6, Georgia Tech remains #7, Louisiana-Lafayette remains #8, Virginia Tech climbs one to #9 and Nebraska moves up one to #10. UCLA climbs one to #11, Navy leaps four to #12, USC remains #13, Kansas State moves up one to #14 and Army climbs five to #15. Cincinnati leaps six to #16, Alabama drops eight to #17, Washington climbs six to #18, Connecticut jumps six to #19 and TCU enters the poll at #20. Texas plummets seven to #21, Wisconsin drops three to #22, New Mexico enters the poll at #23, Oregon enters the poll at #24 and Kentucky (200 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out this week were San Diego State (from #17), South Carolina (from #18), Auburn (from #21) and Texas A&M (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Indiana (193 points) is #26, followed by Tennessee (186), LSU (169), San Diego State (145) and Marshall (122) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week are Clemson (67), South Carolina (37), Northwestern (33) and Boise State (9).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (37 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Notre Dame (24 votes) remains #2, Michigan (1 vote) remains #3, Stanford (1 vote) remains #4 and Florida State (1 vote) remains #5. Georgia Tech (1 vote) remains #6, Oklahoma remains #7, Louisiana-Lafayette remains #8, Virginia Tech remains #9 and Nebraska climbs one to #10. Navy leaps five to #11, USC climbs one to #12, UCLA moves up one to #13, Kansas State jumps one to #14 and Army and leaps six to #15. Cincinnati jumps six to #16, Alabama plummets seven to #17, Connecticut jumps five to #18, Texas drops seven to #19 and Indiana climbs four to #20. Wisconsin drops four to #21, TCU enters the poll at #22, New Mexico enters the poll at #23, Oregon enters the poll at #24 and Washington (240 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out this week were San Diego State (from #18), South Carolina (from #19), Auburn (from #20) and Michigan State (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Marshall (138 points) is #26, followed by Tennessee (119), San Diego State (102), Clemson (84) and Kentucky (76) to round out the Top 30. One other team receiving points this week is LSU (39).
In the latest BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (0.997), #2 Notre Dame (0.997), #3 Michigan (0.989), #4 Stanford (0.984), #5 Florida State (0.977), #6 Georgia Tech (0.971), #7 Oklahoma (0.971), #8 Virginia Tech (0.955), #9 Nebraska (0.952) and #10 Louisiana-Lafayette (0.950). Others: #11 Navy (0.934), #25 New Mexico (0.834).
An updated look at the Heisman race, Stanford QB Roger Langford is #1 (LW: #1), UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #2 (LW: #3), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #3 (LW: #2), USC QB Frank Campbell is #4 (LW: #5) and Ohio State QB Jordan Watkins is #5 (LW: #4). No one fell off the list this week.
Damn! That's quite the beating. Nice work Smooth. Out of curiosity how is UNLV doing this season???
Yeah, I have no idea what it was that game.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaymo76
For some reason, even with just a four man pass rush, we were getting constant pressure on Buchanan. Colorado State's offensive line just wasn't very good. The pocket would collapse almost instantly or one or two people were able to quickly break through their blockers and make a move at Buchanan, forcing a bad pass. Buchanan would also constantly throw up really high, rainbow arc passes, especially along the sidelines. With the ball hanging in the air for so long, especially with it seemingly constantly overthrown or underthrown, it was pretty much easy pickings for my secondary to intercept the pass.
It was split mostly half and half on CPU picks and user picks, with such a slow, high arcing pass and such a long time for it to complete its arc and reach the receiver, it seemed like every pass was ending in an interception, especially in those final two or three drives that Colorado State had right at the very end.
Now, I am hoping that was just one very very very extreme outlying result and that it doesn't for some reason occur more often. I haven't touched any of my sliders since my last games back in January and early February, and I've hardly played NCAA in the last couple months, so how this team was suddenly able to just go Hulk Mode like that, I have no clue what the hell triggered that kind of defense that game.
As for UNLV, I can't say with total certainty at the moment. I'm actually in the middle of the first quarter of the Boise State game, if I can ever finish it. I started the Boise State game around 3pm this afternoon, and I'm still sitting in the middle of the first quarter right now. It's been paused and I haven't gotten a chance to resume playing since around 4:30-5pm.
However, I went back through the previous weekly recaps so far this season. Based on the weekly results in the Mountain West, I believe that UNLV is currently 2-4 (1-3 MWC). They opened with a 42-3 loss at UCLA, beat Troy 38-21, lost to Air Force 31-10, lost to Boise State 24-19, lost to San Jose State 24-17 and beat Nevada 24-20. When I get done with my game against Boise State, I'll take a closer look and check to make sure that's the right record.
Game Eight
:Utah_State: :@: :Boise_State:
Game Story
--- Coming off our dominating shutout of Colorado State, it was unfortunately right back onto the road, as we traveled to take on budding rival Boise State. This again was going to be a win at all costs game. After the results of the previous week, New Mexico still led the Mountain Division with a 4-0 conference record, ourselves and Air Force were still tied for second at 3-1, and Boise State was nipping at our heels with a 2-1 mark. With only four conference games left in the season, to lose and potentially fall behind New Mexico by two games, would be extremely difficult to overcome, especially as New Mexico holds the head to head tiebreaker, and would essentially all but officially eliminate us from contention for the division title.
It wasn’t going to be an easy one today. The Broncos came in averaging 32.4 points/game (#36 nationally), had the #72 offense (390.4 yards/game), the #91 rush offense (141.7 yards/game) and the #46 pass offense (248.7 yards/game). Today would potentially be a change of pace for our defense, as the Broncos appeared to have more of a pass-oriented offense, meaning our secondary would have to be on top of their game today. On the flip side, our running game would probably be what would carry our offense today, as Boise State entered at #57 for total defense (391.0 yards/game), #84 for rush defense (174.7 yards/game) and #40 for pass defense (216.3 yards/game). Looking at turnover differential, the Broncos had been able to force some turnovers throughout the season, sitting ranked #47 in the nation with a differential of plus-two. Meanwhile, our massive game against Colorado State, where we forced eight turnovers, skyrocketed us from a dismal ranking and a negative differential, to now standing at #30 in the nation with a turnover differential of plus-four. The talking heads all expected a close game, but due to Boise State having home field advantage on the smurf turf, they all picked the Broncos to prevail. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.
A 44 yard kickoff return by Travis Bolden, who broke upwards of 6 different tackles during the return, gave Boise State the ball at their 47 yard line. David Andrews received the hand off on first down, but our defense was able to break through quickly and tackle him in the backfield for a loss of one yard, leaving second and 11. Faced with a collapsing pocket, Danny Chavis, after originally dropping back to pass, tucked the ball and took off running, picking up 5 yards on the ground before being brought down to leave the Broncos facing third and 6. After shedding three different tackle attempts while trying to stay alive in the pocket, our defense would finally get a hold on Chavis and bring him down, sacking him for a one yard loss to force Boise State to punt on fourth and 7. The punt would sail 50 yards and into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at the 20 yard line.
Coming out for our first drive of the game, Matt Leierer got us started on the ground, rushing up the middle for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard rush to get a quick first down at the 31 yard line. Continuing to pound the ball on the ground, Leierer kept us moving forward on first down, fighting his way to another 6 yard gain, before a second down rush by Tyson Taylor would just barely result in a four yard gain, just enough to move the chains to the 41 yard line. Sticking with the mantra “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it”, we continued to pound away with the running game, Leierer taking the first down hand off for a four yard gain, followed by a 6 yard rush on an impromptu dash outside around the right tackle, just picking up another first down at the Boise State 49 yard line. Another carry on first down, this time by Taylor, netted us a gain of two yards. Taylor would receive the ball once more on second down, fighting his way up the middle for a pickup of 6 yards to leave us facing third and two. Despite the defense no doubt now cheating toward the run, we decided to take the gamble on the ground on third down. Taylor took the hand off and punched straight up the middle behind the center. He got to the first down line before being pulled down from behind by the defensive tackle. A horrible spot by the officials claimed it was just a one yard run and that Taylor was actually a couple inches short of the first down. Left facing fourth and inches on the 39 yard line, our only options were to go for it on fourth down or punt. Coach Ramius decided to take Option C instead, and challenged the spot of the ball. That challenge would pay off huge for our offense, as the officials reversed the call on the field, giving Taylor an extra yard on the play, giving us a first down at the Boise State 38 yard line. Refusing to give up on our run game on first down, Taylor took the ball around the left guard, fighting his way through the defense for a 5 yard gain. Going no-huddle on second down, we tried to catch the defense sleeping, running a play action pass from the same formation as the previous run. Adam Powers dropped back to pass but found his initial target covered by an alert and aware cornerback. However, with the outside linebacker biting on the fake, Raymond Watson was able to get open out of the fullback slot, pulling in the pass from Powers for a 5 yard gain, tackled just short of the first down marker to set up third and inches. Leierer returned to the backfield on third down, but it wasn’t meant to be as he got stuffed at the line of scrimmage for no gain, leaving fourth and one at the 29 yard line. Attempting a 46 yard field goal from dead center of the hash marks, kicker Doug Marcus was unable to convert the kick. Instead, the kick was so short that the ball just barely cleared the goal line before it fell to the ground, over 7 yard short of the cross bar.
Due to the missed field goal, Boise State got the ball back at their 29 yard line to begin their next drive. The defense would pick up right where it left off on first down, as defensive end Caleb McBride immediately got past his blocker with a perfect swim move and in a matter of seconds, was climbing on Chavis’ back, sacking him from behind for a 5 yard loss to leave second and 15. Running a screen pass on second down, Chavis was able to avoid the pressure long enough to dump the ball off to Andy Robinson, but it would be essentially a wasted play as Robinson was immediately tripped up and tackled for a gain of just one yard, bringing up third and a long 14 yards for the Broncos. Chavis again nearly got sacked on third down, Boise State’s offensive line just unable to successfully block our regular blitzes. Chavis, however, would manage to keep the play alive a couple seconds longer as he twisted his way out of the ankle tackle attempt, trying to just throw the ball downfield, only to have it swatted back in his face by the defensive line that was quickly closing in on him. The incomplete pass, intended for Bolden, would leave Boise State bringing out their punt team once more on fourth down. No return by McGuire on the 41 yard punt gave us the ball at our 34 yard line.
Coming out passing on first down this time around, Powers made a quick drop back and tried to rifle a pass into the arms of a defended Dre Martin, but the pass sailed a little long and allowed the cornerback to get his hands in front of the ball, batting it down and incomplete. The second pass would be more successful, as Powers dropped back from under center, firing a bullet over the middle to tight end Jack Long, who was able to get behind the middle linebacker and split the safeties, leaving him wide open between the hash marks for a 22 yard completion and a first down at the Boise State 44 yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, Leierer found a small hole around the right guard, fighting for a four yard gain on the play, followed by a 9 yard rush through a massive hole, giving us a new set of downs at the 31 yard line. That would be the final play as the clock hit all zeroes, bringing the first quarter to an end still in a scoreless tie.
Opening up the second quarter, we lined up on first down at the Boise State 31 yard line, a third straight rush by Leierer going around the left end for a gain of 7 yards, before being stood up on second down for just a one yard gain, leaving us facing third and two. With the defense starting to key towards the run game, we came out in shotgun on third down, Powers connecting with Rhodes along the left sideline on an out route, the pass complete for a big 16 yard gain that set us up with first and goal from the 7 yard line. Taylor took the ball on first and goal, fighting for maybe a one yard gain. Another rush on second and goal, this time by Leierer, went straight up the middle for a gain of 5 yards to bring up third and goal at the one yard line. As has become the custom the entire season, Taylor would reenter the game for the final offensive play of the drive to steal all the glory and stats from Leierer, Taylor this time taking the hand off and plunging straight forward for the one yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 6:35 left in the second quarter.
A 20 yard kickoff return by Matt Morton gave Boise State the ball at their 22 yard line. A first down screen pass would go from near disaster to near gold as Chavis was able to just barely avoid a sack by McBride and fired off a screen pass to Andrews near the far sideline. Andrews caught the ball a couple yards behind the line of scrimmage, but with a couple of yards of clear field and a pair of missed tackles, he was able to turn it from a loss into a 9 yard gain before finally being pushed out of bounds to leave second and one. The very next play, the drive would go from near gold to down the toilet as Chavis was forced to throw up a hurried pass, the ball sailing high and long 28 yards down the field intended for Bolden. The ball would never reach its intended target however as cornerback Buck Castillo proceeded to intercept his fourth pass in two games, managing a single yard on the return before being tackled at our 45 yard line.
Lining up after the interception, this could be a game changing drive as it presented us with an opportunity to take a two touchdown lead and silence the hostile and raucous Boise crowd. If we could take the fans out of the game and claim a 14 point lead, that would give us an immeasurable boost of momentum. Starting on the ground once more, Leierer took the ball and ran right around the end and up the field, fighting and clawing his way to a gain of 9 yards, following that up with a 6 yard carry to give us a quick first down at the Boise State 40 yard line. Leierer tried to keep us moving with his third straight carry, but the Broncos blitzed both inside linebackers, trapping Leierer behind the center and bringing him down after a gain of just two yards. Lining up under center on second and 8, we went into the air as Powers made a quick drop back, firing a pass to Watson from out of the backfield, complete for an 11 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 27. Continuing through the air on first down, Taylor got in on the passing game, pulling down a pass from Powers for a four yard gain. Threading the needle on second down, Powers was able to somehow sneak a pass between the outstretched arms of the cornerback, his failed interception attempt allowing Martin to get behind him and pull in the pass, turning up the field for a couple extra yards before being tackled for a total 18 yard gain, setting us up with first and goal from the 5 yard line. Leierer got first crack at the end zone on first and goal, fighting his way up the middle for a three yard gain to set up second and goal from the two. Taylor tried to steal another touchdown from Leierer’s stats, but the defense would win the second round, tackling Taylor for no gain on the play to bring up third and goal at the two. Leierer would finally get a chance at another rushing touchdown as he returned to the backfield on third and goal, taking the hand off from Powers and plowing straight up the middle. Leierer would make sure he took full advantage of this chance to add another touchdown to his stats, finding a hole between the center and right guard and ramming through at full speed for the two yard touchdown rush, giving us a 14-0 lead with 2:30 left in the second quarter.
A 25 yard kickoff return by Bolden gave Boise State the ball at their 26 yard line. Despite a great four man rush by our defense, Chavis was somehow able to shake and shoulder his way out of two different sack attempts, before stepping up in the nonexistent pocket and rifling a cross the body pass down the left side of the field, past our cornerback and into the arms of tight end Jason Meyer, the absurdly completed pass going for a 22 yard gain and a first down at the 48 yard line. Despite very limited time on the clock, the Broncos took their time to huddle up and call a proper play. It would be time wasted however as our defense blitzed on first down, putting pressure on Chavis and forcing him to scramble to his right, throwing a very rushed pass down the right side of the field intended for Meyer, this time the pass sailing way long and over Meyer’s head and landing incomplete. Another failed sack attempt would leave our secondary getting burned, as Chavis shook off McBride and fired a bullet to Bolden near the right sideline, Bolden then breaking through a pair of tackle attempts on his own while on his way to a 33 yard reception to give Boise State a first down at our 19 yard line. The Broncos would call their first timeout with 1:54 left on the clock. Our shutout would end on the very next play as Chavis again shook off a sack attempt and hit Morton on a crossing route over the middle near the 5 yard line. A failed tackle during the catch allowed Morton to outrace safety Sam Richwalski into the end zone for a 19 yard touchdown pass, cutting our lead in half to 14-7 with 1:48 left until halftime.
A 34 yard kickoff return by Leonard Hart gave us the ball at our 32 yard line, just 1:43 left to work with. Coming out passing on first down, Powers tried to float a pass over the Boise State secondary and into the hands of streaking tight end Cedric McKinney, but the safety was able to jump the route and swat the ball away, the incompletion leaving second down and 10. Lining up in the shotgun on second down, Powers dropped back and hurled a pass over the middle to McGuire on a slant route, picking up a gain of 15 yards and a new set of downs at the 47 yard line. Keeping through the air, Powers found Martin on an out route for a 10 yard gain, but he was stopped just short of the first down, leaving second and inches and the clock still running. Racing to the line in no-huddle, we made a quick audible, upon which Powers dropped back from the shotgun and connected with Adam Washington near the left hash, the completion going for a gain of 9 yards and resetting the downs at the Boise State 34 yard line. We would call our first timeout after the play, stopping the clock with 1:04 remaining. We would get that two touchdown lead right back on the next play as Powers found Rhodes on an out route near the right sideline, connecting with Rhodes near the 25 yard line. It would be all Rhodes after that as he violently shouldered safety Mike Washington out of the way, then immediately juked his way past cornerback Scott Stephens at the 22 yard line, before turning up the field and racing the final 20 yards to the end zone, diving over the goal line near the pylon to beat the closing defenders, scoring on a 34 yard touchdown pass to give us a 21-7 lead with 56 seconds left until halftime.
A 21 yard kickoff return by Morton left Boise State lining up from their 22 yard line, just 50 seconds left after the return. Chavis dropped back from under center on first down, trying to get off a pass in the face of our blitzing defensive line and linebackers, only to end up pancaked before he could complete a throwing motion, sacked for a four yard loss to leave second and 14. Boise State seemingly was ready to get hit the locker room, as the clock ticked down under 30 seconds and the Broncos didn’t even attempt to call one of their two remaining timeouts. Boise State would settle for a rush on second down, Andrews taking the hand off straight up the middle for a 6 yard gain to leave third and 8, just 14 seconds to go and still no intent to call a timeout. That, in fact, would end up being the final play as the Broncos started trotting off to the locker room without attempting to line up again, sending us into halftime holding a 21-7 lead and receiving the second half kickoff with a chance to tack on more points.
Opening up the second half, we would only need 11 seconds to tack on those extra points, as McGuire received the kickoff three yards deep into the end zone, running up the left hash before cutting outside and up the left sideline, taking advantage of a couple big blocks that sealed the outside of Boise State’s kickoff team in. Those blocks allowed McGuire to sprint up the left sideline untouched all the way for a 103 yard kickoff return touchdown, giving us a 28-7 lead with 8:49 still remaining in the third quarter.
A 33 yard kickoff return by Morton gave Boise State the ball at their 36 yard line, the Broncos in desperate need of a response here as the game quickly slipped more and more out of their reach. Starting the drive on the ground, Andrews took a pitch around the right side for a four yard gain, followed by a 5 yard rush up the middle to leave third and one. Running a play action fake on third down, the Broncos got our defense to bite, allowing Meyer to get open over the middle for a 17 yard completion from Chavis, picking up the first down at our 38 yard line. A screen pass on first down was almost disastrous for Boise State, as our defense read the screen and defensive tackle Ernest Sims almost had an interception for the big boys on the line, getting his hands on the ball and ultimately deflecting it incomplete to leave second down. Bringing a blitz on second down, an unblocked defender was able to immediate penetrate the backfield, forcing Chavis to throw the ball away to avoid an otherwise assured sack, bringing up third and 10. The Broncos would convert on third down yet again, as Meyer was again able to get wide open over the middle of the field, pulling in the pass from Chavis for a gain of 27 yards and a first down at our 11 yard line. Running the ball on first down, Andrews took the hand off up the middle for a four yard gain. Boise State would then go into the air on second down, Chavis dropping way back before slinging a pass to Andrews from out of the backfield, who caught it at the goal line and turned into the end zone for a 7 yard touchdown reception, cutting our lead to 28-14 with 6:52 left in the third quarter.
Understandably, the Broncos opted to kick off to the opposite side of the field this time, where Hart received the kickoff 5 yards deep into the end zone. Racing up the right side of the field behind a wall of blockers, he tried his best to imitate McGuire’s previous return, getting a couple blocks that allowed him to spring outside and up the sideline, returning the kickoff 44 yards before finally being run down the side and tackled at the 39 yard line. Leierer got us off and running on first down, picking up just one yard on a carry around the right end, followed by a four yard run to leave third and 5. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Powers threw a very risky pass over the middle to avoid the blitz, somehow completing it as tight end Jack Long laid out to reach the ball, catching it as he landed for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the Boise State 40 yard line. Continuing through the air on first down, Powers tried to connect with Martin, but the pass was broken up by the outside linebacker to leave second down. Sticking with the passing game, Powers tried to hit McGuire on a comeback route along the right sideline, but a well timed read by the cornerback allowed him to jump the pass and nearly intercept it, thankfully just swatting it down incomplete to leave us facing third and 10. Watson would come through huge for us on third down, as he came out of the backfield and cut across the middle of the field, uncovered long enough to pull in a pass from Powers for an 11 yard gain, tackled at the 29 yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, Taylor took the ball and pounded straight up a hole between the right guard and tackle, fighting his way into the secondary for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 17. Leierer returned to the backfield on first down, picking up three yards on the carry, followed by a four yard rush to leave third and three. We’d put it all on the shoulders of Taylor on third down, but he was unable to get the job done, only picking up a single yard before being stood up by the blitzing outside linebacker, leaving fourth and two from the 9 yard line. The 26 yard field goal by Marcus was good, increasing our lead to 31-14 with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
A 24 yard kickoff return by Morton got Boise State lined up from their 26 yard line. Andrews got the Broncos moving on the ground, taking the hand off and plowing his way up the middle for a 14 yard gain, moving the chains to the 40 yard line. Forcing a pair of missed tackles on another first down rush, Andrews would pick up 12 more yards and reset the downs once more at our 48 yard line. Dropping back to pass on first down, Chavis would never get the chance to the release the ball, as a 6 man blitz blew through Boise State’s line right off the snap, forcing Chavis to roll out to his right. That would only delay the inevitable as he was quickly sacked from behind for a 7 yard loss, leaving second and 17. Throwing over the middle on second down, Chavis tried to connect with Meyer, but Richwalski was able to just get his hand in front of the ball to deflect it, forcing third and long. An overthrown pass on third down, intended for Bolden, would bring the drive to an uneventful end and force Boise State to punt the ball away. The punt would sail 55 yards, landing down at the 10 yard line and bouncing into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.
Starting our drive on the ground, Leierer was only able to manage a two yard gain on the first down carry, followed by a three yard rush that left us facing third and 5, Boise State’s defense starting to shut down our run game more and more. Dropping back to pass on third down, Powers tried to hit Martin over the middle but it was broken up by the safety, forcing us to punt on fourth and 5. A 13 yard return by Morton on the 41 yard punt gave Boise State the ball at their 46 yard line.
Coming out passing on first down, Chavis made a circus pass to Morton, somehow completing it for a 16 yard gain to quickly move the Broncos into our territory at the 38 yard line. Chavis tried to connect with tight end Jason Henderson on first down, but the pass was dropped incomplete, leaving second down. Lining up in the shotgun, Chavis was able to find Adam Dean over the middle for a gain of 7 yards, leaving third and three. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the clock ran out, our lead sitting at 31-14, but Boise State driving in our half of the field.
Opening up the fourth quarter, Boise State lined up on third and three, the ball sitting at our 31 yard line. That third and three would turn into third and 8 due to a false start penalty, giving our defense at least a partial advantage. That advantage would disappear as Henderson hauled in a pass from Chavis for a gain of 10 yards, giving Boise State the first down at our 26 yard line. A first down pass to Henderson gained 6 yards over the middle, followed by a four yard rush by Andrews that moved the chains once more to our 16 yard line. Another hand off to Andrews gained just a single yard on first down. Chavis dropped back to pass on second down, but with all the receivers covered and the pocket quickly collapsing, he took off scrambling, somehow avoid a sack as he ran right past McBride. Once he got past the pocket, he found open space inside the 10 yard line. A broken tackle near the 8 yard line allowed him to continue advancing the ball for a cumulative gain of 13 yards before being tackled at our two yard line, setting Boise State up with first and goal. The Broncos would need just one play to add points to the board as Chavis chucked a quick pass up to Morton in the end zone, good for a two yard touchdown reception to cut our lead to 31-21 with 7:25 left in the game.
A huge 58 yard kickoff return by Hart up the right sideline gave our offense impeccable field position, starting our drive from the Boise State 45 yard line. Leierer got us off and running with a 5 yard carry, followed by a one yard rush to leave third and four. A failed interception attempt by the outside linebacker would bite Boise State squarely in the ass, as the pass from Powers to Rhodes was completed, Rhodes able to turn up the field with no defender around thanks to the outside linebacker laying on the ground behind him. Rhodes quickly sprinted up the field and turned what would have been only a 9 or 10 yard gain into a 22 yard completion, giving us a first down at the Boise State 16 yard line. Another rush by Leierer went for 5 more yards, followed by a second 5 yard carry to set us up with first and goal at the Boise State 6 yard line. Taylor entered the backfield on first down and took the hand off from Powers. Pure utter disaster would strike during the play as Taylor plowed straight up the middle toward the goal line, getting as close as the three yard line before getting stood up by the middle linebacker. While still pumping his legs and trying to drive into the end zone, a Boise State defender was able to knock the ball loose from Taylor’s arms, the ball flying backwards away from the goal line and back towards Powers behind all the action. Powers tried to dive on top of the fumble, but defensive end Brandon Justice would get to it first, scooping the ball at the 13 yard line and, due to Powers diving at the ground during his fumble attempt, sprinting all the way down the field for an 87 yard fumble return for a touchdown, further cutting our lead down to 31-28 with 5:11 left in the game.
Another huge kickoff return by Hart, this time for 47 yards, got us lined up from our own 43 yard line. Just barely holding onto a three point lead, our offense strategy just become clock killer as got started on the ground with a two yard rush by Leierer, trying to let as many of the remaining 5 minutes tick away as possible. Unfortunately, the Boise State defense had other plans, as a second two yard rush by Leierer left us facing third and 6. We would be able to keep the drive alive as we went into the air on third down, Powers connecting with Rhodes for a gain of 11 yards and a first down at the Boise State 42 yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, we would go absolutely nowhere as Taylor was instantly met at the line of scrimmage and tackled for no gain, though we were able to keep the clock ticking away. A second rush by Taylor would be a hair more successful, picking up three yards to bring up third and 7, the clock still ticking towards two minutes as Boise State didn’t use any of their three time outs. Going into the air on third down, Powers was able to complete a pass to Martin, but it wouldn’t be enough as he was immediately tacked for only a 6 yard gain, leaving us with fourth and one from the 32 yard line. Boise State called their first timeout after the play, stopping the clock with 2:03 remaining. Sitting at the 32 yard line, we had no choice but to go for it on fourth down as Marcus had already come nearly the entire end zone short of a 46 yard field goal attempt back in the first quarter, thus immediately ending any consideration on a 49 yard field goal attempt this time around. We’d put the ball into the hands of Taylor, hoping he’d be able to get the job done. Our hopes were crushed as Taylor was tackled at the line of scrimmage for no gain, Boise State forcing the turnover on downs and taking over on offense at their 32 yard line.
Taking over after the turnover on downs, Boise State lined up at their 32 yard line with exactly two minutes left on the clock, needing a field goal to force overtime or a touchdown to potentially win. Our defense was able to win a pair of victories early on, as a four man pass rush put enough pressure on Chavis to force him to throw the ball away. Trying to run the ball on second down, Andrews was only able to gain a single yard before being brought down, leaving Boise State facing third and 9. It would be the third play that Boise State would win a battle, as our defense got torched through the air, Morton streaking open down the left sideline and hauling in a pass from Chavis for a 34 yard gain, giving the Broncos a first down at our 33 yard line with 1:28 left to play. Chavis was again forced to throw away the ball on first down, just barely avoiding being sacked by McBride, but the celebration by the defense would be short lived as Chavis came back on second down, throwing a heater over the middle to Henderson for a 12 yard completion and a first down at our 21 yard line. Our defense would recover in a big way on first down, as the blitz was able to break through and managed to actually sack Chavis this time, resulting in an 8 yard loss to bring up second and 18 from the 29 yard line. Boise State would call their second timeout after the play, stopping the clock with exactly one minute left to play. Chavis would get a pass off on second down, finding Randy Wheeler near the left sideline for an 8 yard gain, leaving third and 10. Going into no-huddle on third down, the Broncos raced to the line and made a quick audible. Chavis dropped back to pass but McBride was able to swim move his way past the right tackle. Running all out at Chavis to try and sack him again, he made contact as Chavis tried to juke away to the left. That would end up being the undoing of the Broncos offense, as the juke move to the left of McBride left the ball right in McBride’s path, who hit hard enough to cause Chavis to fumble the ball. With Chavis taken out of the play by McBride, that allowed defensive end Shaun Peterson, who had just beaten the left tackle and was closing on Chavis from behind, to come swooping in and scoop the ball up in one fluid motion, recovering the fumble and advancing it four yards to our 32 yard line, giving us possession with 40 seconds left on the clock and all but securing a hard fought three point win.
Lining up on first down at our 32 yard line after the fumble, despite Boise State having one timeout left, that they would no doubt use, with only 40 seconds left on the clock we were able to come out and line up in victory formation right from the outset. Powers dropped to a knee on first down, only getting one second off the clock before Boise State called their final timeout with 39 seconds left in the game. Powers would drop to a knee a second time, Boise State unable to stop the clock this time, and that would be the final play of the game as the last 38 seconds ran off without the need for another snap, sealing a close, hard fought 31-28 victory over a very tough Boise State team.
With the win, we improve to 6-2, 4-1 in Mountain West action and make it back to bowl eligibility after failing to qualify for a bowl game last season. With the loss, Boise State drops to 5-3, 2-2 in Mountain West play. Up next, we start a two game home stand against Air Force. The Falcons enter the game at 5-3, 3-1 in Mountain West action. Air Force started their year on a three game win streak, beating Old Dominion 31-14, UAB 38-17 and UNLV 31-10. The Falcons would then lose their next two games, 34-24 at Navy and 31-24 to San Jose State. They'd recover with two more wins, defeating Hawaii 24-21 and Wyoming 38-28 before losing to their other service academy rival in a 49-25 defeat to #13 Army.
Final Score
:Utah_State: 31, :Boise_State: 28
Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A solid day for Powers, going 15-20 for 210 yards and one touchdown. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 114 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries. Taylor ended with 33 yards and one touchdown on 14 rushes. Receiving, Rhodes was the top receiver of the day with 83 yards and one touchdown on four receptions. In all, seven receivers caught at least one pass today, five of them ending up with double digit yards.
Utah State Defense/Special Teams – A less stellar day than their performance against Colorado State, but overall a solid day. The defense forced two turnovers today, an interception and then the game clinching forced fumble and fumble recovery with 40 seconds left. They also completely shut down Boise State's running game and for the most part was able to keep the Broncos relatively in check when it came to the passing game. The defensive line and linebackers also had their way today with Chavis, sacking him six times throughout the game and forcing many rushed throws as they put constant pressure on him all game long.
On the special teams side of the ball, another great day as McGuire had another kickoff return for a touchdown, this time for 103 yards, while Hart had numerous solid 30 and 40+ yard kickoff returns of his own that often left us starting our drives from our 40 yard line or better.
Utah State Kicking – Marcus failed to go perfect today, finishing one for two on field goals with a successful 26 yard kick but a failed 46 yard attempt. He did go 4-4 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score :Utah_State: 0 21 10 0 31 :Boise_State: 0 7 7 14 28
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter --- --- --- --- --- Second Quarter 6:35 :Utah_State: Touchdown T. Taylor, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 7-0 2:30 :Utah_State: Touchdown M. Leierer, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 14-0 1:48 :Boise_State: Touchdown M. Morton, 19 yard pass from D. Chavis (B. Richardson kick) :Utah_State: 14-7 0:56 :Utah_State: Touchdown M. Rhodes, 34 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 21-7 Third Quarter 8:48 :Utah_State: Touchdown E. McGuire, returned kickoff 103 yards (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 28-7 6:52 :Boise_State: Touchdown D. Andrews, 7 yard pass from D. Chavis (B. Richardson kick) :Utah_State: 28-14 3:12 :Utah_State: Field Goal D. Marcus, 26 yard field goal :Utah_State: 31-14 Fourth Quarter 7:25 :Boise_State: Touchdown M. Morton, 2 yard pass from D. Chavis (B. Richardson kick) :Utah_State: 31-21 5:11 :Boise_State: Touchdown B. Justice, returned fumble 87 yards (B. Richardson kick) :Utah_State: 31-28
Game Stats
Utah State Stat Boise State 31 Score 28 17 First Downs 12 353 Total Offense 265 44 - 143 - 2 Rushes - Yards - TD 18 - 35 - 0 15 - 20 - 1 Comp - Att - TD 16 - 26 - 3 210 Passing Yards 230 0 Times Sacked 6 7 - 11 (63%) 3rd Down Conversion 4 - 8 (50%) 0 - 1 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 0 - 0 (0%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 4 - 2 - 1 (75%) Red Zone - TD - FG 3 - 3 - 0 (100%) 1 Turnovers 2 1 Fumbles Lost 1 0 Intercepted 1 0 Punt Return Yards 12 284 Kick Return Yards 162 637 Total Yards 439 1 – 41.0 Punts - Average 3 - 49.0 0 - 0 Penalties 1 - 5 21:53 Time of Possession 14:07
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 x2 Rush for 100 Yards 25 x1 Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead 10 x1 3+ Sacks 50 x1 Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards 50 x1 Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards 50 x1 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 6
Job Security Status
100%
Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week, it showcased the worst defenses ever in the entire 120+ year history of college football, as #12 Navy knocked off #1 Notre Dame in triple overtime 77-73. This was a game that consisted of a 57 yard TD run by Notre Dame, an 86 yard TD run by Navy, two returned interceptions by Notre Dame, one for 20 yards and the other for 50 yards, passing touchdowns by Navy for 61 yards 62 yards and 51 yards. A 50 yard punt return TD by Navy and then a game winning 30 yard TD pass by Navy, those just the MAJOR highlights among an ungodly large scoring summary. Notre Dame racked up 52 points in just the second and third quarters alone. Navy racked up 56 points in just the second half alone. Both teams combined for 1,559 yards of total offense and 1,215 yards passing.
#2 Ohio State rolled over Maryland 31-3. #3 Michigan dominated Michigan State 45-14. #24 Oregon stunned the undefeated Cardinal, upsetting #4 Stanford 40-35. In the upset of the week, Miami shocked unbeaten rival #5 Florida State 34-28. #6 Oklahoma got past Iowa State 31-21. #7 Georgia Tech blasted Duke 49-14. #8 Louisiana-Lafayette barely survived a one-win Georgia State squad, winning 17-13. #9 Virginia Tech beat Boston College 31-10. #10 Nebraska outgunned Northwestern 34-24.
Colorado shocked #11 UCLA 52-35. #13 USC topped Arizona 44-24. #21 Texas knocked off #14 Kansas State 52-35. #15 Army kept rolling along, beating Air Force 49-25. #16 Cincinnati shut out Tulane 31-0. #18 Washington topped Arizona State 35-28, the Huskies scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter, including a game-winning 52 yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left in the game. #19 Connecticut outlasted BYU 44-37. #22 Wisconsin defeated Illinois 42-31. #23 New Mexico topped Wyoming 31-21. Missouri toppled #25 Kentucky 38-35.
For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 8-0 (5-0 Big Ten) with a 31-3 win over Maryland. Morsdraconis, West Virginia remains 5-3 (4-2 Big 12) with a bye week. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 5-3 (4-0 C-USA) with a 45-33 win over Old Dominion. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 3-5 (1-4 Pac-12) with a 35-28 loss to #18 Washington. LeeSO, Auburn drops to 5-4 (4-3 SEC) with a 38-20 loss to Arkansas. SCClassof93, South Carolina drops to 6-4 (4-4 SEC) with a 20-19 loss to Vanderbilt. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 5-2 (3-0 Sun Belt) with a 26-14 win over South Alabama. Florida International improves to 5-3 (4-1 C-USA) with a 35-30 win over UAB. #12 Navy improves to 8-0 (6-0 American) with a 77-73 3OT in over #1 Notre Dame. Tulsa drops to 4-4 (3-3 American) with a 55-31 loss to Houston.
In Mountain West action, #23 New Mexico beat Wyoming 31-21, Utah State outlasted Boise State 31-28, Nevada shocked Colorado State 25-14, UNLV beat Fresno State 35-24, San Diego State topped Hawaii 24-16 and #15 Army stomped Air Force 49-25.
Looking at undefeated teams left, #1 Notre Dame, #4 Stanford and #5 Florida State both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 7. #2 Ohio State (8-0), #3 Michigan (9-0), #6 Oklahoma (7-0), #7 Georgia Tech (8-0), #8 Louisiana Lafayette (7-0), #12 Navy (8-0) and #23 New Mexico (8-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 3 teams still looking for their first win: Memphis (0-8), Old Dominion (0-9) and UTSA (0-8).
Teams getting their first win this week were: Florida Atlantic (38-35 over 1-7 Minnesota).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (39 first place votes) climbs one to #1, Michigan (21 votes) climbs one to #2, Georgia Tech (1 vote) jumps four to #3, Oklahoma moves up two to #4 and Navy leaps seven to #5. Louisiana-Lafayette climbs two to #6, Notre Dame drops six to #7, Virginia Tech moves up one to #8, Nebraska jumps one to #9 and Stanford falls six to #10. USC moves up two to #11, Florida State drops seven to #12, Army climbs two to #13, Cincinnati jumps two to #14 and Alabama rises two to #15. Washington jumps two to #16, Texas leaps four to #17, Connecticut climbs one to #18, New Mexico jumps four to #19 and TCU remains #20. Oregon climbs three to #21, Kansas State plummets eight to #22, Wisconsin drops one to #23, Miami enters the poll at #24 and Indiana (290 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were UCLA (from #11) and Kentucky (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Tennessee (248 points) is #26, followed by UCLA (243), LSU (233), San Diego State (209) and Marshall (191) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Ohio (122), Florida (34), Northwestern (27) and Ole Miss (18).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (41 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Michigan (23 votes) climbs one to #2, Georgia Tech (1 vote) jumps three to #3, Navy leaps seven to #4 and Oklahoma climbs two to #5. Louisiana-Lafayette moves up two to #6, Notre Dame drops five to #7, Virginia Tech climbs one to 8, Nebraska moves up one to #9 and Stanford drops six to #10. USC moves up one to #11, Florida State plummets seven to #12, Army climbs two to #13, Oregon leaps ten to #14 and Cincinnati moves up one to #15. Alabama climbs one to #16, Texas jumps two to #17, Connecticut remains #18, New Mexico climbs four to #19 and Wisconsin moves up one to #20. Kansas State drops seven to #21, Miami enters the poll at #22, Indiana drops three to #23, TCU falls two to #24 and Washington (355 points) remains #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was UCLA (from #13). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Marshall (217 points) is #26, followed by Tennessee (192), San Diego State (169), UCLA (97) and LSU (92) to round out the Top 30.
In the newest BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (1.000), #2 Michigan (0.995), #3 Georgia Tech (0.989), #4 Navy (0.981), #5 Oklahoma (0.981), #6 Notre Dame (0.968), #7 Louisiana-Lafayette (0.965), #8 Virginia Tech (0.960), #9 Nebraska (0.958) and #10 Stanford (0.952). Others: #13 Army (0.923), #21 New Mexico (0.865).
An updated look at the Heisman race, Stanford QB Roger Langford is #1 (LW: #1), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #2 (LW: #3), Michigan QB Carl Ginn is #3 (LW: NR), USC QB Frank Campbell is #4 (LW: #4) and Navy QB Jarrod Brooks is #5 (LW: NR). Dropping off the Heisman Watch list this week was UCLA QB Mark Wilson (LW: #2) and Ohio State QB Jordan Watkins (LW: #5).
Game Nine
:Air_Force: :@: :Utah_State:
Game Story
--- We were able to do what was required of us last week, and got the road victory against Bose State. However, it was much of the same story this week. Win and keep our division title hopes alive. Lose, and essentially be eliminated from the title race. New Mexico still held down the top spot in the Mountain Division with a 5-0 conference record. We trailed a game behind with a 4-1 mark, while Air Force sat just behind us at 3-1. New Mexico already held the head to head tie breaker over us, so we were essentially sitting two games back of New Mexico, with only three conferences games to go for each of us. New Mexico would basically have to lose out, we would have to win out. There was hope however, as after a short non-conference stint with Louisville, New Mexico closed out their season at Air Force, against Boise State and at Colorado State. Two losses out of those three games and us winning our three remaining conference games would get the job done. Unfortunately all we could control was our own results.
Our first test, as we entered the final quarter of the 2022 season, was a home contest with Air Force. Our running defense, though highly ranked, was going to be in for a serious challenge today as Air Force brought the triple option into town, ranked #6 in the nation for rushing offense (233.1 yards/game). However, our defense couldn’t afford to be caught cheating on the run as Air Force could also pass when needed. Despite a national ranking of #119 for passing offense, Air Force came in averaging 166.9 yards/game through the air.
On the flip side, we were going to have to figure out something on offense, as Air Force boasted the #19 overall defense (352.1 yards/game) and the #12 passing defense (185.6 yards/game). Even their rushing defense wasn’t terrible despite a #71 national ranking, entering with an average of 166.6 yards/game. Our offense meanwhile was still anemic, ranked #109 nationally (351.3 yards/game), #87 nationally in rushing (146.8 yards/game) and #101 nationally in passing (204.5 yards/game). Our keys to victory, simple, shut down Air Force’s run game and discover an offense that could beat their top 15 passing defense and top 20 overall defense. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.
A 24 yard kickoff return by Joe Seymour gave Air Force the ball to start the game at their 25 yard line. An option keeper by QB Scott Byrd resulted in a two yard gain. Our defense would fail the first key to victory on the second play of the game, as Craig Williams took a late pitch from Byrd and rumbled 73 yards to the end zone for a touchdown, giving Air Force a 7-0 lead with 8:21 left in the first quarter.
A 28 yard kickoff return by Leonard Hart would get us started at our 25 yard line for our first drive. Also starting our drive on the ground, Matt Leierer received the handoff on first down, powering his way around the right guard for a 6 yard gain, followed by a second 6 yard rush to give us a first down at the 37. Leierer would keep us moving with a four yard rush on first down, followed by a big 7 yard carry to move the chains once more to the 48 yard line. Air Force didn’t seem to have much of an answer early on for our run game, as Tyson Taylor came in on first down and pounded it up the middle for a 6 yard carry, followed by a big 10 yard rumble by Leierer, just beating the left side blitz by the Falcons defense to the line of scrimmage, to gain another first down at the Air Force 35 yard line. After a seventh straight rush, a three yard gain by Leierer, left us with second and 7, we headed into the air for the first time of the game. Adam Powers lined up in the shotgun on second down, trying to connect with Eric McGuire over the middle, only to have it broken up by the middle linebacker. Powers would try to hit tight end Jack Long over the middle on third down, but cornerback Joe Patterson managed to jump the pass at the last minute and intercept the ball, giving Air Force possession at their 22 yard line.
A first down handoff to Williams would only pick up three yards for the Falcons, our defense shifting their strategy and focusing on the pitch man more this drive. Byrd would make up for the low gain with a big 13 yard run on second down, giving Air Force a first down at the 38 yard line. Despite the safety coming off the corner right into the path of Byrd on the option play, he would end up overrunning the play and allow Byrd to turn up and slip downfield for the gain. ***Editor’s note – It’s been so long since I last played, I stupidly made a rookie mistake here and accidentally pressed the timeout button before the next play, leaving Utah State just two timeouts for the rest of the half.*** Scott White to receive the pitch next on first down, taking it around the right end and up the sideline for a 9 yard gain, leaving second down and short. Air Force tried to get the first down quick and easy with a fast handoff up the middle to White, but our defense was ready to stop him, stuffing White at the line of scrimmage for no gain to leave third and one. Unfortunately, the second time would be the charm for White, who managed to pick up a first down up the middle with a three yard carry to our 49 yard line. A pitch right to Williams would end up going for a big 17 yard gain, our defense unable to do anything to shut down the Falcons on offense. Lining up from our 33 yard line, Byrd would call his own number on first down, keeping it and dashing up the middle for a 6 yard gain. Stanley Kirk would keep the ball moving on second down with a 6 yard rush to get the first down at our 21 yard line. Our defense would finally win a battle on first down, as defensive end Shaun Peterson was able to break through his blocker and blow up a reverse play, tackling Williams for a three yard loss to leave second and 13. Byrd would keep the ball on the option keeper, but he was only able to pick up two yards before being tripped up, leaving Air Force facing third and 11. Taking their first chance through the air, Air Force sent receivers out wide on both sides with Byrd lined up in the shotgun. Despite only rushing four as we dropped back into a zone defense, those four performed masterfully, dominating Air Force’s run-oriented offensive line, putting fast pressure on Byrd in the pocket. Forced to scramble to his right to avoid the approaching defensive tackle, Byrd had almost no room to maneuver as the right defensive end also closed from the side. Byrd was left out of options and threw up an ill advised pass across his body and into the end zone, intended for Michael Davis. It might have been a highlight touchdown, had it not been for Utah State outside linebacker Casey Hunter in front of Davis, there to intercept the ball for a touchback and give us possession at our 20 yard line.
Lining up on first down after the turnover, we resumed our rushing attack, as Leierer took a first down handoff from Powers for a 9 yard gain around the right tackle, followed by a quick four yard dash up the middle for a first down at the 33 yard line. Leierer would continue to pound the ball with a 6 yard carry, followed by a three yard rush to leave us facing third and one. That would be the final play of the quarter as the clock would expire before another snap, the first quarter ending with Air Force on top 7-0.
Lining up at the start of the second quarter, our offense faced third and one from our 42 yard line, needing to find a way to get points on the board this drive. Leierer would keep our drive alive as he barreled forward for a four yard gain to get the first down at the 46. Leierer would keep us moving with a 5 yard rush on first down. He would just manage to move the markers with his second down rush, just making it to the first down line for a 5 yard gain at the Air Force 44 yard line. Taylor would enter the backfield on first down, picking up three yards on the play, followed by a 6 yard rush to leave us facing third and one. Sticking to our ground game on third down, Leierer would return to the field for the big play, rushing for a big four yard gain to give us another first down at the 31 yard line. Another first down rush by Leierer would be less successful this time, only gaining three yards on the play. He would only manage another three yards on second down, tackled to leave us with third and four. Taking a gamble through the air on third down, Powers would manage to complete the pass this time, hitting Max Rhodes along the left sideline for an 8 yard gain and a first down at the Falcons 17 yard line. Resuming our rushing attack on the fifteenth play of the drive, Leierer took the handoff from Powers and sprinted through a huge gap between the right guard and tackle for a 10 yard gain, tackled at the Air Force 7 yard line to give us first and goal. Leierer’s first crack at the end zone would result in a 5 yard gain, giving us second and goal at the two yard line. Taylor would come in on second down and take the handoff from Powers, finishing off the job with a two yard touchdown run, tying the game up at 7-7 with 4:20 left to play, capping off a 17 play, 80 yard drive that took 6:28 off the clock.
A 20 yard kickoff return by Robert McCarthy got the Air Force offense back on the field at their 23 yard line. A handoff to Williams on first down would go for just a 5 yard gain (considered a success with the way this defense has played), followed by a delayed handoff to Williams that was blown up for no gain to leave Air Force facing third and 5. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Air Force tried their luck again through the air, but the four man rush once again quickly broke through Air Force’s inadequate pass blocking, getting into Byrd’s face right as he tried to throw a pass to Chad Rogers. Instead of going forward, the pass would fly backwards incomplete as Hunter would disrupt Byrd’s throwing motion with a sack attempt, leaving the Falcons punting on fourth down. An 18 yard punt return by McGuire on the 44 yard boot would give us the ball at our 45 yard line with 3:13 left until halftime.
Lining up on first down, we stuck to our run game, giving the ball to Leierer on first down for a 5 yard carry, followed by a 7 yard gain to give us a new set of downs at the Air Force 43. Leierer would keep us moving with a 10 yard rush off the right tackle, picking up a quick new first down at the 32 yard line. Taylor would come in next, but he would only manage a three yard gain before being tripped up from behind. Leierer tried to pick up the remaining yards on second down, but he could only get two yards on the carry, leaving us with third and 5. That play would come at an even bigger cost as Leierer was forced to exit the game with a strained back, that would leave him sidelined for at least two quarters. If we were lucky, he could possibly return in the fourth quarter, otherwise his day (and quite possibly our run game) would be done. A third down pass attempt, intended for Rhodes, would sail wide, bringing our drive to an end on fourth and 5. Doug Marcus would attempt a 45 yard field goal, but it would end up just short of the crossbar, giving Air Force the ball on downs at their 28 yard line, just 1:03 remaining on the clock.
Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Byrd dropped back and threw a quick pass to Josh Daniels, good for only a two yard gain. Furthermore, Daniels was tackled inbounds, forcing Air Force to call their first timeout and stop the clock with 57 seconds to go. Byrd was forced to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, as our pass rush decimated the Falcons’ pass blocking, leaving third and 8 for Air Force. The Falcons would return to their roots on third down, as Williams took a handoff from Byrd straight up the middle for an infuriating 11 yard gain, giving Air Force a first down at their 40 yard line, their second timeout called to stop the clock with 51 seconds remaining. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Byrd was forced to scramble to avoid the pass rush, managing to pick up 6 yards on the ground before being spun down. Rushing to the line with the clock still ticking, Byrd tried to get a pass off intended for Rogers, but had the ball swatted away as he was nearly sacked, leaving Air Force with third and four from their 47 yard line, just 36 seconds left on the clock. A much delayed option pitch to Williams would again burn our defense, this time for an 8 yard rush that kept the drive alive with a first down at our 45 yard line. Despite having one timeout remaining, Air Force rushed to the line and Byrd dropped back to pass, chucking up a ball deep down the middle of the field, intended for White, only to have the pass intercepted by safety Allen Salyer, giving us possession at our 10 yard line with 20 seconds left until halftime.
Coming up to the line of scrimmage after the interception, with a 90 yard field ahead of us and almost no time to work with, we opted to just take a knee, run off the final 20 seconds and head to the locker room, ready to receive the kickoff at the start of the third quarter. With that, we entered halftime, the game still all knotted up at 7-7, neither team able to find consistent success at finishing offensive drives and separate themselves from each other. In a telling halftime stat as to these two offenses today, Air Force had passed for two yards through two quarters, Utah State for 8. The Falcons had 160 yards rushing, Utah State had 139.
Opening up the second half, Eric McGuire would get the second half started in a BIG way, taking the kickoff up the left sideline and through a gap into the open, almost taking it all the way, before being wrestled down from behind for a 72 yard kickoff return, giving us the ball at the Air Force 27 yard line to start the third quarter. Taylor would get us started on first down with a 6 yard rush, followed by a 6 yard carry to move the chains to the 15 yard line. Keeping it on the ground on first down, Taylor was quickly brought down by the defense, only able to gain two yards to leave second and 8. A quick second down pass to Raymond Watson would be good for a gain of 6 yards, setting up third and two. Taylor would end up plowing forward into a wall, but he was able to drive his legs just enough to pick up three yards to give us first and goal at the four yard line. Taylor would need just one more carry to cap off the drive, blasting forward for a four yard touchdown rush, giving us a 14-7 lead with 6:35 left in the third quarter.
A 16 yard return by Seymour gave Air Force the ball at the 16 yard line, our crowd finding life for the first time since the first quarter. Byrd would try to run the option left, but a couple of blown blocks would leave him scrambling to find open space, and upon finding none, ending up tackled for a one yard loss to leave second and 11. Byrd would make up for it on second down, faking a handoff to the slotback and keeping it himself, rushing up the middle for an 11 yard gain, stopped just short of the line to leave third and inches. On a perceived do or die moment for our defense, they would choose to do as the stacked box would be the perfect play call. Air Force opted to hand the ball off to White for a quick dash up the middle, but our stacked box quickly broke through the offensive line and hit White in the backfield, tackling him for a two yard loss and forcing Air Force to punt the ball on fourth and two. A booming 56 yard punt would roll out of bounds, leaving us starting our next drive from our 19 yard line.
Lining up with decidedly less optimum field position, starting this time at our own 19 as opposed to Air Force’s 27 the previous drive, we had no choice but to work with what we had been given. Taylor would get our drive started with an off tackle rush, picking up 6 yards on the play. Another 6 yard carry by Taylor would get us off to a quick start with a first down at the 31. Taylor would continue to plug away at the defense with a 5 yard first down carry, followed by a 6 yard rush to move the chains to the 42 yard line. Benjamin Silva would make his first appearance of the day on first down, receiving the handoff from Powers for 6 yard gain to leave second and four. Taylor would return on second down, dashing through a hole for a gain of 9 yards and a first down at the Air Force 43 yard line. Staying on the ground on first down, Taylor would manage to fight his way to a four yard gain, but the defense would end up giving us a helping hand, as a flag was thrown on the play, a facemask penalty called on middle linebacker Blake Norwood giving us 15 free yards and a first down at the 24 yard line. Taylor tried to keep us moving on first down, but a blitz by the defense would leave him trapped for just a two yard gain, setting up second and 8. Taking a chance through the air on second down, Powers dropped back from the shotgun and found a wide open McGuire cutting across the middle, the pass complete for a 16 yard gain to give us first and goal at the 6 yard line. Lining up on first down, Taylor took the handoff and fought his way to a four yard gain, leaving second and goal from the two. Taylor would have to drive his way through a pair of defenders on second down, but he was able to squeeze his way through and into the end zone for a two yard touchdown carry, giving us a 21-7 lead with 1:09 left in the third quarter.
A 23 yard kickoff return by Seymour set Air Force up at their 23 yard line. Stanley Kirk would get the Falcons off and running with a 16 yard option pitch up the right sideline, giving Air Force a quick first down at their 39 yard line, the Falcons finally finding cracks in our rushing defense for the first time since the first quarter. Williams would receive the handoff on first down, but was quickly brought down for no gain on the play to leave second and long. We got lucky on second down as Air Force surprisingly dropped back to pass. With 6 defenders blitzing on the play, Byrd was left with no time to find an open receiver and was thankfully forced to throw the ball away to bring up third and 10. Byrd would have no chance to get rid of the ball on third down, as he would be driven right into the arms of Peterson, sacked for a 7 yard loss to leave Air Force punting on fourth and 17. That would be the final play of the third quarter, our lead holding at 21-7.
Opening up the fourth quarter, Air Force lined up to punt the ball from their 32 yard line. A 19 yard return by McGuire on the 40 yard punt would give us the ball to start at our 47 yard line. Trying to continue the dominance of our ground game, Taylor received the first down handoff but was quickly leveled by multiple defenders, tackled for no gain on the play. Another rushing attempt on second down would likewise end poorly, Taylor only gaining a single yard on the play to leave third and 9. Coming out on third down in the shotgun, Powers was able to rifle a pass between three defenders and into the arms of McGuire, good for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the Air Force 36 yard line. Taylor received the handoff on first down, picking up four yards on the carry as we tried to kill more clock with our ground game. Taylor would follow that up with a three yard carry to leave third and three. Taking the gamble on the ground, Taylor was able to find and penetrate a hole for a 6 yard gain, picking up the first down at the 23 yard line. Taylor would keep us moving with a three yard rush, followed by a spinning 7 yard rush that would see Taylor fall forward across the first down line to move the chains to the Air Force 13. Leierer would make his first return to the backfield since he left in the second quarter with an injury, receiving the handoff from Powers for a three yard carry to leave second and 7. Another rush by Leierer would gain four yards to set up third and three, before coming up short on third down, gaining just a single yard to leave us facing fourth and two from the four yard line. Holding a two touchdown lead with just 3:48 left in the game, we decided we’d rather extend that to a three possession lead rather than take the fourth down gamble. The 21 yard field goal by Marcus was good, extending our lead to a nearly insurmountable 24-7 margin with only 3:41 left in the game.
A 25 yard kickoff return by Robert McCarthy gave Air Force the ball at their 25 yard line, the Falcons in desperation mode, down by 17 points with just three and a half minutes remaining. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Byrd was quickly hounded by our pass rush, leading him to make the potentially game deciding fatal error, throwing up an errant pass intended for Davis, only to have it intercepted by cornerback Mike Moses, who had been between Davis and Byrd the entire time before the ball ever left Byrd’s hand. Moses would return the interception four yards before being wrestled down, giving us possession at the Air Force 35 yard line with 3:32 remaining.
Lining up on first down, we resumed our running game, as Powers handed off to Leierer for a three yard carry, followed by a pinball machine 7 yard rush that saw Leierer bounce off three different defenders on his way to the first down marker at the 24 yard line. Another first down carry by Leierer picked up four yards, followed by a second four yard gain to leave us with third and two. Taylor would take the third down handoff up the gut for a 7 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 10 yard line. With first and goal and only 1:22 left on the clock, instead of trying to punch it in for meaningless stats and potentially embarrass a service academy, we opted to kneel out the final minute of the game, sealing our 24-7 victory over Air Force, a victory that was much closer and harder to achieve than the score indicated.
With the third straight win, we improve to 7-2, 5-1 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Air Force drops to 5-4, 3-2 in Mountain West play. Up next, it’s another game day at home as we step out of conference play for the final time this season, welcoming the Miami (OH) Red Hawks to town. The Red Hawks enter the game at 1-8, 1-7 in Mid American Conference action. Miami (OH) opened their season with 31-14 loss at Northern Illinois and a 35-10 loss to #14 Cincinnati. They would get in the win column with a 26-25 win over Eastern Michigan in week three, before going on a 6 game slide, losing 27-20 at Central Michigan, 31-24 to Ball State, 38-35 at Kent State, 45-31 to Buffalo, 17-14 at Akron and 48-21 to Bowling Green.
Final Score
:Utah_State: 24, :Air_Force: 7
Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - Powers had a largely inactive day, only going 4-7 for 46 yards and one interception. The workhorses of the offense were Leierer and Taylor in the rushing game. Leierer ended the day with 148 yards on 29 rushes. Taylor had 115 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. Silva had 6 yards on one rush. Receiving, McGuire caught two passes for 32 yards, Rhodes had one catch for 8 yards and Watson had one catch for 6 yards.
Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Horrible first quarter. First gave up a 73 yard touchdown run on the second play of the game, then had trouble shutting down the option the entire first quarter. After a switch in strategy, spending less focus on the pass and focusing more on the QB and pitchman, as well as calling fewer man defensive plays and going more zone play calls, we finally managed to get a leg up on the option and shut Air Force's offense down. Also a big day individually as Hunter ended an Air Force drive with an interception in our end zone, Salyer ended a drive with an interception at our 10 yard line and Moses essentially ended the game with an interception in the final minutes to kill off Air Force's last drive of the game. Thankfully the option offense is behind us for another year, unless we face one in a bowl game.
Utah State Kicking – A mediocre day for Marcus, going 1-2 in field goal with a 21 yard kick and a 45 yard miss, while also going 3-3 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score :Air_Force: 7 0 0 0 7 :Utah_State: 0 7 14 3 24
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 8:21 :Air_Force: Touchdown C. Williams, 73 yard run (A. West kick) :Air_Force: 7-0 Second Quarter 4:20 :Utah_State: Touchdown T. Taylor, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick) TIED 7-7 Third Quarter 6:35 :Utah_State: Touchdown T. Taylor, 4 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 14-7 1:09 :Utah_State: Touchdown T. Taylor, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick) :Utah_State: 21-7 Fourth Quarter 3:41 :Utah_State: Field Goal D. Marcus, 21 yard field goal :Utah_State: 24-7
Game Stats
Air Force Stat Utah State 7 Score 24 7 First Downs 23 179 Total Offense 309 23 - 177 - 1 Rushes - Yards - TD 60 - 263 - 3 1 - 8 - 0 Comp - Att - TD 4 - 7 - 0 2 Passing Yards 46 1 Times Sacked 0 3 - 7 (42%) 3rd Down Conversion 7 - 10 (70%) 0 - 0 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 0 - 0 (0%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 0 - 0 - 0 (0%) Red Zone - TD - FG 5 - 3 - 1 (80%) 3 Turnovers 1 0 Fumbles Lost 0 3 Intercepted 1 0 Punt Return Yards 36 106 Kick Return Yards 98 285 Total Yards 443 3 – 47.7 Punts - Average 0 - 0.0 1 - 15 Penalties 0 - 0 8:03 Time of Possession 27:57
Utah State Coach Goals
Goal XP Reward Completed Win a Game 100 x1 Score a Touchdown 25 x3 3 Consecutive Wins 150 x1 Force a Turnover 25 x3 Rush for 100 Yards 25 x1 Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead 10 x1 Opponent Under 10 Points 75 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 Force 20 Turnovers (Season) 350 x1 4+ 3rd Down Conversions 25 x1
Utah State Contract Goals Update
Goal Expectations Progress Target Wins Per Season 7 7
Job Security Status
100%
Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State BARELY escaped Michigan State 28-23. #2 Michigan defeated Penn State 42-24. In the game of the week, #3 Georgia Tech dominated #24 Miami 48-10. In the upset of the week, West Virginia stunned #4 Oklahoma 35-20, dropping the Sooners from the ranks of the unbeaten. #5 Navy got past Temple 28-19. #6 Louisiana-Lafayette topped Troy 21-7. #7 Notre Dame obliterated Massachusetts 63-14. #8 Virginia Tech beat Pitt 38-10. #9 Nebraska slipped past Purdue 25-18.
Texas A&M knocked off #11 USC 49-46. #12 Florida State speared Clemson 38-28. #14 Cincinnati beat Tulsa 38-17. #15 Alabama thrashed LSU 52-28. Colorado knocked off #16 Washington 38-28. #17 Texas defeated Baylor 27-14. #19 New Mexico saw their perfect season ruined, as Louisville upset the Lobos 23-14. #20 TCU defeated Kansas 34-17. #21 Oregon beat Cal 35-16. #22 Kansas State topped Oklahoma State 31-19. #23 Wisconsin escaped Iowa 38-31. Maryland knocked off #25 Indiana 42-28.
For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 9-0 (6-0 Big Ten) with a 28-23 win over Michigan State. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 6-3 (5-2 Big 12) with a 35-20 upset win over #4 Oklahoma, ruining their perfect record. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 6-3 (5-0 C-USA) with a 35-17 win over Florida Atlantic. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 3-6 (1-5 Pac-12) with a 38-17 loss to UCLA. LeeSO, Auburn remains 5-4 (4-3 SEC) with a bye week. SCClassof93, South Carolina remains 6-4 (4-4 SEC) with a bye week. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 6-2 (4-0 Sun Belt) with a 28-21 win over Louisiana-Monroe. Florida International drops to 5-4 (3-2 C-USA) with a 41-38 loss to Old Dominion. #5 Navy improves to 9-0 (7-0 American) with a 28-19 win over Temple. Tulsa drops to 4-5 (3-4 American) with a 38-17 loss to #14 Cincinnati.
In Mountain West action, Utah State beat Air Force 24-7, UNLV topped Hawaii 35-28, San Jose State stunned San Diego State 34-33, Nevada defeated Fresno State 41-24, Boise State beat Wyoming 35-14 and Louisville knocked off #19 New Mexico 23-14.
With those results, looking at the current standings, in the Mountain Division, New Mexico (5-0) sits on top, followed by Utah State (5-1), a two-way tie between Boise State and Air Force (both 3-2), Colorado State (1-4) and finally Wyoming (0-6). In the West Division, San Jose State and San Diego State (both 4-1) share the top spot, followed by both UNLV and Nevada (both 3-3), Hawaii (1-4) and last Fresno State (0-5).
If those standings hold, San Jose State will advance to the MWC championship game over San Diego State by way of the head to head tiebreaker. New Mexico will almost likely advance regardless as they hold the head to head tiebreaker over Utah State. Utah State can only advance if they finish 7-1 and New Mexico loses at least two of their last three conference games to end up 6-2; or if Utah State finishes 6-2 and New Mexico loses all three remaining conference games to end 5-3.
Looking at undefeated teams left, #4 Oklahoma and #23 New Mexico both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 5. #1 Ohio State (9-0), #2 Michigan (10-0), #3 Georgia Tech (9-0), #5 Navy (9-0) and #6 Louisiana Lafayette (8-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: UTSA (0-9).
Teams getting their first win this week were: Memphis (39-17 over 3-5 South Florida) and Old Dominion (41-38 over 5-4 Florida International).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (32 first place votes) remains #1, Michigan (24 votes) remains #2, Georgia Tech (3 votes) remains #3, Navy (1 vote) climbs one to #4 and Louisiana-Lafayette (1 vote) climbs one to #5. Notre Dame moves up one to #6, Virginia Tech jumps one to #7, Nebraska climbs one to #8, Stanford moves up one to #9 and Florida State jumps two to #10. Army climbs two to #11, Cincinnati leaps two to #12, Oklahoma plummets nine to #13, Alabama moves up one to #14 and Texas climbs two to #15. Connecticut climbs two to #16, TCU jumps three to #17, Oregon moves up three to #18, Kansas State leaps three to #19 and Wisconsin jumps three to #20. USC falls ten to #21, Tennessee enters the poll at #22, UCLA enters the poll at #23, Marshall enters the poll at #24 and West Virginia (165 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Washington (from #16), New Mexico (from #19), Miami (from #24) and Indiana (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Points, New Mexico (158 points) is #26, followed by Ohio (157), Florida (105), Northwestern (78) and Ole Miss (35) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include: Kentucky (20), Utah State (16), Georgia (14) and Washington (10).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (45 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Michigan (20 votes) remains #2, Georgia Tech remains #3, Navy remains #4 and Louisiana-Lafayette moves up one to #5. Notre Dame climbs one to #6, Virginia Tech jumps one to #7, Nebraska moves up one to #8, Stanford climbs one to #9 and Florida State jumps two to #10. Army climbs two to #11, Cincinnati leaps three to #12, Oklahoma drops eight to #13, Oregon remains #14 and Alabama climbs one to #15. Texas climbs one to #16, Connecticut jumps one to #17, Wisconsin moves up two to #18, Kansas State climbs two to #19 and TCU leaps four to #20. USC plummets ten to #21, Marshall enters the poll at #22, Tennessee enters the poll at #23, UCLA enters the poll at #24 and Ohio (184 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were New Mexico (from #19), Miami (from #22), Indiana (from #23) and Washington (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, New Mexico (180 points) is #26, followed by West Virginia (179), Florida (135), Northwestern (110) and Ole Miss (71) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include: Utah State (54), Miami (31), Boise State (32) and Indiana (22).
In the newest BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (1.000), #2 Michigan (0.995), #3 Georgia Tech (0.989), #4 Navy (0.984), #5 Notre Dame (0.974), #6 Louisiana-Lafayette (0.973), #7 Virginia Tech (0.968), #8 Nebraska (0.963), #9 Stanford (0.958) and #10 Florida State (0.941). Others: #11 Army (0.941).
An updated look at the Heisman race, Stanford QB Roger Langford is #1 (LW: #1), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #2 (LW: #2), Michigan QB Carl Ginn is #3 (LW: #3), USC QB Frank Campbell is #4 (LW: #4) and Navy QB Jarrod Brooks is #5 (LW: #5). No one dropped off the Heisman Watch list this week.
Looking at the Bowl Picture, 9 teams punched their ticket this week, giving us 40 teams that have reached the 6 win plateau. 12 teams saw their bowl hopes end, leaving 59 teams still having a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave 99 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots.
Ohio State? Winning? wut?
Lol, lots of surprises this season. Ohio State 9-0 so far, Michigan 10-0. The shockers of the season, Navy 9-0 and ranked #4, ULL ranked #5 and 9-0. Hell, New Mexico was 8-0 before losing to Louisville this week! Even Army is either 8-1 or 9-1 and ranked #11! This is one weird season.Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffHCross
Sent from my Droid Maxx using Tapatalk because I'm a lazy ass
A big thanks to cdj for giving me the green light to move my coaching carousel dynasty over here to Career Mode & Campaign Reports forum. The NCAA Dynasties forum ended up buried inside sub-forums in the aftermath of the forum rearrangements following the demise of the NCAA series. As well, the NCAA Dynasties forum is largely deceased as well as just myself and Jaymo have had the only active threads since March, and before that since January. So cdj gave me the OK to move my dynasty thread over here to Career Mode forum.
Good thinking Smooth. I should also ask CDJ if I could get my NCAA Fball thread transferred here. I'm not finished with the game. I just haven't had time to fit it into the rotation. That will change in the fall.Quote:
Originally Posted by SmoothPancakes
By the way, looking forward to you starting this up again.
I have come to the conclusion you are purposely making Arizona St. lose. lol :D For whatever reason in your dynasty they are just awful.Quote:
Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 3-6 (1-5 Pac-12) with a 38-17 loss to UCLA.