Utah State vs. BYU Football 2009
No. 20 Cougars Overcome Turnovers, Aggies in 35-17 Victory
Oct 2, 2009
Max Hall passed for 218 yards and three touchdowns, Harvey Unga rushed for 121 yards and the Brigham Young defense also stepped up as the No. 20 Cougars defeated Utah State 35-17 at Provo, Utah.
Brigham Young (4-1) managed 431 yards of offense, but it was the Cougars' defense that repeatedly came up with clutch plays. On three occasions, the Aggies (1-3) had first downs inside the BYU 40, but failed to gain an additional yard let alone points.
And the Utah State rushing attack, which entered the game averaging 222.3 rushing yards per game, was limited to 109 on 2.9 yards per rush.
BYU, meanwhile, rushed for a season-high 213 yards, gaining 5.0 yards a crack. Unga led the way, carrying 21 times and scoring a crucial fourth-quarter TD.
Hall completed 16 of 23 passes, five apiece to Luke Ashworth and tight end Dennis Pitta. Ashworth garnered 91 yards and a touchdown. Pitta had 83 yards and two TDs.
Yet coach Bronco Mendenhall's Cougars made things harder on themselves by committing three turnovers, including two Hall interceptions. BYU has now turned the ball over 15 times in five games. Only one NCAA Bowl Subdivision school has done it more.
Utah State quarterback Diondre Borel was 20-for-30 passing for 213 yards, throwing one TD and running for another. But coach Gary Andersen's Aggies made costly mistakes of their own.
Interceptions Prevent Cougars from Pulling Away in 3rd Quarter
The Cougars led 21-10 at halftime, but Hall's interceptions prevented them from breaking away in the third quarter.
Rajiric Coleman's pick and ensuing 16-yard return gave Utah State a first down at the BYU 48 with 11:18 left in the third quarter. Borel then hit Omar Sawyer with a 32-yard pass to the Cougars 16. The Aggies got only as close as the 3 before settling for a 20-yard Chris Ulinski field goal.
On the next drive, Hall had a long pass intercepted by Kevin Murphy on the Utah State 11, but the Aggies drove only to the BYU 48 before punting away.
The Cougars landed the knockout blows early the fourth. Utah State went for a first down on a fourth-and-one from its own 32, but running back Robert Turbin slipped to the turf for a loss of yard. BYU then went the distance in two plays. Unga ran for 23 yards, then scored on an 8-yard rush for a 28-10 lead with 13:09 remaining in the game.
Hall tacked on a 13-yard TD pass to Pitta to make it 35-10 with 5:03 left. Utah State finally broke through on a 16-yard scoring toss from Borel to Xavier Bowman with two seconds to play.
Utah State Fumble Helps BYU Take 14-Point Halftime Lead
Utah State took a 7-0 lead on a 6-yard run by Borel. The play capped a 43-yard drive that was set up by cornerback Chris Randle's recovery of a Spencer Hafoka fumble.
The Cougars struck back by marching 83 yards on 18 plays and tying the game on a 6-yard pass from Payne to Pitta with 2:14 left in the first quarter.
BYU was on the board again less than three minutes later after forcing the Aggies to go three and out. Hall connected with Ashworth on a 48-yard TD pass to finish a four-play drive, and the Cougars led 14-7 with 14:23 remaining in the second period.
Utah State had its next two drives sputter inside the BYU 40, but the Aggies twice pinned Cougars inside their own 4 on Peter Caldwell punts. After the second one, the Cougars drove all the way from their own 2 to the Utah State 40 before stalling.
The Aggies, with the ball on their own 22 with under a minute left in the half, could have gone to the locker room down 14-7. Instead, they botched a pitch and BYU defensive back Andrew Rich recovered on the 29. Hall promptly hit Pitta with a 26-yard pass and Manase Tonga ran in from the 3 on the next play to give the Cougars a 21-7 lead with 28 seconds left in the half.
Aggies Cornerback Is Game's Top Tackler
Utah State's Coleman posted a game-high 13 tackles along with his interception. Linebacker Bobby Wagner recorded 12 tackles and forced BYU's fumble. Safety James Brindley added 11 tackles, including the Aggies' only sack.
Another big defensive weapon was Caldwell, who averaged 49.2 yards on his five punts.
Turbin, one of the Aggies' top offensive weapons, was held to 47 yards on 17 carries, and Borel had 38 yards on 16 rushes. Omar Sawyer led Utah State receivers with four catches for 58 yards.
Safety Scott Johnson and linebacker Terrance Hooks paced BYU tacklers with nine apiece. Defensive end Jan Jorgensen added eight tackles and one of his team's three sacks. Linebacker Coleby Clawson also made eight tackles for the Cougars.
BYU wins 10th Straight over Utah State
Brigham Young won its 10th straight over Utah State and has won 20 of the last 21 meetings. The Cougars lead the series 43-33-3.
The Aggies' last win over the Cougars was a 58-56 triumph in 1993 at Logan, Utah. Utah State has not beaten BYU in Provo since a 24-7 win in 1978.
BYU concluded a three-game homestand, and will play its next two games on the road. The Cougars will be at UNLV on Oct. 10 and San Diego State on Oct 17 in Mountain West Conference games. BYU will face No. 11 TCU at home on Oct. 24.
Utah State will open its Western Athletic Conference campaign on Oct 10, facing Nevada at home. The Aggies will also be in Logan for an Oct. 24 WAC meeting with Louisiana Tech.
