by Daniel Olsen
When the Idaho State Bengals made the bus ride to Logan, their student section was feeling mighty good about their chances to upset the Aggies after a single-possession loss to San Diego State Aztecs last week. After the 58-13 win, Utah State proved too much for the FCS school from the Big Sky Conference to handle.
Fast First Half
The Aggies seemed to switch strategies this week as they immediately attacked on the ground. Robert Briggs had a career high rushing touchdown to get the Aggies on the board within the first minute of play. After a quick responding touchdown from the Bengals, it seemed like this game was going to be a track meet. It turned out to be that way, except the Aggies were lapping the stumbling Bengals from Pocatello. Davion Booth notched the next two scores on the ground before the Aggies recorded their first passing touchdown to Terrell Vaughn. It was quite the improvement from a year ago when the Aggies got down early to FCS opponent Weber State and could never climb out.
“Last year that group did not take Weber State seriously,” Coach Blake Anderson said. “No matter how much I was screaming and hollering, we weren’t ready to play. This group was very mature about the week. They knew that we’re the better team but only if we play the right way. Our team learned to respect every opponent and to not take anything for granted.”
Record Night
This was the highest scoring game for the Aggies in over 100 years since the last time they played Idaho State in 1919. The 136 points in that game might never be broken in the modern era, so consider this one of the highest scoring games the Aggies have seen in a long time. At one point in the second quarter they scored 20 points in 71 seconds, which is something that might only happen in a video game.
Several players had record games. Even backup quarterbacks Levi Williams and McCae Hillstead completed their first touchdown drives as Aggies. Utah State returned two interceptions for touchdowns for the first time since 2017 when Jalen Davis had more touchdown receptions from BYU quarterbacks than any BYU receiver.
Players of the Week
Cooper Legas did his job and racked up two more passing touchdowns for the season before earning an early trip to the bench after putting the team up big by the end of the first half. Levi Williams notched another two passing touchdowns as the backup.
The players of the game have to be the two headed monster in the backfield known as Robert Briggs and Rahsul Faison. Those two both had long rushing touchdowns and combined for 196 yards Davion Booth should even be thrown into the mix as he had two rushing touchdowns for his own. It was a field day, or track and field day, for the Aggie running backs.
“We just stayed focused and locked in to what coach wanted us to do,” Robert Briggs said regarding the running back room. “The offensive line made it happen for us.”
On the defensive side, Anthony Switzer enjoyed playing his first game in Maverik Stadium. He was the leading tackler for the team as the only guy in double digits with 10 tackles.
“I watched a game last year here so I couldn’t wait to be a part of this,” Switzer said. “Coach Anderson said that we should appreciate this game and not take it for granted because they don’t have this environment. I was at a place where fans didn’t come out and support so this means the world to me.”
Next Up
It will be a short week before the Aggies travel to Air Force on Friday night. That game will be televised on the CBS Sports Network. Air Force is coming off an impressive defensive effort which resulted in a 13-3 win over the Sam Houston State Bearkats. The #1 defense from last year returns most of their players, and the offense as always presents a unique challenge. Time will tell if the Aggies can follow up this week’s performance with an encore when their conference opener commences.
Featured image via Garett Graf/USU Athletics
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