It’s not like hopes for a bowl game were super high after Utah State’s 2-6 start. But whatever hope was left got dashed by No. 21 Washington State which dominated the Aggies 49-28 in the football-after-dark matchup Saturday evening.
Utah State showed a fair bit of competence in the first quarter, being tied with the Cougars 7-7 at the end of the first 15 minutes. The Aggies had gone down 7-0, but a strong drive on offense, going 75 yards, made it look like they could compete with the Cougars. Spencer Petras completed 5 of 5 passes for 48 yards, including a touchdown pass to Jack Hestera to cap the drive (Hestera caught three passes on that drive alone).
.@spencerpetras with the 🎯#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/hV9V0E1gfy
— USU Football (@USUFootball) November 10, 2024
True freshman running back Herschel Turner provided run support for the offense, putting in a few key rushes on that scoring drive, one for nine yards and another gain of five and a two-yard gain on 2nd & 1. Turner started the game in place of Rahsul Faison, the usual starter. Faison, who had 797 yards for the season prior to Saturday and started every game since Week 2, did appear in the game but only toted the ball twice for three yards.
According to Dreiling, Faison had a lingering knee injury from the Wyoming game that limited him and ultimately kept him out of most of the game. In his stead, Turner set new career-highs across the board with 16 carries for 85 yards along with four catches for 26 additional yards.
“It was a blessing to even have the opportunity so I’m really grateful for that,” Turner said. “As far as my performance, I feel like I still have a lot of work to do and there’s still some stuff I left there out on the field.”
Where Utah State made its biggest mistake early was not getting a single defensive stop in the first 20 minutes of the game. Washington State scored touchdowns on each of its first three possessions, drives of 65, 75 and 85 yards and it gave the home side a 21-7 lead int he second quarter. Cougars quarterback John Mateer carved up the USU defense with his arm and legs. He went 18 of 24 for 179 pass yards, plus 38 yards on the ground, with five total touchdowns (four passing, one rushing). Mateer’s favorite target on the night was Kyle Williams, who caught three of his QB’ TD tosses to go with 55 yards. Running back Wayshawn Parker also took his pound of flesh with 149 yards on the ground and a pair of TDs.
The downward spiral paused late in the second quarter, providing a brief glimpse of what a competitive game between the Aggies and Cougars might look like. Utah State got two straight stops on defense — three-and-outs even. And the offense came oh-so-close to finding the final piece of a second scoring drive to close out the first half. Utah State got the ball all the way to the 24 yard line of the Cougars, pulling out all the stops to do so. Backup QB Bryson Barnes came out for one play to run, Petras kept the ball himself to the surprise of the WSU defense, and the Aggies even ran a fake punt that wound up getting the first down via a defensive penalty.
But the drive ended with Petras throwing an interception. On multiple occasions the Aggies had a chance to make it a one-score game before halftime, but failed. And things only went downhill from there.
The downhill journey included a metric ton of bad breaks which prevented any hope Utah State might have had of a rally. It started when Washington State broke a 75-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. Utah State then had a shot to respond but its drive was stopped on 4th & 1. Two rough breaks went against the Aggies on that one offensive possession alone. On second down, Grant Page caught a pass and as he tried to gain the three yards necessary for a first down, Cougars defender Kapena Gushiken pulled on Page’s face mask, but no call was made by the referees. Two plays later, Utah State handed the ball to Herschel Turner who was initially ruled to have gained the necessary one yard, but a review showed he had the ball ripped away as he reached the ball to the line to gain.
FUMBLE RECOVERED BY WASHINGTON STATE!@UqdahTaariq with the forced fumble and recovery, Cougs ball!
WATCH | @TheCW_Sports #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/ttiFnGN3ex
— Washington State Football (@WSUCougarFB) November 10, 2024
Later, as Washington State drove into the red zone, an explosive play for the Cougars suddenly turned into a disaster — and a potential blessing for the Aggies. As Mateer scrambled for a 37-yard gain, he suddenly lost control of the ball and it bounced its way into the end zone. USU linebacker John Miller sought to usher the ball out of the back of the end zone to secure a turnover. But he committed an illegal batting penalty in doing so, handing the ball back to Washington State.
The Cougars scored four plays later to make it 42-14.
Those plays weren’t the only bad breaks, there were almost too many to count, and to interim head coach Nate Dreiling it helped define the loss.
“If you look at the first half we had a pick-six go right through our hands and then a 4th & 2 we miss a tackle,” Dreiling said. “That was basically 14 of (Washington State’s) 21 points. So it was close.”
Three touchdown drives in the second half kept the score on the more respectable end of a blowout. Long marches of 11 and 13 plays kept the Cougars from keeping the lead at four touchdowns, but Washington State responded virtually ever time, keeping USU at arms length and preventing any chance at a last-gasp comeback.
The only TD the Cougars didn’t respond to with a TD would be the last one from the Aggies. With under a minute to play, a junior college transfer back who hadn’t seen the field all year, got his first carry of the game and of his Division I career. He took it 72 yards for a touchdown.
.@JrJameson goes 72 yards to PAY DIRT!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/C0rcTgSO2e
— USU Football (@USUFootball) November 10, 2024
“(Jameson) is leading the country in yards per attempt, we’ve got to get him the ball more,” Dreiling joked after the game. “That was cool for him and he was fired up.”
That small spark gives Utah State something to smile about on the flight home, and drown out some of the pain of their now 2-7 overall record, with hopes of a bowl game now gone.
“We’re not going to get what we wanted to get at the end of the season. But we’re still going to have special moments and we’re going to celebrate those,” Dreiling said.
