The Utah State football team wasn't about to leave town with anything less than a victory against Nevada Saturday afternoon.
Not after losing to the Wolf Pack five years in a row. Not with a conference championship on the line. Not with a bowl berth awaiting the winner. And they especially weren't about to spoil their coach's birthday.Moments after their thorough 38-19 thrashing of the Wolf Pack on a chilly afternoon at Mackay Stadium, the Aggies staged a celebration in their locker room.
They listened to Big West commissioner Dennis Farrell congratulate them on being the conference champions. They heard Humanitarian Bowl executive director Steve Schmayder issue an official invitation to the inaugural bowl game. Then, after a speech by John L. Smith, the Aggie players let loose with a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" in honor of their coach's 49th birthday.
"This is the best d--- birthday I've ever had in my life," said Smith. "I'm just so happy for the kids and the coaches and the boosters. It was a big payday."
The victory was the Aggies' fourth in a row and moved them to 4-0 in the Big West and 6-4 overall. They'll play in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, on Dec. 29 against an opponent to be named later.
Perhaps the biggest key to Saturday's win was the Aggie defense, which frustrated Nevada quarterback John Dutton and the nation's No. 6 offense. The Ags came up with eight sacks on the day and kept Nevada well below its 33.4 points per-game average.
"I can't say enough about our defense today," said Smith. "Our coaches put together a good defensive package. I don't know if it confused them or what, but it sure worked well."
Oh, it did confuse the Wolf Pack. "It almost seemed like they knew what we were running," said Nevada quarterback John Dutton..
The Aggies shut out the prolific Pack in racing to a 24-0 halftime lead. Nevada was penalized for delay of game for holding up the opening kickoff for "Senior Day" and things went downhill from there.
After Nevada missed a field goal on its first drive, the Aggies drove to the 10-yard line and took the lead on Brad Bohn's 25-yard field goal.
On their next possession the Aggies scored in less than 10 seconds, as Matt Sauk found Nakia Jenkins behind the secondary for a 53-yard touchdown pass. After the defense held Nevada on three-and-out for the second straight series, USU's Steve Smith returned his second punt for a touchdown this year, weaving his way 71 yards for the score. With 3:56 left in the first quarter, the Aggies led 17-0 and the 22,780 fans sat in stunned silence.
Before the next Aggie score, the defense sacked Dutton on three consecutive plays with three different Aggies, Tony D'Amato, Jeremy Hunt-Loveless and Blake Eagal, doing the honors. D'Amato came up with four sacks on the day from his linebacker position.
A 69-yard screen pass to Demario Brown down the right sideline set up a 1-yard sneak by Sauk to make it 24-0. The Aggies recovered the ensuing kickoff at the 10 and had a chance to put the game away before halftime, but got nothing out of it as Bohn missed a 27-yard field goal.
In the third quarter, the Wolf Pack came back and the Aggies played more like they were trying not to lose, rather that trying to win.
Chris Lemon's 6-yard run and Dutton's 11-yard scramble cut the lead to 24-12 just before the end of the third quarter. The momentum was definitely on Nevada's side and the crowd finally got into the game, but the Aggies came back with a key 74-yard drive.
The big play was a 27-yard third-down pass from Sauk to Aaron Jones, after primary receiver Jenkins had fallen down. "That was huge," said Smith later.
On the very next play, Sauk found London McBride at the 10-yard line and behind Jones' block, he dashed into the end zone to complete a 21-yard touchdown play.
Nevada answered quickly, scoring in less than a minute thanks to a long kickoff return and a 2-yard run by Alex Gresham. With 13:07 left, the Wolf Pack still wasn't out of the game at 31-19.
Starting at their own 5, the Wolf Pack drove down to the USU 24, where once again the Aggie defense came up big. First John Latu sacked Dutton and then Lindsay Hassell sacked the Nevada QB. Finally on third down, Eagal broke up a pass and on 4th down, a Nevada pass play came up six yards short.
From there, the Aggies clinched the game with an 80-yard drive as Brown set up his own 9-yard touchdown run with a 51-yard scamper down the left sideline.
"Utah State deserved to win the game," said Nevada coach Jeff Tisdel. "We weren't the better team on the field today. They played better and got a couple of bounces, but I give them all the credit in the world."
GAME NOTES: This marks the eighth league title in history for the Aggies, who have a chance for their first outright title ever if they can beat North Texas Saturday on the road . . . Brown, who didn't play until the second quarter, finished with 157 yards on 26 carries, his eighth 100-yard effort in his last 11 games . . . The Aggies doubled the score on the Wolf Pack this year after Nevada did the same to them last year in a 54-27 victory . . . The Wolf Pack actually outgained the Aggies 500 to 469, but many of the yards came late when the outcome wasn't in doubt.