Following Utah State's 48-35 loss to Louisiana Tech last Saturday, Aggies football coach Brent Guy told KVNU radio listeners that his team laid eggs instead of bricks.
In their two games prior to the loss to Tech, Guy felt the Aggies were beginning to lay a foundation for a solid program with a 13-12 win over Fresno State and a 21-14 loss at San Jose State.
"We reverted back, and for me as a head football coach, we went back and played like we played in nonconference," he said. "We hadn't played like that in any of our WAC football games to date, and that was probably the most disappointing thing for me. We came out and executed so poorly and spotted La. Tech 17 points right off the bat."
The Aggies had the ball four times in the first quarter and had two interceptions, a punt and a missed field goal to show for it, while the Bulldogs scored two touchdowns and a field goal.
Despite the loss, it was the most points scored (home or away) under Guy, and it was the most points scored in a game (home or away) since beating Middle Tennessee, 41-20, in Logan in 2003. And it was the most points scored on the road since 2002, when the Aggies lost to Louisiana-Monroe, 51-48, in double-overtime.
The Aggies tallied the 35 points on a season-high 373 yards of total offense. Utah State had two rushing touchdowns (both by Marcus Cross) in a game for the first time this year, while freshman quarterback Riley Nelson threw for a season-high 249 yards. Receiver Kevin Robinson had six catches for a season- and career-high 141 yards.
By the time the first-quarter dust settled, the Aggies had the ball for almost seven minutes and had zero points and just 86 yards, while the Bulldogs had 186 yards and 17 points. In their first six games, the Bulldogs had scored a combined 21 points in the first quarter.
"In the end, when you get beat by 13 points, it was the first quarter that got us beat," Guy said.
E-MAIL: jhinton@desnews.com