Utah State defeated UConn Saturday, improving to 1-0 on the season.
The Aggies have plenty of room for improvement after Game 1, and they won’t be the same team in Week 5 that they are right now.
That being said, here are some things we learned about Utah State during its victory over the Huskies.
Logan Bonner remains Logan Bonner
- The graduate senior quarterback wasn’t at his best Saturday, and yet he still ended up with 281 passing yards and three touchdowns, while completing nearly 70% of his pass attempts.
- Bonner was protected better against UConn than he was nearly all of last season, but the Aggies emphasized the run game against Huskies. Still, keeping Bonner on his feet and giving him time should only bode well going forward.
- Bonner has now thrown 39 touchdown passes in his USU career and 69 in his collegiate career. Saturday marked the seventh time in his Aggie career that he threw at least three touchdown passes in a game.
- Oh, and he has now tied Kent Myers (2014-17) and Brent Snyder (1987-88) for the fifth-most touchdown passes in school history.
The Aggies have pass catchers
- Maryland transfer Brian Cobbs emerged as a pretty clear No. 1 option. Cobbs was targeted a team-high eight times — he caught seven passes — and led all Aggies with 78 receiving yards and a touchdown.
- Slot receiver Kyle Van Leeuwen should be a pretty consistent playmaker going forward. He was targeted six times — a pair of those passes were simply too off target for him to reel in — and had three catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.
- Justin McGriff has steadily improved while at Utah State and he gives the Aggies a prime target in the red zone. His touchdown reception was arguably the best catch of the day.
- Calvin Tyler Jr. is a workhorse on the ground but he showed some ability in the passing game, too, with two receptions for 33 yards.
- If Utah State has a deep threat a la Deven Thompkins last year, it might Terrell Vaughn. He had two catches for 41 yards
Find someone who loves you like Ephraim Banda loves takeaways
- Utah State defensive coordinator Ephraim Banda prioritizes takeaways more than maybe your ordinary defensive coach, and he put that on display Saturday.
- After freshman Ike Larsen intercepted UConn quarterback Zion Turner with just under five minutes remaining in the game — the interception all but sealed the win for USU — Banda quite literally hoisted Larsen over his shoulder and carried him off the field in celebration.
- Larsen is an exciting young player for the Aggies, to be sure, but Banda believes his defense is at its best when it is fast and creating takeaways. The Aggies had three against UConn, two interceptions and a forced fumble and recovery.
The Aggies are pretty set at safety
- Larsen is a safety and his interception was one of the highlights of the game, but he actually is a backup, behind Hunter Reynolds and Gurvan Hall Jr.
- Reynolds was spectacular at times Saturday, making touchdown saving tackles and recording an interception of his own, the second of his career.
- Hall Jr., made his Utah State debut and finished with six tackles — tied for sixth-most on the team with Reynolds — and a 0.5 tackles for loss.
- Reynolds and Hall Jr., were very vocal, both with their team and the opposition. Throw in Dominic Tatum and Larsen, and Utah State appears to be pretty set at safety.