| OCR Text |
Show StateSManSpOrtS Monday, Sept. 20, 2010 Page 11 Football debrief: The good, the bad and the ugly The Bad: By MARK ISRAELSEN staff writer The Good: Through the first 40 minutes of play, Utah State outplayed a Fresno State team that has been on the verge of cracking the Top 25 for the past two weeks. The Aggies, who never trailed through the first three quarters, held a touchdown lead on the Bulldogs until 2:09 left in the third, which can be attributed to an impressive running game. USU rushed 45 times for 205 yards with touchdowns coming from quarterback Diondre Borel and running back Michael Smith. The Aggies defense also had some impressive individual performances. Linebacker Bobby Wagner led the team with a career-high 17 tackles and defensive end Quinn Garner also played very well, registering his first career interception. USU went into the fourth quarter tied, but let the game slip away from them in the last 15 minutes. Their offense sputtered and their defense could not keep pace with the Bulldogs' attack. The Aggie "D" allowed110 yards in the four quarter while the offense only gained 37 yards. The Aggies did not score after the 6:09 mark in the third quarter, whereas Fresno State put up 24 unanswered points. The Ugly: In all the post-game conferences there were two words on everybody's lips — special teams. The special teams were a huge factor and coach Gary Andersen admitted, "we had big issues on special teams." The problems started right before halftime when USU punted from their own end zone and then allowed a 50yard return that set-up Fresno State on the 7-yard line for an easy score. The second half started the same way when Jalen Saunders took the opening kick-off 30 yards to the 45 yard line and the Bulldogs set up shop with a short field ahead of them. The next two quarters USU missed a field goal, got a punt blocked, and gave Fresno short fields on subpar punts. Tipping Point of the Game: The tipping point of this pivotal game came on — you guessed it — a special teams play. Tied at the end of the third quarter, USU had a punt blocked and recovered by Fresno State. The Bulldogs would get only a field goal out of that miscue, but following the block the Aggies were out of sync offensively and defensively and could not respond as Fresno pulled away to win. Behind Ellis and Colburn, Fresno extended the lead to 34-24 by the midway point of the quarter, while the Fresno defense stiffened up to hold the Aggies off the scoreboard. USU held the ball for only three minutes and 57 seconds during the fourth quarter, and went 0-4 on third down conversions. "We struggled in the second half," Borel said. "We didn't play with the same intensity." While USU had chances to put together a comeback, the Aggies were unable to follow through, and a final 12-play, 51-yard drive ending in a two yard Ellis touchdown run put the proverbial nail in USU's coffin. The loss was the fourth straight in the series for the Aggies. If dropping an early season matchup to Fresno wasn't hard enough, USU also saw three key starters get injured during the game. Both Randle and safety Rajric Coleman went down for the Aggies, as did Caldwell. Their status for next week's game and the remainder of the season remains a question mark. Despite the missed opportunity for an upset, USU's players won't be content with licking their wounds as they go back to the drawing board. With two out-of-conference showdowns with Mountain West teams looming, USU isn't giving up on this season or their goal of returning to the postseason. "We all felt like this was an opportunity to prove to the WAC, as well as the nation, that we are a team that wins," said defensive end Levi Koskan. "It's a very disappointing loss, but its one that we will rebound from. We will take this loss and learn from it and improve for next week." — adamnettina@gmad.com Volleyball: Despite loss, looking good at 12-1 continued from page 9 who usually plays opposite hitter, filled White's position nicely, providing six kills and hitting .750 in the decisive fourth set. "We showed some character. We could have folded our tent, and packed it up and left, but we didn't," DuBose said. "I was glad I was able to step up and help," Kortsen said. "When our passes are good, we can execute." Among those teammates that helped set Kortsen for the daggers was senior Chelsea Fowles. "(Kortsen's timely play) was a huge deal. I feel comfortable playing with Emily and setting for her," Fowles said. UCR coach Ron Larsen, however, credited USU's established record as the main reason for the Aggie win. "(Utah State) has probably played more quality matches than we have right now, so they probably have more of a habit of winning," said Larsen. The Aggies were looking for a breakthrough win, as DE Levi Koskan said after the game, "We wanted to prove to the nation and the WAC that we are a legitimate team." With the loss, however, USU is now 10-15-1 all-time vs. Fresno State, having lost four in a row, and is 1-5 in WAC openers. The Aggies now look to their next game at San Diego State as the opportunity to take that "next step." Offensive: AJ Ellis, RB, Fresno State. Ellis started the game in place of injured starter Robbie Rouse and shredded the Aggie defense. continued from page 9 Significant to that recovery and the critical fourth-set swing was the loss of White to what DuBose later called a "mild concussion." The 6'3" Sky View product tried to stay in the game despite a bloody nose, but soon had to be removed and evaluated. According to DuBose, she should be ready for game action again next week. True freshman Tumua Etimani entered the match in her stead and also started the next day's contest against UC-Riverside. "I was really nervous, but I gave it my all and tried hard," said Etimani of her firsttime experience of playing at home. DuBose was pleased with Etimani's play, but did acknowledge the need for a change of tempo in Saturday's quick turnaround win (25-17, 20-25, 26-24, 26-24) against the 1-11 Highlanders. After a draw through two sets against the struggling team from the Sunshine State, DuBose inserted junior Emily Kortsen into the lineup. Kortsen, What it means: Players of the Game: Bulldogged: Aggies open up 0-1 in WAC play capped off a 60-yard drive by jitterbugging his way into the endzone with 6:09 left in the third quarter. Up 24-17, the student section's pre-game chant, "I believe that we will win," seemed to be coming to fruition. "I thought we came out strong," said linebacker Bobby Wagner. "Our defense played well and out offense was rolling." Borel agreed with Wagner's assessment, saying "Everyone came out strong in the first half. We played hard in the first half and were in the game." The Aggies' first half momentum fizzled as the third quarter came to a close, however. After Borel gave USU a 24-17 lead, Fresno State marched right down the field for a 16-yard A.J. Ellis touchdown run. Ellis, starting for the injured Robbie Rouse at running back for Fresno State, ran for 165-yards and two touchdowns on the evening, highlighting a 230-yard day on the ground for a Bulldog offense. The renewed emphasis on the running game was a major point of emphasis for Hill, who relied on a punishing ground game to break USU's momentum late in the game. "We made some great adjustments at halftime," he said. "As far as the offense goes we knew we had to run the ball in the second half to keep the ball away from them, and we did." According to Bobby Wagner, Fresno's run game in the second half not only wore down the Aggie defense, but it exposed it to the playaction pass. "We struggled in the second half against the run, which set up the pass for them," he said. "This is certainly a game we should've won. We let it slip away." With the game tied at 24 and momentum now in Fresno's hands, the Aggies imploded with miscues in the game's final quarter. Ellis rushed 29 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns in addition to catching a 10 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Defensive: Bobby Wagner, LB, Utah State. Wagner did his best to try and single-handedly stop Fresno's relentless attack as he recorded a career-high 17 tackles. It was Wagner's second straight game leading the team and recording double-digit tackle numbers. Kortsen and others' late-game play down the stretch was badly needed, considering the final two sets went into extra points, and especially considering the Aggies were on the verge of playing their fourth straight five-set match within a five day span. "I didn't want to go to five (sets)," Kortsen said. "I got two good passes, and was able to close it out that way. Now we get some rest before we go to Hawaii." The Aggies will begin conference play at nationally-ranked WAC foe Hawaii on Thursday. "We're ready for it. Our goal is to win the WAC, so that's what we're going to do," said USU middle blocker Shantell Durant. "We're probably in better shape than we've been the past couple of years." — rhett.wilkinson@aggiemaiLusu.edu — mark.israelsen@aggiemaiLusu.edu Cross country runs well at Montana State BY USU ATHLETICS Junior Brian McKenna led the Aggie men to a second place finish at the Bozeman Running Co. - MSU Invitational Saturday, while the women finished in third. The men had four Aggies finish in the top 15 runners and the women had three. "The thing we really wanted to see this week was improvement," head coach Gregg Gensel said. "Our team did well and stuck to our race plan. I really saw that improvement we were looking for." It is the second-straight race that McKenna was the men's top finisher, completing the five-mile course in 25:05.00 in second place overall. Following McKenna was junior Daniel Howell clocking in at 25:25.00 in seventh place. Two more Aggies finished in the top 15 for the men, including junior Hunter Nelson (26:02.00) in 12th place and freshman Kyle McKenna (26:06.00) in 13th place. Junior Jessie Chugg was the Aggies' top finisher on the women's side for the second race in a row as well, completing the three-mile course in eight place at 17:42.00. USU had two finishers in the top 15 as sophomore Ruth Hilton clocked in at 17:48.00 in 11th place. Also finishing well for the Aggies was sophomore Alex Litzsinger (18:06.00) crossing the finish line in 21st place. "Jessie and her teammates ran really well," Gensel said. "We measure success in other ways than the overall win or score, and I think the girls did really well." The men's team finished in second-place with 47 points behind host and first-place team Montana State who nabbed 30 pts. Weber State rounded out the top three with 70 points. "Overall our teams really took it to the next notch this week," Gensel said. The women tied for third place with Idaho State at 87 points. Montana took first with 31 points, while Weber State tabbed second with 46 points. Aggies next action will be at the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, Oct. 1 in South Bend, Ind. Everybody reads The Statesman. Ana Join us Friday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. ESLC Have We Created a Monster? The Internet's 'Good, Bad and Ugly' Auditorium Science Unwrapped vmw.usu.eduiscienceiunwrapped Ribbon cut on new Athlete Academic hall of honor Join our Facebook group present Resented annually le the gradualing sv overall grade point average f. "A Paper Mountain: The Extraordinary Diary of Leonard James Arrington" UtahState University Leon MORM Sponsore ,Special Collectio FORMER ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN DR. RANDY STOCKHAM cuts the ribbon on Utah State's newly dedicated Stockham Student-Athlete Academic Hall of Honor during a ceremony Saturday The hall is located on the third floor of the Jim and Carol Laub Athletics-Academic Complex . BRANDON FONDA photo Pi'Merrill-Cazier Li Leonard Arringt s' College of Human], Social Sciences ( Thursday, September 23 7:00 p.m. Logan LDS Tabernacle College students who attend can win up to $1,000 with a written essay related to the lecture. Details at the lecture. The lecture is free and open to the public. NGGIE PASSPORT EXPERIENCE UTAI SlATE |
