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Show Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012 Page 7 TuesdayS Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com CHAMPONS FOOTBALL Utah State wins first-ever WAC football title Utah State 14 3 24 0 7 — 48 La. Tech 0 3 21 17 0 — 41 First Quarter BY TAVIN STUCKI sports editor Things have never been better for Utah State football. With their 48-41 victory over then-No. 19 Louisiana Tech on Saturday, the Aggies were voted one of the Associated Press Top25 teams in college football. "It's another very special moment for the kids and for all the coaches," said Utah State head coach Gary Andersen. "It's a big accomplishment. It is something that hasn't happened for a long time." The win wasn't an easy one. Even after jumping out to a 17-3 halftime lead, Utah State used two interceptions to keep La. Tech out of the endzone. Senior safety Will Davis and junior linebacker Jake Doughty each picked off Bulldog quarterback Colby Cameron's attempts at a score. "I think he had played that play before it happened," Andersen said of Doughty. "We were in a position to play the percentages and we were fortunate to make that play." Andersen said those two turnovers were key. "There were some keys moments when you look back, but the turnovers were big," Andersen said. "To win the turnover battle in that situation was big and especially the way they came, it was great to win the turnover margin convincingly, which is a big step." Utah State red zone defense has been exceptional all season long. "Yeah, we've been a good red zone defense, the kids have got a lot of belief," Box Score USU—Kerwynn Williams 86 pass from Chuckie Keeton (Nick Diaz kick) 13:57. USU — Kellen Bartlett 3 pass from Keeton (Diaz kick) :58. Second Quarter LaT — Matt Nelson 36 field goal 12:19. USU — Diaz 38 field goal 3:55. Third Quarter USU — Keeton 13 run (Diaz kick) 13:24. USU — Diaz 30 field goal 11:34. LaT — Kenneth Dixon 2 run (Nelson kick) 8:17. USU — Keeton 25 run (Nick Diaz kick) 5:20. LaT — Myles White 25 pass from Colby Cameron (Nelson kick) 4:04. USU — Williams 1 run (Nick Diaz kick) 1:00. LaT — D.J. Banks 98 kickoff return (Nelson kick) :48 Fourth Quarter LaT — Dixon 1 run (Nelson kick) 10:54. LaT — Hunter Lee 7 run (Nelson kick) 1:54. LaT — Matt Nelson 32 field goal 0:00. Overtime USU — Kerwynn Williams 4 run (Diaz kick). USU LaT USU RUNNING BACK KERWYNN WILLIAMS battles La. Tech linebacker Antonio Mitchum for yards in USU's 48-41 upset over the No. 19 Bulldogs in Ruston, La., on Saturday. Photo courtesy USU Athletic Media Relations Andersen said. "I go back and credit a lot of that to the players and the coaches in that setting. Quarterback Performance Sophomore quarterback Chuckie Keeton quietly set the school record for touchdown passes when Ili It's a big accomplishment. It is something that hasn't happened for a long time." he found senior tight end Kellen Bartlett in the end zone in the second quarter. The previous record was 24 set by Jose Fuentes in 2001. Keeton was named WAC Player of the Week for his performance. Keeton ranks fifth all-time at USU in singleseason pass completions with 237 and ninth alltime with 343. With his 461 yards of total offense Saturday, the Cypress Creek, Texas, native broke Diondre Borel's single-season record of 3,343 yards set it 2009. The best part about it for Aggie fans? This kid is a sophomore. "He made good deci- sions with the football and ran the ball well," Andersen said. "He is a special young man and he is a tremendous football player. It's more than just his athletic ability, which we all know, we all know what kind of kid he is and the importance for him to win. It was special for him to see his dad there and his parents after the game. That was their belief when they were at the BYU game when we were recruiting Chuckie and all that came together, it was a special time for Chuckie and his family." Running over the Bulldogs Utah State put up more than 300 yards rushing against La. Tech. Running back Kerwynn Williams had 163 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win, putting him in reach of breaking 2,000 all-purpose yards this season Saturday against Idaho. Andersen said the offensive line made Williams' job a lot easier against the Bulldogs. "I thought the offensive line probably had their best game of the year, which they needed to," Andersen said. – tavin.stucki@aggiernad. usu.edu Twitter: @StuckiAggies First downs 27 37 Total Net Yards 646 629 Rushes-yards 45-306 47-233 Passing 340 396 Punt Returns 1-11 2-13 Kickoff Returns 6-128 7-235 Interceptions Ret. 2-0 0-0 Comp-Att-Int 20-34-0 35-61-2 Sacked-Yards Lost 1-3 1-7 Punts 5-40 3-47 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1 Penalties-Yards 8-110 9-56 Time of Poss. 31:33 28:27 Individual Statistics RUSHING — Utah State, K. Williams 20-162, C. Keeton 17-121, J. Hill 5-20, B. Natson 1-8, TEAM 2-m5. La. Tech, K. Dixon 22-109, R. Holley 15-77, C. Cameron 7-35, H. Lee 3-12. PASSING — Utah State, C. Keeton 20-34-2-340. La. Tech, C. Cameron 35-60-2-396, TEAM 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING — Utah State, K. Williams, 4-125, C. Jacobs 4-82, M. Austin 3-62, T. Reynolds 3-33, D.J. Tialavea 3-12, T. Van Leeuwen 1-19, K. Bartlett 1-3, B. Natson 1-3. La. Tech, Q Patton 11-181, D. Gru 4-47, M. White 4-44, R. Holley 4-38, A. Guillot 3-32, H. Lee 3-30, K. Dixon 1-ml, R.P. Stuart 2-18, R. Casey 1-7 MISSED FIELD GOALS — Utah State, N. Diaz 28. La. Tech, M. Nelson 43 (blocked). Burying bad Aggie football memories in Ruston, La. It has been said there are two certainties in life: death and taxes. I think football can be added to that list. Though they have suffered through one of the worst stretches of any college football program ever, Aggie fans had reason to celebrate Saturday. It was a visible sign of Utah State's time of mediocrity passing away from the college football world. When Aggie linebacker Jake Doughty plugged the hole and tackled Louisiana Tech's Ray Holley on fourth and short in the final play of overtime Saturday, he helped Utah State to its first-ever road victory of a Top-25 team. And with it slammed the lid closed on the casket of USU's sub-par streak in the most important sport on a college campus. Doughty's tackle sealed the win for Utah State's only football championship in the Western Athletic Conference — likely the final football championship to be awarded in the conference in today's world of realignment. It was also the final opportunity for the Aggies to achieve dominance in the WAC, as USU will shortly leave its post as the football life support for the dying conference. It was appropriate the Aggies won on the defensive side of the ball, the part of the game head coach Gary OSee STUCKI, Page 9 UTAH STATE FANS have waited a long time to see success on the football field. CURTIS RIPPLINGER photo |