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USU, Utah Utes football: U. quickly snuffs out Aggies' upset hopes

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By Dirk Facer, Deseret News

Published: Sunday, Sept. 14 2008 12:42 a.m. MDT

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Summary

Depending on one's perspective, Saturday night's "Battle of the Brothers" was bittersweet. With the nation's 12th-oldest rivalry approaching a two-year hiatus, Utah and Utah State squared off at Romney Stadium for the last time until 2012.

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  • USU, Utah Utes football: Game at a glance

That, too, proved to be short-lived.

Just 10 seconds passed before Utah's lead swelled to 17-7.

USU's Curtis Marsh, whose father — also named Curtis Marsh — is a former Utah receiver, fumbled the ensuing kickoff return after getting hit by Justin Taplin-Ross. Elijah Wesson picked up the loose ball and ran it back 10 yards for a touchdown.

Following another three-and-out effort by the defense, the Utes went on to increase their advantage, adding a 35-yard field goal by Sakoda with 10:23 to go in the second quarter.

Shortly thereafter, another opportunity arose.

On USU's next play from scrimmage, Utah defensive end Paul Kruger jarred the ball away from quarterback Diondre Borel on a sack. Derrick Shelby recovered it for the Utes on the Aggie 13.

Less than two minutes later, Sakoda kicked a 24-yard field goal to make it 23-7.

USU's fourth punt closed the next series and set the stage for Utah's sixth-consecutive scoring drive in the half.

The Utes used a little trickery along the way when Sakoda completed a 9-yard pass to R.J. Stanford on a broken play (it was supposed to be a punt) just inside Aggie territory. It kept what proved to be a 12-play drive alive. A 10-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Freddie Brown capped things off with only 23 seconds remaining in the half.

Utah led 30-7 at the break and held significant advantages in first downs (13-3), total offense (219-39) and time-of-possession (19:11-10:49).

The tide turned a bit early in the second half. Johnson was picked off by linebacker Paul Igboeli on the first play. After taking over on the Utah 24, USU managed to pick up one first down before settling for a 20-yard field goal by Peter Caldwell.

It failed to ignite a momentum shift, however.

The Utes responded to the first third-quarter points they've allowed this season when the offense got the ball back. Utah put together back-to-back touchdown drives to bookend another punt by the Aggies.

An 8-yard scoring strike from Johnson to tight end Colt Sampson and a 4-yard TD run by Asiata made it 44-10 with 4:39 to play in the third quarter.

Utah added two more touchdowns down the stretch when Asiata crossed the goal line from three yards out and Ray Stowers scored on a 2-yard run.

Sakoda the capped all scoring with his seventh PAT, a career-best. He was also perfect in three field-goal attempts.


E-mail: dirk@desnews.com

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  • USU, Utah Utes football: Ags are 'embarrassed' by their performance

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Featured Comments

See all 71 comments »
CougarKeith

Utah is cheap with their Fake Punt against Utah State late in the second quarter, knowing they get the ball to start the second half with a 16 point lead against the mighty Aggies who rank right up there with the likes of the Cougars and the More..

  • 1:11 a.m. Sept. 14, 2008
  • Top comment
Blake

Whittingham an embarrassment? that's a lame comment. Utah is ranked 22 and moving up how is that embarrassing?

  • 2:41 a.m. Sept. 14, 2008
  • Top comment
Aggie Fan

No surprise that a cougar fan is the only one offended by the fake. This is college football and we Aggies expect other teams to give us their best game, even if right now we are not competing. The only problem I have with the fake is that it worked More..

  • 5:31 a.m. Sept. 14, 2008
  • Top comment
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About the Author
Dirk Facer

Dirk Facer

Dirk Facer covers University of Utah sports for the Deseret News.

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