Utah State football: USU shows heart in heartbreaking loss to Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — For a while — more than a half, in fact — Utah State matched historic football power Texas A&M blow for blow and threatened to win this battle between the Aggies.

But blown assignments, missed opportunities and a handful of moments will cause a long sleepless night for Gary Andersen after his Utah State football team sent a serious scare into 73,599 fans at Kyle Field.

Texas A&M, however, survived the Aggie vs. Aggie showdown and sent USU (0-2) back to Logan with a 38-30 loss to think about.

"We had an opportunity there," Andersen said, "but we couldn't make the play."

That play came after Utah State blocked a kick late in the fourth quarter, marched 76 yards in just 2 minutes, 18 seconds to score on a Diondre Borel 2-yard scamper and then recovered an onside kick with 25 seconds to go and had three chances to tie the game — but came up empty.

"We battled back," USU running back Robert Turbin said, "we just came up short."

The Aggies in blue and white, indeed, battled back.

After they fell behind 38-17 one play into the fourth quarter, most at Kyle Field figured the game was all but over. Utah State, however, refused to throw in the towel despite the long odds.

After Borel's score brought USU to within a touchdown and 2-point conversion of tying the contest, Texas A&M didn't allow the Aggies to get anything done in the final 25 seconds and forced a scrambling Borel to fumble the ball on third down — ending Utah State's hopes with three seconds left to play.

"To get down and keep fighting was a positive for us," Andersen said.

"I believe this football team can play with a lot of teams in the country," he added. "We've just got to get rid of those mistakes."

Utah State stunned the Kyle Field crowd early by holding Texas A&M on its first possession and then letting Turbin do what Turbin does best.

The sophomore running back took a handoff from Borel, broke a tackle and turned to the right sideline, where he outraced a handful of A&M defenders for a 50-yard touchdown, giving USU a 7-0 lead.