SUU, Utah State football: Aggies outlast T-birds in shootout

LOGAN — Style points — at a school that has been hungry for a winning football program for decades — matter little.

Final scores, however, mean a lot.

And Utah State's less-than-pretty 53-34 victory over Southern Utah is important in a variety of ways.

"A win is something you'll cherish," said Utah State coach Gary Andersen, who recorded his first win as the Aggie head coach. "Obviously, it's great to get that first win and get it under our belt."

The Aggies — who racked up 604 yards on just 66 plays — made scoring points look easy against the Thunderbirds.

But several sloppy plays by the defense and some serious ball-control issues on special teams made the game a lot closer than Andersen would have liked.

Utah State put the ball on the Romney Stadium Sprinturf seven times. Three of those came on special teams and each of those was recovered by a Thunderbird. Those three turnovers resulted in three short scoring drives and 13 points for SUU.

"We are our own worst enemy right now," Andersen said.

Still, Utah State will gladly take the win and try to build on it.

"It's huge," senior safety James Brindley said after the homecoming victory in which he recorded an interception and had four tackles. "We've got to build off it, but seriously, a WAC win will feel a lot better."

The Aggies got their offense rolling quickly — but not before SUU took advantage of the first fumbled ball by USU on special teams to post a 3-0 lead after a drive of negative one yard.

Robert Turbin, who became the first USU running back to record back-to-back-to-back 100-yard rushing games since Emmett White nearly a decade ago, showed he's just as dangerous as a receiver when he hauled in a 29-yard touchdown pass on a trick play from receiver Stanley Morrison.

The Aggies scored again a few minutes later when Michael Smith snagged a 54-yard pass from Diondre Borel.

When Turbin reversed field at the line of scrimmage and scampered 16 yard for a score early in the second quarter Utah State held a 21-3 lead and appeared ready to blow the Thunderbirds out.

But playing against an in-state opponent is a rare opportunity for SUU and the T-birds weren't about to pack it in.