Utah St. football: Aggies need late-game mettle

This is getting old for Gary Andersen.

The first-year Utah State coach saw his team hold another lead late in the game only to see the team falter down the stretch and give it up.

This time, blowing a 27-17 halftime edge on the road at Fresno State and losing 31-27.

It's the third time — almost fourth — in as many Western Athletic Conference games that USU has seen a victory slip out of its hands in the final minutes.

"It is the same old song and dance. It is getting very repetitive," Andersen said. "It is the situation we are in right now with building this program. It is not easy but these kids will continue to fight. Three or four opportunities and we lose games to good football teams. It is very difficult to deal with week in and week out being so close and not being able to finish."

Against New Mexico State, the Aggies were ahead 17-10 in the third quarter only to see NMSU score the final 10 points and win it on a 28-yard field goal as time expired.

A week later, Utah State had a 24-14 lead late into the third quarter but saw Nevada storm back and take a 35-32 win.

The Aggies' 23-7 lead over Louisiana Tech was barely enough for a win as the Bulldogs scored twice in the fourth quarter and were only a failed 2-point conversion away from tying it up.

And finally — USU hopes — a double-digit second-half lead in Fresno was not enough to get a victory as the Aggies fell to 1-3 in WAC play when it feels it could easily be 4-0 with a serious shot at a bowl berth.

Instead, Utah State is questioning whether it has the mettle to hold on, if not pull away, in the final 30 minutes of a football game.

"We just slipped a little bit in the second half, just like in the Nevada and New Mexico State games. We couldn't execute and sustain drives on offense," USU receiver Eric Moats said. "We couldn't stop them on defense. It was just another tough loss. Everyone's head was down in the locker room. That is the third WAC game we have lost where we had a lead at the half."

Utah State's fast-start, slow-finish offense has caused problems despite being able to move the ball to the tune of 436.6 yards per game. The Aggies have scored 78 first-half points in four WAC games but only 21 points in the second half.

USU's WAC opponents have scored only 48 first-half points but turned things up with 59 points after the break.

DEFENSIVE INJURIES: Three of Utah State best defenders were out of action at Fresno State and that might have played a big role in the Bulldogs' ability to move the ball so successfully in the second half.

Neither linebacker Paul Igboeli or safety James Brindley suited up for the game with ankle and hamstring injuries, respectively, and senior cornerback Kejon Murphy (concussion) left the game early.