USU football: Aggies beat Spartans in snowy Logan

LOGAN — With snow falling, the wind blowing and the temperatures dropping, it came as no surprise that Utah State opted to focus its offensive attention on its running game.

That San Jose State, a team allowing 277 ground yards per game, was a the opponent was a happy coincidence for the Aggies.

And Utah State took advantage of that by grinding out a season-best 381 rushing yards to take a 24-9 win over the Spartans.

"It says they care," Utah State coach Gary Andersen said. "It says they like to compete and they care about each other."

The much-needed victory means Utah State (3-7 overall, 2-4 WAC) reached one of the modest goals the team set at the beginning of the season — a winning record at home.

"To be able to get to 3-1 at home ensures something," Andersen said, "that I think is special to the seniors, to have a winning record at home ... that's something no one on this team has done."

Leading the charge for the Aggies was a resurgent defense which allowed only 56 rushing yards and a standout performance by sophomore running back Robert Turbin.

"Obviously a good game for us and a good win," said Turbin, who finished with 190 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. "We had some ups and downs but the defense did a great job when their backs were against the wall."

The 381 yards was the most Utah State has had since 1999 against Nevada. Turbin passed the 1,000-yard mark for the season early in the game and finished with 1,122 yards so far this season.

"We had trouble with Turbin and (Diondre) Borel in the open field," SJSU coach Dick Tomey said. "I think they were certainly the better team. I've been impressed with them."

Utah State scored first after using a fake field goal to move the chains, setting up a 6-yard Turbin run with 11:47 on the first-quarter clock.

Turbin hit the end zone again in the second quarter, taking a pitch from Borel on the left side, stopping and reversing direction to evade tacklers on a pair of occasions and scampering 35 yards into the end zone to give Utah State a 14-0 lead.

The momentum was building, but Utah State couldn't put the Spartans (1-8, 0-5) away.

"We make it hard," Andersen said. "We can make any game interesting really easy."