Utah State football: Aggies hold on to win wild one in Idaho

MOSCOW, Idaho — After building a 24-point lead early in the first half, Utah State should have had a much more comfortable time beating the Idaho Vandals.

But the Aggies have been anything but comfortable this year, and their season-ending game turned into a wild, back-and-forth affair that didn't end until USU recovered a last-gasp onside kick by Idaho, preserving a 52-49 win Saturday at the Kibbie Dome.

Utah State improved to 4-8 in Gary Andersen's first season as the Aggies' head coach. The Vandals dropped to 7-5 overall (4-4 WAC) but will likely see their season extended when bowl game invitations are given in the next week or two.

"You couldn't ask for a better win," USU senior safety James Brindley said on KVNU radio after the game. "The offense had a great game and the defense made plays when we had to. It was a great way to end my career."

The win snapped a 12-game road losing streak for USU.

"That was a wild ride," Andersen said. "It was so great, no matter how it happened tonight, to find a way to win on the road ... it was fantastic for the seniors."

In a game featuring two of the worst defenses in the country, it wasn't much of a surprise to see more than 1,000 yards of total offense piled up.

But the 101 total points had the scoreboard operator busy and filled up the stat sheets.

Utah State running back Robert Turbin scored five touchdowns (three rushing, two receiving), and quarterback Diondre Borel finished with four touchdowns and a career high 379 yards on 19-of-30 passing.

"They were throwing out a winning mentality," Andersen said. "I was so proud of those guys."

Utah State jumped out to a 31-7 lead by doing something no other team had done.

The Vandals had averaged just one three-and-out per game throughout the season. But the Aggies got a trio of such defensive stops and scored in rapid form.

First, Turbin scored on a 3-yard run out of the wildcat formation to give the Aggies the lead.

After the Vandals answered quickly, Utah State took the lead again on an 85-yard catch-and-run from Borel to Xavier Bowman.

Another defensive stop led to a 48-yard TD pass from Borel to Turbin, and Utah State was up 21-7 with 3:50 left in the first quarter.

USU pushed its lead to 28-7 early in the second quarter when Borel hooked up with Turbin again on a 22-yard strike.