LOGAN, Utah -- San Diego State jumped out to a 13-0 lead at Utah State, but the Aggies (4-7, 3-3 MW) scored 41 consecutive points en route to a 41-20 victory over the Aztecs (3-8, 2-4 MW) Saturday at Maverik Stadium in Logan, Utah. It was the fifth straight loss for SDSU, which fell to 1-5 all-time in Logan.
Marquez Cooper ran for 118 yards and a touchdown, his fifth 100-yard game of the season and 22nd of his career. He also became the 23rd player to break 5,000 rushing yards for his career.
Louis Brown IV caught seven passes for 114 yards and his second 100-yard game of the season as Danny O’Neil completed 23 of 31 passes for 199 yards.
Starting with the ball, San Diego State quickly got into USU territory on a 34-yard run by O’Neil. The Aztecs got four first downs on the 10-play, 71-yard drive, but were unable to convert fourth-and-goal from the 1 as O’Neil’s pass to Mikey Harrison was caught for a 3-yard loss.
After the teams exchanged punts, SDSU used a 42-yard pass from O’Neil to Brown IV to get across Utah State’s side of the field. San Diego State got all the way to the 14, but back-to-back false start penalties had the Aztecs settling for a 35-yard field goal by Gabe Plascencia as time expired in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Trey White hit Aggie quarterback Spencer Petras as he threw the ball, which dropped into the hands of a waiting Brady Nassar. SDSU then finished off a 6-play, 46-yard drive with a 14-yard run by Cooper to take a 10-0 lead with 7:49 left in the first half.
After stuffing USU on a fourth-and-1 from its own 34, San Diego State looked to add to its lead. Facing a third-and-22, O’Neil found Brown IV for a 29-yard pass to get to the Utah State 16-yard line. The Aztecs, however, could get no closer than the 12 and had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Placencia. It was the 12th consecutive made field goal for the left-footed kicker.
The Aggies, however, started their streak of 41 straight points with consecutive touchdowns to close the first half. The first was a 19-yard run by backup quarterback Bryson Barnes and the second was a 9-yard pass from Barnes to Grant Page, giving USU a 14-13 lead at halftime.
Utah State scored a touchdown on four of its first five drives in the second half, making it a stretch of six out of seven drives in which it scored a touchdown after trailing, 13-0. Barnes connected on a 10-yard pass to Josh Sterzer as the Aggies led, 21-13, at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth, Barnes found Page for a 6-yard touchdown, then Kyrese White and Herschel Turner each added touchdown runs of 5 yards and 1 yard, respectively.
SDSU put together one last scoring drive to stop the bleeding, going 75 yards on 11 plays before Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson found Mekhi Shaw for a 12-yard touchdown. Tupou’ata-Johnson was 3-for-5 for 25 yards and 16 rushing yards on four carries on the drive.
Dalesean Staley had a career and game-high 11 tackles for San Diego State, while Chris Johnson, Tano Letuli and Kyle Moretti chipped in with nine tackles apiece.
USU’s Bryson Barnes completed 13 of 15 passes for 139 yards and three touchdowns in relief of Petras, and added 193 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries for a 12.9 average.
Aztecs Drop Final Road Game of 2024 at Utah State
Marquez Cooper became the 23rd player in NCAA history to surpass 5,000 career rushing yards in the loss.
