Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LOGAN — In his final game against in-state rival BYU, Utah State defensive back Jalen Davis put on a show.
The senior from La Mesa, California recorded three interceptions, two of which went for touchdowns and helped the Aggie defense force seven turnovers on the night in a 40-24 win over the Cougars on Friday night at Maverik Stadium.
Despite giving up 496 yards of total offense, the Utah State defense made the plays when it was needed. The bend-but-not-break attitude worked.
People may say it was against the third string quarterback, which is true and make all kinds of excuses for the Utah State win, but Davis and the Aggie defense made plays all night.
Here are three takes from the 86th meeting of "The Battle for the Old Wagon Wheel."
Jalen Davis is a playmaker
With Utah State trailing 21-7 and all the momentum in BYU's favor, Davis made a play that turned the game around. Davis caught a Beau Hoge errant pass that bounced off the back of USU linebacker Chase Christiansen and ran it back 30 yards for his first score of the game with 11:02 left in the first half.
The score snapped a 21-point unanswered run by the Cougars after the Aggies had taken the early 7-0 lead. After Jalen's pick-six, the Aggies never looked back. Utah State went on to score the next 26 points to take a 33-21 lead into the fourth quarter.
That was just the start of the night for Davis, who recorded his second interception following the second drive of the second half. To top it off, Davis put the stamp on an impressive defensive performance for Utah State by returning his third interception 50 yards for his second touchdown of the game and third of the season with three minutes left in the game.
USU offense was good but has to capitalize
When the defense gives you the ball seven extra times in a rivalry game, you have to capitalize. Yes, Utah State scored 26 points off those seven turnovers, but remember: 14 of those points came off the two touchdown returns by Davis.
The Aggies racked up 288 yards of total offense on the night but, at times, struggled to put a dagger into the heart of the Cougars. Quarterback Kent Myers was efficient on the night, finishing 16-of-27 for 176 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Myers also ran for 33 yards and a huge touchdown to start the fourth quarter to put Utah State up 33-21.
No matter what others may say, Utah State beat BYU
There will be those who say, "BYU was playing its third-string quarterback"; "USU is awful because they forced seven turnovers and the game was still pretty close at the end"; "BYU is awful so USU should have won by more." Blah. Blah. Blah.
The fact is, Utah State made plays when it had to and took advantage of the fact that BYU was playing its third-string quarterback by forcing seven turnovers. Sure, the Aggie offense could have been more efficient when the defense handed the ball over to them. But, Myers, Ron'quavion Tarver and the USU offense made plays when they needed to.
No matter what others may say, Utah State won the game by outplaying the Cougars on both sides of the ball, forcing turnovers and using the energy that was in Maverik Stadium on Friday night. Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias
