Following big win over BYU, where does Utah State go now?


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LOGAN — There comes a time for every football team when a defining moment happens during the season. For the Utah State football team, that moment might just have happened in the second quarter of Friday night's win over BYU at Maverik Stadium.

BYU was leading 21-7, had all the momentum and seemed to have found its offensive swagger after back-to-back scoring drives following a Micah Hanneman pick-six.

To make things worse, the following Utah State drive stalled and the Aggies settled for a 38-yard field goal attempt. It was blocked by BYU defensive end Corbin Kaufusi and it felt like the Cougars had taken complete control of the battle for the Old Wagon Wheel.

However, football is a funny game and momentum can change in the blink of an eye, which it did with 11:02 to play in the first half.

BYU quarterback Beau Hoge threw a pass that bounced off the back of USU linebacker Chase Christiansen and right into the hands of defensive back Jalen Davis, who promptly returned the interception 30 yards for a touchdown. The score cut the USU deficit to seven and the Aggies never looked back.

Utah State went on to score the next 26 points in the game and ultimately come out with the 40-24 win.

“The defense played great tonight," Davis said. "I’m proud of the whole defense: the D-line, linebackers, the secondary. We just pride ourselves on forcing turnovers. That’s all we wanted to do this week was force turnovers and that’s what we did. We played a heck of a game.”

On the night, the USU defense forced seven turnovers (four interceptions, three fumbles), which is the most since forcing eight against Boise State in 2015. Aggies fans remember that night as USU put a beatdown on the nationally ranked Broncos, 52-26. However, following that win, Utah State went 2-5 the rest of the season and followed that up with a 3-9 record in 2016.

"I think we took a step in growing up," USU head coach Matt Wells said. "We have so many youthful players that are playing for the first time. They're learning to play together and learning how to prepare, learning how to overcome adversity. Today is a step in the right direction, but we have to learn to grow up as a team. It's a satisfying thing to see as a coach, seeing them overcome things."

So, following a road win that snapped an 11-game road losing streak and a home win over an in-state rival, where does Utah State go from here?

The Aggies have a very manageable Mountain West Conference schedule to play out the rest of the season. USU hosts Colorado State and Wyoming in back-to-back weeks before heading down to Las Vegas and a date with UNLV.

If the Aggies can win those three games, it will set up a Nov. 4 showdown with Boise State in Logan for a nationally televised game. USU follows that up at New Mexico, home against Hawaii and finishes the regular season at Air Force on Nov. 25.

“The confidence level is sky-high," Wells said. "The energy is legitimate. This weekend we’ll celebrate it and be smart about it, but we have to do a better job than how we did two years ago coming off the big Boise State win. We have to jump right back in to Mountain West play. Right now this is a huge victory, but come Monday morning, we have to move right to Colorado State. That’s going to be another stage for our team to really grow up and prepare. They can take the pats on the back on campus but need to come into this building every afternoon ready to focus.”

USU made a statement on Friday night. But there is still a lot of football to be played. It is now on the Aggies' shoulders to continue to ride that confidence and momentum into what matters most: winning a Mountain West Conference championship.

“We just have to keep it rolling," USU quarterback Kent Myers said. "Coach Wells mentioned it, but when we beat Boise State like this we kind of went into a drought and losing some games. As a leader, I have to get my guys focused. I believe in the 24-hour rule. As soon as this day is over, we have to focus on Colorado State, our next opponent. I don’t want to become complacent just because we got the win against BYU. We just have to keep grinding every day.” Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias

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