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- Utah State's football team suffered its sixth consecutive loss, falling 50-45 to New Mexico, despite leading 17-0 in the second quarter and holding a 2-point lead late in the fourth.
- The Aggies struggled to maintain their advantage, with quarterback Spencer Petras failing to convert a critical fourth-and-1 play, which led to New Mexico's decisive scoring.
- Interim coach Nate Dreiling acknowledged the team's inability to execute consistently, citing their failure to capitalize on winning the turnover battle and finish strong in games.
LOGAN — Utah State stared the end of its losing streak right in the face late in the fourth quarter.
The Aggies held a 2-point lead with 2:27 left, and were in position to complete enough plays that would've allowed them to run out the clock.
But on fourth-and-1, the quarterback sneak for Spencer Petras couldn't garner the first down. New Mexico took over on Utah State's 34-yard line, and scored off the turnover. The Aggies tried to get something going, but Petras threw an interception.
And that was all she wrote.
"It's not anybody's fault but ourselves," graduate linebacker Jon Ross Maye said. "That's who we have to look at in the mirror."
The Aggies (1-6, 0-3 Mountain West) dropped their sixth straight game Saturday afternoon in a 50-45 loss to the New Mexico Lobos (3-4, 2-1 MW). It's the program's longest losing streak since 2007.
New Mexico could be heard stomping, hooting and hollering in the visiting locker room; and at one point, the team was chanting, "Bronco, Bronco," in reference to its first-year coach Bronco Mendenhall.
Utah State led 17-0 in the second quarter and looked like the clear favorite. But the game became more of a back-and-forth affair from that point on, even though the Aggies did a decent job holding off the Lobos until the fourth quarter.
But in the fourth quarter, the Lobos thrived. New Mexico scored 21 points to Utah State's 7.
In some aspects, Utah State's defense fared slightly better than it has in recent weeks. It forced three punts and intercepted three of New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier's passes.
"Very rarely do you lose a game where you win the turnover battle," interim coach Nate Dreiling said. "We managed to do that — kind of where we're at. We just don't finish. We don't execute at a high enough level, and things sputter and we can't finish late."
Other than the deciding interception, Petras had yet another notable outing, where he threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns on 32-of-47 passing. He's eclipsed 300 passing yards in three straight games and becomes the first Utah State quarterback to do that since Chuckie Keeton in 2012.
Offensively, it was Utah State's highest output of the season, and most of the points came on the ground.
Running back Rahsul Faison ran in a career-high two touchdowns on the afternoon, while Herschel Turner and Petras each ran for one, too. Faison had 24 carries for 79 yards and was visibly emotional, holding back tears, while he talked about the loss.
"It's definitely frustrating (and) upsetting after all the work we put in," Faison said. "We just have to keep working and stick together as a team. Hopefully things will get better."
Utah State wide receiver Jalen Royals amassed 188 yards on 11 catches, and a 13-yard touchdown reception early in the third quarter gave the Aggies a 38-23 lead. But Royals was limited in the second half, with Dreiling noting that he's nursing several injuries.
New Mexico put together two consecutive rushing touchdowns from Javen Jacobs and Eli Sanders to cut Utah State's lead to 38-36. Turner managed a 43-yard rushing touchdown to give Utah State a 45-36 lead with 7:43 left in the game.
Dampier, who was elusive all afternoon for the Aggies, scored on a 5-yard run, which cut New Mexico's deficit to 45-43 with 3:53 remaining.
Dreiling said Utah State needed to win Saturday in order to "get where we wanted to go." With five games left in the season, it appears unlikely the team will win out and earn bowl eligibility.
"I'm most disappointed for this fan base," Dreiling said. "They deserve so much better. They're not getting it."
