Aggies football suffers gut-wrenching 2OT road loss against Rebels

A breakthrough on the road was there for the taking for the Aggies on multiple occasions, but they ultimately were unable to seize the moment.

Three missed field goals — one on the final play of regulation and another in overtime — loomed large for Utah State, as did a botched fake field goal attempt in the second quarter. Those missed opportunities came back to haunt USU in a gut-wrenching 29-26 double overtime loss to UNLV in a hard-fought Mountain West football game on Saturday evening at Allegiant Stadium.

"Certainly disappointed that we didn't win the game," USU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "We had plenty of chances. Our team played resiliently, they played hard, they played tough, they were unified."

Indeed, the Aggies will surely bemoan their fifth road loss of the season. It not only prevented USU from becoming bowl eligible, but dashed the team's dreams of a Mountain West championship. The Aggies (5-5, 3-3 MW) must now either beat Fresno State on the road or Boise State at home — two opponents that are bowl bound — to secure their spot in the postseason.

"My team loves each other, I love them and this isn't a fast recovery," answered Mendenhall when asked what he told his team post-game to help support them. "How could it be? They tried as hard as they could try and knew they had a great chance to win multiple times, and so there's going to be sting, there's going to be a recovery process, there's going to be hurt, there's going to be grieving, there's going to be frustration. There's going to be all of that and how could there not? ... So, I just told them I loved them, I'm proud of them and am lucky to be their coach."

USU kicker Tanner Rinker was 10 for 10 this season on his field goal attempts heading into Saturday's showdown, and had two chances at redemption after missing a 41-yard field goal in the first quarter and an extra point later in the quarter. The junior college transfer pushed his 44-yard field goal wide right on the final play of regulation and then missed wide left on a 41-yarder in overtime a few minutes after UNLV was off the mark on a 39-yard FG.

"Yeah, I'm not sure why they struggled," Mendenhall said of special teams. "We've kicked the ball really accurately in field goals and extra points throughout the year, so I certainly didn't see that coming. We had multiple chances from the beginning of the game all the way to the very end, and we earned those chances, we prepared our team and put our team in a position to execute in special teams. And that unit today ... didn't have the consistency or the outcome that we wanted there."

Those special teams difficulties were especially painful, inasmuch as the Aggies put together one of their best defensive performances of the season, coupled with a gritty effort by quarterback Bryson Barnes. UNLV (8-2, 4-2) entered the contest ranked first in the Mountain West in scoring defense (37.4 points per game) and total defense (463.4 yards per game). The Rebels did finish with 423 total yards, but the Aggies certainly made them earn the lion's share of those.

"Yeah, our defense gave us multiple chances to win and limited the points really well at halftime, and made critical play after critical play after critical play throughout the game," Mendenhall said. "Again, it set us up to win the game, and we had plenty of chances. And so I was really impressed and pleased with what they did."

There were two lead changes and one tie in a wild and unpredictable second half. The Rebels pulled ahead at 17-16 on an athletic 10-yard touchdown catch by Deojan Reynolds in the very back of the end zone with 4:08 remaining in the third quarter. The fourth-and-six play was initially ruled an incompletion, but overturned after a lengthy review.

It was a massive momentum swing and it took USU a while to recover. UNLV extended its advantage to 20-16 on a 31-yard field goal by Ramon Villela four minutes into the fourth quarter. A clutch third-down open field tackle by USU true freshman linebacker Chris Joe helped prevent the hosts from potentially scoring more points on that series.

The Aggies pulled back ahead at 23-20 on a 58-yard scoring scamper by Barnes with 6:56 left in regulation. The Rebels brought the house on that third-and-six play, Barnes avoided the pass rush and was off to the races.

UNLV knotted things up at 23-23 on a 32-yard Villela field goal with 2:18 left in fourth quarter. A huge third-down sack by linebacker John Miller made sure the Rebels, who took advantage of two 15-yard penalties by the Aggies, didn't retake the lead.

The Aggies had a little more than two minutes to walk it off in regulation, and Barnes did his best to orchestrate his team to victory as he racked up 42 yards on five rushing attempts. However, Rinker's aforementioned field goal was narrowly off the mark and the game went to overtime.

Barnes accounted for 256 yards on 19 of 38 passing, plus 113 yards on 23 rushing attempts. The graduate student took a beating as he was sacked seven times, plus forced to scramble and hit on several other occasions.

"Yeah, he's tough, he's exceptional and he's a great leader," Mendenhall said of Barnes. "And he's durable, he's consistent, he's a competitor, he exemplifies everything that I admire in a young person and in a football player, and I'm really lucky to be his coach. He's exceptional."

The Aggies won the coin toss prior to the first overtime and elected to start on defense. The decision paid off as the Rebels only gained four yards on three plays — a third-down pass was batted away at the line of scrimmage by linebacker Bronson Olevao Jr. — and then pushed their aforementioned 39-yard field goal wide left.

However, the Aggies failed to capitalize after only gaining two yards on three plays during their possession in overtime. USU had the ball first in double overtime, Barnes was sacked on first down and the visitors ultimately had to settle for a 39-yard Rinker field goal to take a 26-23 lead.

Speedster Kayden McGee then proceeded to bust off a 25-yard scoring run on the play immediately following Rinker's FG to walk it off for the Rebels, who improved to 4-1 at home this season and extended their winning streak against the Aggies to three.

Likewise, it was an opening half of missed opportunities for the Aggies, who still managed to take a 13-10 lead into the locker room. The visitors made a couple of massive defensive plays during the first two quarters of action — the first of which was an interception by Olevao in the red zone, and the second a tackle for loss by Miller on a fourth-and-inches quarterback run at the UNLV 39-yard line.

UNLV dented the scoreboard first, courtesy of a 31-yard field goal by Villela with 4:36 remaining in the opening quarter. USU cornerback Noah Avinger broke up a pair of passes to help limit the hosts to just three points.

The Aggies took a 6-3 lead a couple of minutes later, courtesy of a well-executed 17-yard fade from Barnes to Brady Boyd in the corner of the end zone on third and 10.

UNLV marched inside USU territory on its next series, but Olevao came through with his aforementioned INT, and the visitors promptly capitalized as they advanced the pigskin 82 yards in nine plays. Barnes found a wide open Noah White for a 47-yard catch and run to UNLV's 1-yard line. Indeed, the former Ridgeline High star was oh so close to his first collegiate touchdown. Former Las Vegas High standout Miles Davis found paydirt on a 1-yard plunge two plays later and the Aggies extended their advantage to 13-3.

The Aggies had a golden opportunity to get off the field on defense a few minutes later, but the Rebels converted on a fourth-and-seven play. UNLV signal caller Anthony Colandrea fooled the Aggies on a 10-yard quarterback run three plays later to pare his team's deficit to 13-10.

UNLV came up short on a 59-yard field goal on the final play of the half. USU marched down to the UNLV 3-yard line, following a three-and-out defensive series to begin the second half, but Barnes was sacked on third and goal and the Aggies settled for a 24-yard field goal by Rinker to extend their cushion to 16-10.

UCLA transfer Braden Pegan continues to prove he is one of the top receivers in the Mountain West as he caught eight of Barnes' passes for 109 yards. Colandrea threw for 277 yard on 25 of 44 passing for the Rebels, who were without injured star tailback Jai'Den Thomas.

Miller helped lead the defensive charge for the Aggies with 11 tackles and 2.0 sacks. Olevao, who was banged up a bit in last Saturday's win over Nevada, chipped in with 10 tackles, to go along with his aforementioned INT and PBU, and reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week Brevin Hamblin with 10 tackles. Hamblin, USU's transfer safety from Utah Tech, was injured on a special teams play in the second half. The Aggies broke up eight passes.

There was a scary moment midway through the fourth quarter as USU safety Titan Saxton was injured in the aftermath of making a nice tackle on a UNLV kickoff return. The former Sky View High and Snow College star had to be carted off the field.

Teammate, cousin and fellow safety Ike Larsen was the first Aggie to check on Saxton, and he was followed by the rest of his teammates. Several UNLV players also expressed their encouragement and concern during the lengthy delay.

"It's difficult anytime you see someone you love get hurt and it's no different for a coach," said Mendenhall, who had no injury update on Saxton's status. "… But yeah, it's very challenging and challenging for his teammates. Also, we're forced in this profession when significant things happen, you have to then move on and you have to move on really fast. Sports teaches you that. It's not ideal, but it's necessary in today's setting of the game. ... We did the best we could (responding to that challenging situation) and I was proud of my team."

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