Last call in Logan! Aggies win in OT

LOGAN — They only converted two third downs in more time than a normal game.

But when Chuckie Keeton saw daylight to his left-hand side, it was enough to enlighten the Utah State football fans filling Romney Stadium and watching the game on national television that their program was going to make another critical step forward in their continued rise.

Just 1-of-12 on third down conversions during overtime and facing a 3^rd-and-9 predicament, Keeton turned the corner towards the pylon after his receivers were smothered. Twenty-three yards later, running back Kerwynn Williams lurched into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown in the Aggies’ 27-20 win over rival Utah.

The two combined for 196 yards rushing on 17 carries each, while Keeton tossed for two touchdowns as students and alumni alike stormed the field much like they had in their Oct. 1, 2010 victory over BYU, their other in-state nemesis.

Some in the public forum had suggested as recently as this week that due to the Utes’ dominance in recent games of the series didn’t bring merit to the rivalry anymore. After all, Utah beat USU by an average score of 40-10 in the past eight contests.

For the likes of Bojay Filimoeatu, whose entire family are fans of the programs in Salt Lake City and Provo, he now expects some love to be directed towards Logan. Filimoetu said because of his family’s fandom alignment, it’s difficult for them to even support him with a USU jersey over his shoulders.

“What now?” he said, when asked what he would direct towards those who said would now be confused who to support. “They better be a Utah State fan now. With Heavenly Father on our side, we did well tonight. I just fell to a knee (after the game) and was grateful.

“Players make plays,” he added, echoing a phrase originally quoted by USU head coach Gary Andersen. “So we did it.”

It didn’t seem that way for a while. Behind a 6-of-8 passing effort from Keeton, along with 70 total rushing yards from he and Williams, the Aggies raced to a 13-0 advantage after the first quarter. The advantage remained the same until Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn, entering his fourth year as a starting signal-caller, encountered an injury to his left arm that found him in a sling by the time halftime ended.

Jon Hays went 4-of-5 on his first drive to narrow the USU lead to 10 points by intermission, a disparity that Ute coach Kyle Whittingham said his team was lucky to encounter. Hays continued his strong play in the third quarter to knot the score by the time the final stanza started. Utah even could have stolen the contest with a 52-yard field goal conversion from Coleman Petersen at the end of regulation. It didn’t stand a chance.

The Utes advanced to the USU six-yard line in overtime, but a penalty forced them to try to advance 21 yards for a touchdown in two plays. They didn’t gain any, causing the ROTC and general security personnel to immediately swarm the field to guard the north and south goalposts, respectively.

Keeton refused to qualify the victory as a signature win for him personally, despite having notched just one victory over an FBS team in eight games heading into Friday’s ESPN2-televised battle.

“Honestly, the signature win would be a bowl game,” he said. “We can’t put Utah on a pedestal just because they are in the same state as we are. In preparation this week, we didn’t say was Utah. For us, they were ‘that team.’”

 The Aggies face the Big Ten’s Wisconsin on the road on Sept. 15 at 6 p.m.

Utah State 27, Utah 20 (OT)

USU—Christensen 0 blocked punt return (Warren kick), 7:59.

At Romney Stadium

Utah 0 3 10 7 0 — 20

Utah St. 13 0 0 7 7 — 27

First quarter