12/2/11 Utah State football: Aggies beat Nevada, achieve bowl eligibility | Deseret Ne…

1/2deseretnews.com/…/Utah-State-football-Aggies-beat-Nevada-achieve-bowl-…

SIGN IN | SUBSCRIBE | E-EDITION | ARCHIVES | MOBILEFriday, December 2, 2011 — Last update: 11:16 a.m. MST

Salt Lake CityScattered Clouds

38˚Weather | Traffic

SEARCH DESERETNEWS.COM

Site Web: powered by YAHOO! SEARCH

NEW ERA: PAC-12

READ CHURCHNEWS

Home Utah Sports Life Entertainment Faith Movies Multimedia Opinion Business World & Nation Blogs Obituaries

Scores & Stats High School BYU Utes USU WSU SUU UVU RSL Bees Jazz NFL Outdoors Blogs On TV Columnists Picks

Marketplace

The Deseret Newsnew look is now live

Try it »

0 comments

Related article

Aggies hold off Wolf Pack 21-17

From the archive

Brad Rock: Bowling is more than a step forwardfor USU program – Nov . 26, 2011

Aggies hold off Wolf Pack 21-17 – Nov . 26, 2011

Utah State football: Aggies' roller-coaster ridegame recaps – Nov . 22, 2011

Utah State football: Aggies rally down stretchagain – Nov . 13, 2011

Utah State football: 5 things to know aboutcamp – Aug. 3, 2011

Published: Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011 7:01 p.m. MST

PRINT | FONT + -

Utah State football: Aggies beat Nevada, achievebowl eligibilityBy Kraig Williams, For the Deseret News

LOGAN — For the first time since 1997, Utah State could be going bowling.

The Aggies held off Nevada 21-17 Saturday on senior day in Romney Stadium in front of 15,784 Aggie fans to clinch

their sixth win of the season — and with it, bowl eligibility.

"This is the perfect way to go out," said senior linebacker Bobby Wagner about playing his last game at home. "It's a

great win for this program. We are going bowling. I'm excited."

Wagner, the leading candidate for WAC Defensive player of

the Year, helped solidify the victory by coming up with a

crucial fumble recovery late in the game. Defensive lineman

Quinn Garner stripped Nevada quarterback Tyler Lantrip on a

fourth-and-inches play with Nevada driving inside the Utah

State 10.

Following the fumble, Utah State pounded the ball with 11

straight rushes from quarterback Adam Kennedy and running

backs Robert Turbin and Kerwynn Williams. The Aggies ran

the final 5:14 off the clock, with Turbin converting on fourth-

and-1 with just over a minute remaining and Kennedy

scrambling for 12 yards on a keeper on third-and-10 to finish

off Nevada.

"I try to work to be the best running back that I can be, and if

I can't get one yard, we have a problem," said Turbin.

Nevada dominated the line of scrimmage for most of the first

half. The Wolf Pack went into the locker room with 290 total

yards of offense compared to just 134 for Utah State. Despite

outgaining the Aggies by 146 yards, the Wolf Pack had just

10 points to show for their efforts.

While the first half was a defensive struggle, the third quarter

was full of fireworks for both offenses. Utah State struck first

with a 21-yard Matt Austin touchdown reception in the back

of the end zone. The lead was short-lived, as Nevada

responded with a 76-yard touchdown reception from wide

receiver Rishard Matthews just 25 seconds later. Matthews

finished with 12 catches for 205 yards and one touchdown in

the losing effort.

The third quarter ended on a trick play for the Aggies.

Kennedy tossed the ball back to Stanley Morrison, who then

found a wide- open Turbin in the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown pass to give the Aggies a 21-17 lead going into the

fourth quarter.

"Those balls that sit up in the air like that are the hardest ones to catch for some reason," Turbin said about his

game-winning grab. "The only thing you are thinking about is 'hurry up and get down' and not to drop the ball. I knew I

was going to catch it though."

The win gives the Aggies six victories for the first time since reaching the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl against Cincinnati.

"It's a great day to be an Aggie. That was an unbelievable performance by a group of kids that just kept on fighting. All

the credit goes to them," said USU head coach Gary Andersen.

Utah State will finish its regular season next week at New Mexico State with a chance for its first seven-win season

since winning the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl.

Buy Now

Most popular Latest updates Most commented

A B O U T T H I S A D

Get today's headlines via emailSports edition

user@email.com

Deseret News Family Deals

10 Inch Christus Statue, only$39

$39

In Sports Across Site

1. Brad Rock: BYU football: Jake Heaps,...

2. High school football: P.G. hires...

3. Utah Jazz: Players begin voluntary...

4. Lone Peak's Hansen named Deseret...

5. Talkin' with Trav: Kirilenko...

6. BYU football receives 2013 football...

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Utah State Aggies safety Walter McClenton (4) and

Utah State Aggies cornerback Cameron Sanders (2)

celebrate in Logan Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011. USU beat

Nevada and is now bowl eligible.

See all 28 photos | Click to enlarge

12/2/11 Utah State football: Aggies beat Nevada, achieve bowl eligibility | Deseret Ne…

2/2deseretnews.com/…/Utah-State-football-Aggies-beat-Nevada-achieve-bowl-…

STORY

Mr. Football: ChaseHansenChase Hansen has gone froman athlete playing QB to a QBwith unbelievable athleticism.

STORY

Five Hawaii playersHere are five Hawaii Warriorsthat BYU needs to keep an eyeon this weekend.

STORY

Jazz begin workoutsFor the first time since July 1,the Utah Jazz opened up theirtraining facility to NBA playersthis morning.

since winning the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl.

"Every game is important, but I'm going to tell you this. I'm not worrying a lick about New Mexico State until

tomorrow," said Andersen. "I am going to enjoy this."

A B O U T T H I S A D

Heart Attack: 4 SignsThese 4 things happen right before aheart attack. Know these signs before

it's too late.��Learn more

Preparing for Retirement?Have a $500,000 portfolio? Ken Fisher,a 27-year Forbes columnist, has a

retirement guide for you!��Learn more

New Policy in Utah(Dec 2011) If you drive less than 50miles per day, you can now get car

insurance for only $1/day!��Learn

more

Become a PsychologistBecome a [ Utah] Psychologist. Earn

your degree in as little as 18 mos.�Learn more

View Comments

DeseretNews.com encourages a civil dialogue among its readers. We welcome your thoughtful comments.

– About Comments

Add your comment

Recommended in Sports

BYU Cougars blog

Our sports beat writers andcolumnists have the Y. covered.

Real Salt Lake blog

All the inside info on Utah's MLSteam from beat writer JamesEdward.

ShowMore

7. A writer's notebook: Straight Outta...

8. BYU basketball: Brock Zylstra's...

9. High school football: 5A all-state teams

10. High school football: 4A all-state teams

A B O U T T H I S A D

A B O U T T H I S A D

Man Cheats Credit ScoreHe Added 126 Points To His Credit ScoreUsing This 1 Easywww.SecretsOfYourCreditScore.com

$9 Car Insurance Trick?If you drive 25 mi/day or less you betterread this...Insurance.Comparisons.org

Top 5 Savings AccountsList of top rated savings banks withhighest rates forwww.MoneyMarketChart.com/Savings

Ads by Yahoo!

deseretnews.com: Home | Subscription services | Contact us | Advertise with us | News tips | FAQ | Feedback | Jobs | RSS | Privacy policy

A B O U T T H I S A D