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Aggies erase 27-point deficit for first victory of year By
Doug Layne After Utah State was defeated by Idaho State last year, the Aggies knew that they could not overlook their opponent this year. But for the first 30 minutes Saturday, it looked as if the Bengals would win again, as they were able to control the game quite easily. "Our game plane was really solid," USU Coach Mick Dennehy said. "It's so important to get off to a good start to have good momentum, and we did not." The Bengals got off to a quick start as Jared Allen picked off Jose Fuentes and ran in the ball for a 38-yard touchdown to give ISU a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Moments later Josh Whitworth found a Fuentes pass that was meant for a USU receiver and gave his Bengals a chance to put the dagger further into Utah State's heart. That pickoff would set up a 26-yard touchdown strike from Doug Baughman to Charles James and give Idaho State a 20-0 lead in the opening moments in the second quarter. The Bengals took a 27-0 lead going into the break, marking the first time that USU was shut out in the first half since last year when the Aggies were down 13-0 against Southern Utah. It seemed that the Aggies had no answer for their opponent as they had only 163 yards at halftime compared with the Bengals' 248. Emmett White was held to only 57 yards as well. "It looked like we had never played together," Dennehy said. "We just dug ourselves into a hole." Luckily for Utah State, there are two halves in a game and the second was a completely different story as a much better team came out to play after the break. The Aggies finally got on the board midway through the third quarter as Fuentes found an open Kevin Curtis for a 58-yard touchdown reception. Curtis, who leads the nation in receiving yards, finished the game with 107 yards. "We went into this game knowing that Kevin Curtis and Emmett White were two of the best players we are going to see all year. Skill wise I don't if there is any better" Bengals Coach Bart Brooks said. White had a huge fourth quarter as he would scored touchdowns, including the winning score as he rushed in from 20 yards out, with 4:41 left in the game. White finished the game with 151 yards. "When you get a guy like Emmett White that's so tough and so unselfish, he's going to get it done, and he gets better and better as the game goes on," Dennehy said "He's one of the funnest guys I have ever coached." Tony Walker sealed the victory for USU as he came up with the third interception for the Aggies in the closing minutes of the game. The victory was the largest comeback for Utah State since 1991.
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