Aggies Look To Learn, Move Forward From Loss To Alabama
Sep 3, 2022, 10:51 PM
TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - SEPTEMBER 3: Jaylen Moody #42 of the Alabama Crimson Tide runs down Cooper Legas #5 of the Utah State Aggies at Bryant Denny Stadium on September 3, 2022 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
LOGAN, UT – After a 55-0 loss at the hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Utah State head coach Blake Anderson doesn’t want his team to dwell on one game.
In his postgame comments, Anderson praised his team for playing hard while being overmatched physically against the preseason national title favorites. “I love them and I’m proud of how hard they play.”
Anderson wasn’t as bothered with the final score as he was playing the right way. “As long as they played hard and tried to do what we asked them to do, do no be frustrated or be down at all.”
It was not the Aggies' day down in Tuscaloosa, the bright spot– it was Ike Larsen. Two weeks in a row with an INT. Also, had a blocked punt today.@kslsports @bpreece24 #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/RitGXD7LvD
— Huu do you think you are? I am! (@huutransuperman) September 4, 2022
Redshirt freshman Ike Larsen was one of just a handful of Aggies that heads back to Logan with highlights added to their tape. Larsen intercepted a Jalen Milroe deep pass for the first turnover the night for either team. Later in the game, Larsen broke through the Alabama line to block a punt.
“I’ve never been in this type of environment before but it’s always awesome the first time you get the butterflies a little bit.,” Larsen said of the chance to play Alabama. “At the end of day, you just got to execute the plays. I feel like we did that pretty well. They’re just a better team.”
Aggies Mostly Healthy
Despite the physical mismatches across the board, the Aggies appeared to make it out of Tuscaloosa relatively unscathed.
Defensive tackle Poukesi Vakauta went down and was tended to by trainers late in the first quarter before making his way off the field. In the second quarter, safety Ajani Carter appeared to come up limping as well. Asked postgame, Anderson said those are expected to be just ‘bumps and bruises’ types of injuries.
“Once guys had some bumps and bruises, we were pretty cautious about putting them back out. Just my first glance and talking to the medical staff is that we should have everybody back in healthy this week to practice and get ready for Weber.”
The focus ended up on starting quarterback Logan Bonner. Just nine months removed from surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered in the Aggies bowl win against Oregon State in January, Bonner appeared to make his way gingerly toward the Aggie sideline after a second quarter possession.
Logan Bonner is out, Cooper Legas is in as @USUFootball trails Alabama 34-0 in Tuscaloosa.#AggiesAllTheWay https://t.co/IeA1MXpXYZ
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 4, 2022
Not much was thought of it until backup QB Cooper Legas replaced Bonner on the Aggies next series.
Anderson spoke about about being cautious with Bonner as he continues to rehab. “He got dinged early with the knee. We don’t want to take a lot of chances. It was swollen. Structurally seems fine. He’ll be fine next week, but it wasn’t smart to continue to put him out there if he wasn’t gonna be able to move like we needed him to.”
Legas and sophomore Levi Williams combined to complete 5-of-13 passes for 18 yards and no turnovers.
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Up Next
Utah State (1-1) return home to Maverik Stadium and Merlin Olsen Field to take on the Weber State Wildcats (1-0) on Saturday, September 10. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. (MST)
Every Utah State football game can be heard on the KSL Sports Zone with Scott Garrard and former Aggie quarterback Kevin White on the call.
