Aug. 31, 2002

Final Stats

LOGAN, Utah (AP) - Marty Johnson rushed for 176 yards and scored two touchdowns as Utah beat Utah State 23-3 Saturday night.

Utah led 7-3 before the big Ute offensive line, which outweighed the USU defensive front by 30 pounds a man, wore down the Aggies.

The Utes scored on their first three possessions of the fourth quarter.

Johnson showed he could break two or three tackles on his 30-carry performance. His backup, J.R. Peroulis, ran 15 times for 93 yards.

Peroulis broke two tackles on a 27-yard scamper with 12:35 left in the fourth quarter to give Utah a 13-3 lead, although the kick was blocked by Mark Estelle. The final six plays of the drive were on the ground, totaling 63 yards.

David Fiefia dropped the ensuing kickoff, picked it up and then fumbled again when he was hit by Kawika Casco. Utah recovered and quickly scored on a 17-yard pass from Lance Rice to Johnson and the Utes led 20-3.

Bryan Borreson capped the scoring with a 27-yard field goal with 2:20 remaining in the game.

The Utes, who outgained USU 447-162, have had a string of five straight wins in this 102-game rivalry that drew a crowd of 30,757, the fourth largest in school history.

On Utah's second possession of the game, Johnson capped an 8-play, 80-yard drive with a 13-yard dash for a touchdown. Johnson's four carries on the drive accounted for 51 yards.

Utah State was unable to run against the stout Utah defense that returned most of its key players from its top-15 defense in 2001. The Aggies rushed for a negative nine yards and the longest positive ground gain was just five yards.