Nov. 21, 2009

Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State kept it close with 6th-ranked Boise State for a quarter and a half, until the Broncos pulled away with 21 points in the final five minutes of the first half and won, 52-21, Friday night in a nationally-televised game from USU's Romney Stadium.

It was USU's final home game of the season, as the Aggies finish their home ledger with a 3-2 mark, their first season with a winning record since 2003.

The loss spoiled USU's Senior Night, as the Aggies honored their 15 seniors before the game. It also spoiled the first nationally televised game from Romney Stadium since at least 1977 and the first time that the ESPN network televised a football game in Logan.

Sophomore RB Robert Turbin topped USU's single-season rushing record for a sophomore on a 24-yard scoring run, as he now has 1,183 yards on the season, topping the previous sophomore mark of 1,135 by Rick Parros in 1977.

The win improves Boise State to 11-0 overall and 6-0 in Western Athletic Conference action while USU is now 3-8 overall and 2-5 in WAC play. It was the Broncos' 14th-straight WAC win, with their last conference loss coming in 2007. Utah State is now 4-12 all-time vs. Boise State, losing the last nine meetings, including the last four times when BSU has been ranked.

Junior RB Michael Smith scored on a 22-yard run to tie it at 7-7 with 5:52 in the first quarter. After a Boise State TD, Utah State countered with the 24-yard TD rush Turbin to knot the score at 14-all with 6:28 remaining in the first half.

The Broncos then scored 21 points in the final five minutes of the half to take a 35-7 halftime lead and never looked back, amassing 572 yards of total offense in the process, led by 121 rushing yards and four TD's from RB Doug Martin while fellow RB Jeremy Avery added 116 yards and two TD's. QB Kellen Moore was 15-29 for 233 yards and one TD, hitting WR Titus Young for five passes for 102 yards.

Utah State was led by Turbin with 61 yards rushing while junior QB Diondre Borel was 18-30 passing for 201 yards. Smith ended the game with 44 rushing yards on two TD's and had 48 yards receiving on two catches, including 25 on a fake punt pass play from sophomore WR Stanley Morrison.

Junior WR Eric Moats had a team-high 70 yards on three catches while senior WR Xavier Bowman added four catches for 23 yards.

Sophomore LB Bobby Wagner led USU with 13 tackles, while BSU was led by Jeron Johnson's 14 stops.

Utah State's season-finale is on Saturday, Nov. 28 against Idaho at Moscow, Idaho. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. (MT) and will be on regional television.

All Utah State football games are carried live on KVNU 610 AM and KLZX 95.9 FM in Logan; 1320 AM in Salt Lake City; on KLZX 105.3 FM in Montpelier, Idaho, and on the Internet at www.UtahStateAggies.com by clicking on "Listen Live."