Sept. 11, 2010

Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery

LOGAN, Utah - Behind senior quarterback Diondre Borel's passing and the running back attack, Utah State beat Idaho State, 38-17, Saturday in the first game on newly named Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium.

Six former USU standouts were inducted into the USU Athletics Hall of Fame Friday night and were also introduced Saturday night at halftime. The inductees include: Tom Foster, one of the most decorated wrestlers in school history; Louie Giammona, an outstanding running back and kick returner; Lauren Goebel Keller, an All-American volleyball player; Shaler Halimon Jr., a prolific scorer on the men's basketball team; Earl Lindley, a two-sport standout in football and basketball; and Glenn Passey, one of just three NCAA Individual Track Champions in school history.

Borel ended the night 21-of-26 passing for 255 yards, putting him over the 5,000 career yard plateau, becoming the seventh Aggie QB to reach that milestone and the first since Jose Fuentes in 2001.

After Idaho State kicked a field goal on its opening possession, Utah State reeled off 38 unanswered points in building a 38-3 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Bengals added a pair of TD's in the last three minutes to close the gap.

Four different USU running backs had over 30 yards rushing, led by senior Michael Smith's 86 yards on 12 carries, while fellow senior Derrvin Speight also had 12 rushes, finishing with 75 yards. The sophomore duo of Joey DeMartino and Kerwynn Williams added 38 and 32 yards, respectively. Speight, DeMartino and Williams all joined Borel with a rushing TD each, just the second time since 1993 that USU has had four different players had at least one rushing TD, and the first time since 2008.

Junior wide receiver Eric Moats had a team-high 65 yards, including a 15-yard TD catch, while sophomore wide receiver Dontel Watkins had a game-best six catches for 48 yards. Junior wide receiver Xavier Martin added 54 yards on three catches with a game-long of 39 yards.

Defensively, junior linebacker Bobby Wagner had a team-high 10 tackles, while junior safety Walter McClenton added eight stops.

Idaho State's Russel Hill came off the bench to throw for 162 yards on 13-of-22 passing, including 89 yards to Isaiah Burel, with one TD. A.J. Storms tallied a game-high 20 tackles while Chris Holmesly added 12 stops.

After the Bengals scored on their opening drive, which started a midfield after ISU's Tavoy Moore returned the opening kick to the 50-yardline.

USU got on the board late in the first quarter on a career-long 27-yard run by Williams. Those were the first seven of the Aggies' 38-straight points, as Borel later dashed in from three yards out.

Senior Peter Caldwell capped a 15-play, 83-yard Aggie drive that covered 2:33 on the clock by booting a 23-yard field goal with five seconds left, sending USU into halftime with a 17-3 lead.

Williams returned the second-half kickoff 70 yards to the ISU 25, and the USU drive moved up half the distance to the goalline after a personal foul penalty on the Bengals. Three plays later, Speight scampered in with a 4-yard TD.

On USU's next possession, Smith started the drive with a 38-yard scamper. Borel hit Moats on a 36-yard pass play, setting up the Aggies at the ISU 2. After a USU penatly and tackle for loss, Borel again connected with Moats again for a 15-yard TD play, putting USU up 31-3 with 6:59 left on the third quarter clock. Moats now has a reception in 14-straight games.

The scoreboard read 38-3 after the Aggies' next possession as DeMartino scored on a 17-yard TD with 11:48 to play.

ISU scored on a 5-yard pass from Hill to Burel with 2:57 left and the Aggies' fumbled on the next drive, which the Bengals recovered. After Hill hit Burel with a 32-yard pass play to the USU 1 and Corey White hit the endzone on the next play with 1:30 to play.

USU took a knee twice to end the game and seal the win, moving to 1-1 for the first time since 2005.

The Aggies continue their two-game homestand by opening Western Athletic Conference action, welcoming Fresno State to Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 18. Kickoff for the battle between Aggies and Bulldogs is slated for 6 p.m. (MT).

To purchase tickets, or for more Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Ticket Office at 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305, in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, or on-line 24 hours a day at www.utahstateaggies.com under the "tickets" drop down menu.

Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on the USU football blog at ="">usufootball.wordpress.com. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on facebook at Utah State University Athletics.

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