Sept. 4, 2010

Box Score | Notes

NORMAN, Okla. - Utah State matched seventh-ranked Oklahoma punch for punch, before falling 31-24, Saturday at OU's Owen Field at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Oklahoma, which won its 800th milestone win to become just the seventh program in college football history to do so, also had a home-opening attendance record with 85,151.

USU matched OU in total offense, as the Sooners had a 422-421 edge. The Aggies had 341 passing and 80 rushing. Senior quarterback Diondre Borel was 17-of-37 passing for the 341 yards with two TD passes, but was also intercepted three times.

Junior Xavier Watkins and sophomore Dontel Watkins both caught their first career TD catches as Aggies, as Martin finished with four catches for 60 yards and Watkins had three receptions for 91 yards. Sophomore Mikhail Morgan had four catches for 44 yards.

Senior running back Michael Smith had eight carries for 48 yards with one TD, while fellow senior Derrvin Speight added 17 rushes for 46 yards.

Oklahoma had 217 yards passing by Landry Jones on 17-of-36 passing with two TD passes and also a pair of interceptions. Ryan Broyles had nine catches for 142 yards with both TD catches, while Demarco Murray had 35 carries for 218 yards with two TD's.

Junior linebacker Kyle Gallagher led the Aggies with a game-high 11 tackles, while senior linebacker Bobby Wagner posted eight stops. Senior cornerback Chris Randle added seven tackles to go with one interception. Junior linebacker Junior Keiaho also snared his first career interception of the game.

Senior punter and placekicker Peter Caldwell hit a 40-yard field goal and just missed a 50-yarder that just drifted wide left. Caldwell punted seven times for a 47.7 yards per punt average with a long of 58-yards.

OU jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, scoring on the opening possession of the game, and its last of the quarter. A 12-yard pass from Jones to Broyles opened the scoring and a 1-yard run by Murray capped the opening period scoring.

The Sooners opened a 21-0 advantage with 6:21 on the second-stanza clock on another Jones to Broyles TD pass play, this time from 21-yards out.

Utah State, which moved the ball down the field, but just couldn't get in scoring range, broke through late in the second quarter. On fourth-and-six from the OU 18-yard line, the Aggies ran a fake field goal with junior holder Eric Moats hitting junior tight end Kellen Bartlett with a TD pass, but was disallowed by an ineligible receiver penalty. Senior placekicker Peter Caldwell booted a 40-yard field goal to put the Aggies on the board. The USU defense forced its fourth three-and-out of the half, getting the ball back for the Aggie offense. Borel spearheaded the attack which started with 34-yard pass to Watkins and ended when senior running back Michael Smith scored on a 4-yard run out of the Wild Aggie formation, putting USU down 21-10 at half.

Utah State pulled within 21-17 on its second possession of the third quarter, as Borel hit Watkins for a 42-yard catch and run for a TD with 10:16 to play in the third. It was Watkins' first career TD catch as an Aggie. The close gap didn't last long as OU's ensuing possession ended with a Murray 63-yard scamper down the sideline put the Sooners up 28-17.

After OU added a 32-yard field goal by Patrick O'Hara, the Aggies marched down the field, capping the drive with a 31-yard TD pass from Borel to junior wideout Xavier Martin for Martin's first USU career TD and closing the margin to 31-24 with 2:31 left in the third quarter.

Neither team scored in the fourth quarter, trading punts and interceptions, the last by OU at the Aggie 41 with 4:12 on the clock, thwarting USU's comeback rally. The Sooners ran out the clock to end the game and escape the Aggies' upset.

Utah State returns home for its home-opener, hosting border-foe Idaho State on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 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 twitter.com/USUAthletics or on facebook at Utah State University Athletics.