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EAST LANSING, Mich. – Sophomore quarterback Jordan Love passed for a career-high 319 yards and junior running back Darwin Thompson scored the first two rushing touchdowns of his Utah State career to help the Aggies give No. 11 Michigan State everything it could handle in a 38-31 loss Friday night at Spartan Stadium.
 
Thompson's second touchdown of the night, a 1-yard run with 5:05 remaining in the game, gave Utah State a 31-30 lead.
 
However, the Spartans took the ensuing kickoff and marched it down the field, getting a 13-yard touchdown run from Connor Heyward on a third-and-2 play to make it 36-31. Michigan State successfully completed the two-point conversion on a pass from Brian Lewerke to Felton Davis to give the hosts their final margin of victory with 2:00 showing on the clock.
 
It appeared as if Utah State (0-1, 0-0 Mountain West) would return the favor, though, as the Aggies moved the ball across midfield and had it second-and-1 from the MSU 46. Unfortunately for USU, that is as far as it would get. Junior tight end Dax Raymond couldn't quite haul in Love's second-down pass and on third down, the Spartans' Joe Bachie sealed the game with an interception after batting the ball at the line of scrimmage.
 
Raymond finished the game with a game-high-tying seven receptions – also a career best – for a career-high 76 yards. Love completed a career-high 29 passes (on a career-high-tying 44 attempts) to 10 different receivers on the night.
 
Sophomore linebacker David Woodward led Utah State's defensive effort with a career-high 16 tackles, to go along with two quarterback hurries. It is the most tackles by an Aggie since Nick Vigil had 20 against Air Force.
 
Seniors Chase Christiansen and Jontrell Rocquemore, along with sophomore safety Shaq Bond, added nine stops apiece. The Aggies also forced two turnovers, including a 40-yard interception return by senior safety Gaje Ferguson that pulled USU to within 27-24 with 1:41 left in the third quarter.
 
Junior linebacker Tipa Galeai caused the other turnover when he sacked Lewerke and forced him to fumble. Junior defensive end Devon Anderson recovered it for the Aggies.
 
Lewerke completed 22-of-33 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked three times on the night, including twice by Galeai and once by Rocquemore.
 
Utah State took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from Love, to give the Aggies a 7-0 lead with 12:58 to go in the first quarter.
 
A couple of field goals by Michigan State's Matt Coghlin pulled the hosts to within 7-6 before they took their first lead of the night at 13-7 on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Lewerke to Cody White with 10:49 left in the opening half.
 
Utah State regained the lead on the ensuing possession after Thompson scored the first of his two touchdowns, this one from two yards out. The Aggies marched 72 yards on nine plays, highlighted by a pair of catches – an 18-yarder and a 25-yarder – from Raymond.
 
The Spartans (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) led 20-14 at the break, though, when they answered Utah State's touchdown with one of their own. Lewerke threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Davis with just 28 seconds remaining in the half.
 
Michigan State parlayed that touchdown into another seven points as the Spartans took the second-half kickoff and marched 81 yards in 10 plays, to open their largest lead of the night at 27-14 courtesy of a 17-yard touchdown run by Heyward.
 
The Aggies weren't done, though, as they scored 10 points in just a 14-second span. Junior placekicker Dominik Eberle kicked a 40-yard field goal to pare the deficit to 27-17. On the very first play of Michigan State's ensuing possession, Ferguson recorded his pick-six to silence the crowd of 73,114.
 
UP NEXT
 
Utah State will open the home portion of its schedule on Saturday, Sept. 8, against New Mexico State at 6 p.m. on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium. This is a rematch of the 2017 Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl. NMSU, playing an independent schedule this season, is 0-2 after losing 48-10 at Minnesota this past Thursday night.
 
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball. 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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