LOGAN, Utah – Utah State football player Jordan Love was named the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, Sept. 2, it was announced Monday. The award is voted on by a state-wide media panel.
 
It is the first time this year and second time in his career that the 6-foot-4, 225-pound sophomore from Bakersfield, Calif., has been named USU's student-athlete of the week.
 
With their sponsorship of the Student-Athlete of the Week, America First Credit Union donates funds directly to support student-athlete scholarships. 
 
In Utah State's season-opening game at No. 11 Michigan State last Friday night at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich., Love completed 29-of-44 passes for a career-high 319 yards in the Aggies' 38-31 loss to the Spartans. Love's 29 completions were a career high, while his 44 attempts tied his career high.
 
Love also carried the ball eight times on the night and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Aggies a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, capping a game- and-season-opening 75-yard drive.
 
Utah State (0-1, 0-0 Mountain West) 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 last Thursday night.
 
For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the "Buy Tickets" tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
 
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
 
Nominees from other sports for USU Student-Athlete of the Week included:
SOCCER – Freshman forward Marli Niederhauser (Mendon, Utah) helped Utah State to a 1-0 record last week, as the Aggies posted a 3-1 win at Towson. Niederhauser recorded her first-career assist on the Aggies' first goal of the day, while adding her first-career goal later in the match. Niederhauser led the USU offense with two shots on the day, both of which were on goal.
 
VOLLEYBALL – Junior right-side Izzie Hinton-Belnap (Fort Worth, Texas) led Utah State in kills in two of the three matches at the Utah State Invitational last weekend as the Aggies went 0-3 with losses against UTRGV (3-0), Loyola Marymount (3-0) and No. 24 Cal Poly (3-0). Against the Vaqueros, Hinton-Belnap finished first on the team with 10 kills, hitting .476 (10-0-21) with one dig and two blocks. Against the Lions, Hinton-Belnap recorded three kills and one block. And, in the tournament finale against No. 24 Cal Poly, Hinton-Belnap led the Aggies for the second time with 11 kills, hitting .455 (11-1-22) and adding one dig and one block. For the weekend, Hinton-Belnap totaled 24 kills, averaging 2.67 per set, four blocks and two digs, while hitting .393 (24-2-56).
 
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY – Senior Shannon Maloney (Durango, Colo.) was the top Aggie finisher and placed second overall last weekend with a time of 18:27.10 to help Utah State (20 points) defeat Utah (41 points) at the USU-hosted Sagebrush Invitational.
 
2018-19 Utah State Athlete of the Week Winners
Sept. 3 – Jordan Love, Football
 
-USU-