LOGAN, Utah – Eric Munoz made the most of his first-career start with the Aggies.
 
The redshirt junior linebacker from Belvidere, Ill., starting in place of the injured David Woodward, intercepted a pass by Wyoming quarterback Tyler Vander Waal with just over a minute remaining, sealing a 26-21 hard-fought victory by Utah State on Saturday afternoon on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium.
 
"It felt good," said Munoz, who helped the Aggies retain Bridger's Rifle, the traveling trophy between the two schools. "Honestly, seeing the ball is kind of surreal when it's coming right into your hands, because it's such a gimme. It was right to me, so it felt good to drop down on it and let the clock roll. It felt really good."
 
It was Munoz's second interception of the game. He returned the first one 51 yards to the Wyoming 2-yard line, setting up a 23-yard field goal by senior placekicker Dominik Eberle that gave the Aggies a 26-14 lead with 11:11 remaining in the game.
 
Munoz, who walked on at Utah State, also had a career- and game-high 13 tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss, and one quarterback hurry.
 
"Defensively, I thought we had a good plan," Munoz said. "Coach (Justin) Ena does a good job of putting us in positions to make plays, and you could see that tonight across the board. As a linebacking corps, losing Woody was tough on our defense, so this week, especially given the opportunity to step up, myself and the other linebackers spent a lot of time in the film room. You could see that on the field."
 
With the win, the Aggies (6-4, 5-1 Mountain West) became bowl eligible and remained in the hunt for the Mountain Division title, while the Cowboys (6-4, 3-3 MW) lost a heartbreaker for the second-consecutive week.
 
"What a game," said Utah State head coach Gary Andersen. "I am so proud of these kids. They have battled these last couple of weeks. Just like every conference game, they have to find a way to do something. Sometimes they make it harder than it has to be, but at the end of the day they find a way to get it done. They did that again tonight. They're a great group of kids and I'm blessed to be around them."
 
Munoz accounted for half of Utah State's takeaways in the game as junior safety Troy Lefeged Jr. forced and recovered a fumble, while fellow junior safety Shaq Bond intercepted a pass of his own. Coming in, Wyoming had only turned the ball over five times and ranked seventh nationally in turnover margin.
 
Junior quarterback Jordan Love passed for 282 yards and two touchdowns as the Aggies outgained the Cowboys, 422-343. Wyoming's defense came into the Bridger's Battle showdown ranked 14th in the nation in scoring defense at 17.9 per game, but gave up 20 to USU in the second quarter alone.
 
"We knew we came out a little flat, but once it got going, it was like, 'This is who we are,'" said graduate transfer wide receiver Siaosi Mariner. "This is what we do. We know who we are. Once we get it going, we try not to look back."
 
Utah State scored 12 straight points on four Eberle field goals (47, 44, 26 and 23 yards) to open its 12-point lead early in the fourth.
 
With his four field goals, Eberle set both the USU and Mountain West record for field goals made in a career with 61. The previous school record was 59 set by Brad Bohn (1997-2000), while the previous MW record was 57 set by Utah's Louis Sakoda (2005-08).
 
Vander Waal's 5-yard keeper for Wyoming cut the deficit to 26-21 with 6:52 to go, but the Cowboys could not complete the comeback. Vander Waal finished 20-of-36 for 185 yards and the three picks, to go along with two touchdown runs.
 
Mariner led all receivers in the game with four catches for 123 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown that tied it at 7-apiece early in the second quarter. Love was 18-of-29 and threw two interceptions, including one that was returned by Logan Wilson for a touchdown that opened the game's scoring.
 
"One thing our team does is face adversity week in and week out," Mariner said. "We did a good job playing through that adversity. We all stepped up to help this team win the game."
 
UP NEXT
 
Utah State remains home next weekend when the Aggies host No. 19 Boise State on Saturday, Nov. 23, for Senior Night. The game, which will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network, will kick off at 8:30 p.m.
 
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. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
 
-USU-