Weekly Aggie Update
WEEKLY AGGIE UPDATE - DECEMBER 18, 2023
FOOTBALL
Contact: Doug Hoffman - (435) 797-3714
This Week
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Boise, Idaho
Sat., Dec. 23 --- vs. Georgia State, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN)
• Utah State football (6-6, 4-4 MW) will face Georgia State (6-6, 3-5 Sun Belt) in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 23, at 1:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN. It will be the first meeting between the two programs.
Last Competition
W, 44-41 (2 OT) --- at New Mexico
• Graduate junior quarterback Levi Williams accounted for 351 yards of offense and five touchdowns in Utah State's 44-41 double overtime win at New Mexico in its regular season finale on Nov. 24. For Williams, it was his first start in two years with USU. Williams' final touchdown proved to be the game-winner. After initially fumbling the snap, he scooped up the ball, rolled to his left and ran into the end zone from 13 yards out to end the game. Williams also scored on a 6-yard run in the first overtime. Williams was 16-of-27 passing for 198 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 153 yards and three more scores on 25 carries. All of his stats are career highs during his USU career, while his 25 rushes are a collegiate career-high. Both of Williams' touchdown passes were in the first quarter to junior wide receiver Jalen Royals from 13 and 57 yards. Royals finished the game with seven receptions for 89 yards and became just the 13th player in school history to post 1,000 receiving yards in a season. Royals also tied the school record for receiving touchdowns in a season with 14, a mark that was set by Tracy Jenkins in 1990. USU finished the game with 500 yards of offense (302 rushing, 198 passing). New Mexico had 539 yards, including 337 on the ground. Junior running back Rahsul Faison rushed for 106 yards on 18 carries and scored on a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter to give USU a 31-21 lead with 5:30 to play. However, the Lobos scored the final 10 points to send the game into overtime. Graduate senior inside linebacker MJ Tafisi Jr. led the Aggies with 11 tackles, including 1.0 tackles for loss. It was his eighth-straight double-digit tackle outing, which is the longest streak by an Aggie since 1999. Sophomore safety Ike Larsen also had 11 tackles, including 1.0 tackles for loss, and one pass breakup. Senior defensive tackle Hale Motu'apuaka had three tackles, including a career-high-tying 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks. One of the biggest plays of the game came courtesy of Motu'apuaka. With New Mexico on the doorstep of scoring a touchdown in the second overtime, Motu'apuaka recorded a tackle for loss on third-and-goal from the 1, forcing the Lobos into a field goal.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Contact: Ashley Springer - (435) 797-5547
This Week
Fri., Dec. 22 --- EAST TENNESSEE STATE, 7 p.m. (MWN/KMYU)
• Utah State men's basketball (11-1, 0-0 MW) wraps up non-conference play on Friday, Dec. 22, as it hosts East Tennessee State (6-4) at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on KMYU and the Mountain West Network.
Last Week
W, 84-82--- at Santa Clara
W, 54-53 --- vs. San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Utah
• Utah State extended its win streak to 10-straight games after posting an 84-82 road win at Santa Clara and a 54-53 neutral court win against San Francisco in Salt Lake City last week. Against the Broncos, USU shot 37.3 percent (28-of-75) from the field, 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from downtown and 68.0 (17-of-25) at the charity stripe. Santa Clara shot 57.1 percent (32-of-56) from the field, 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from 3-point range and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) at the free-throw line. Three Aggies scored in double figures as senior guard Ian Martinez had a career-high 28 points, graduate senior guard Darius Brown II had a season-high 23 points and graduate senior wing Max Agbonkpolo had 10 points, while junior wing Great Osobor added 10 rebounds. Against the Dons, USU shot 30.2 percent (16-of-53) from the field, 9.5 percent (2-of-21) from deep and 74.1 percent (20-of-27) at the free throw line. USF shot 40.4 percent (21-of-52) from the floor, 25.0 percent (5-of-20) from behind the arc and 60.0 percent (6-of-10) at the charity stripe. Martinez led the Aggies with 20 points.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Contact: Jaden Johnson - (435) 797-2066
This Week
Mon., Dec. 18 --- WESTERN COLORADO, 6 p.m. (MWN)
• Utah State women's basketball (3-7, 0-0 MW) concludes the non-conference portion of its 2023-24 campaign with a single game this week as it hosts Western Colorado (2-8, 0-5 RMAC)) on Monday, Dec. 18, at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on the MW Network and broadcast on the radio on 107.7 FM. Links to live stream and stats are available at www.utahstateaggies.com.
Last Week
L, 57-75 --- NORTHER COLORADO
• Utah State posted an 0-1 record last week with a 75-57 home loss to Northern Colorado. Against the Bears, junior guard Skye Miller led USU with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Miller was joined in double-figures by freshman forward Lauren Crocker, who scored a career-high 10 points. USU shot 42.9 percent (21-of-49) from the field, 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from 3-point range and 56.5 percent (13-of-23) at the free throw line. Northern Colorado shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the floor, 25.0 percent (5-of-20) from 3-point range and 53.3 percent (16-of-30) at the charity stripe.
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Contact: Jake Ellis - (435) 797-8584
Next Competition
Fri., Jan. 12 --- at Idaho State Invite, All Day
Fri.-Sat., Jan. 12-13 --- at Nebraska Invite, All Day
• Utah State's indoor track & field teams will continue its 2024 indoor season on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 12-13, when it competes at both the Idaho State Invite and the Nebraska Invite.
Last Week
NTS --- at BYU Invite
• Utah State track & field started off its 2023-24 indoor season by claiming the men's triple jump title and 25 top-five finishes at the BYU December Invite two weekends ago. Junior Godwin Charles won the triple jump as he set the USU indoor record with a mark of 15.69 meters (51-5.75) in his first meet as an Aggie, defeating his second-place competitor by over two meters. Kyle Brost held the previous USU record with a mark of 15.22 meters (49-11.25) in 2020. In the women's 60-meter hurdles, sophomore Krysthina Vlahovic placed third and set a career-best with a time of 8.66, good enough for seventh all-time in USU history. Senior Sidnee Naerebout set a career-best with a jump of 11.64 meters (38-2.25) in the women's triple jump, finishing second in the competition. Naerebout moved up to ninth all-time in the event in the Aggie record book. Also in the triple jump, freshman Viann Robinson took fourth with a mark of 11.00 meters (36-1.0). Sophomore Milly Garren added two third-place finishes with a toss of 15.90 meters (52-2.0) in the weight throw and a mark of 14.30 meters (46-11.0) in the shot put. Freshman Ruby Jordan took fourth in the weight throw with a mark of 15.64 meters (51-3.75) and freshman Abby Blau was fifth in the shot put with a toss of 12.75 meters (41-10.0). In the women's pole vault, juniors Mikayla Dalton and Mariah Jenkins tied for second with marks of 3.43 meters (11-3.0). On the track for the Aggie women, freshman Marion Packer took fourth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:17.12. Junior Adi Nielson finished fifth in the 500 meters at 1:15.99. And the Aggies 4x400 team made up of senior Autumn Kidd, juniors Maddie Edwards and Emma Reeves and Nielson placed third with a time of 3:52.71. In the mile, seniors Hannah Davidson and Mattie Geddes took second and third with times of 4:56.00 and 4:56.15, respectively. For the men, freshman Landon Bott was third in the 500 meters with a time of 37.45. Freshman Bradford Woodhouse took fifth in the 800 meters at 1:56.65. Freshman Jonathan Simmons captured fifth-place in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:31.86 and the Utah State 4x400 relay team finished fourth with a time of 3:25.34 courtesy of sophomore Rylan Anderson, sophomore Carter Guinness, freshman Cooper Jones and Bott. In the mile, freshman Joshua Armstrong placed fourth behind a 4:17.19 finish. In the field for the USU men, junior Nate Franz was second in the shot put with a distance of 16.97 meters (55-8.0). Sophomore Spencer Price finished second behind Charles in the triple jump with a mark of 13.50 meters (44-3.5). Freshman Samuel Beckwith took second place in the long jump with a distance of 7.15 meters (23-5.5). And, sophomore Logan Hammer finished second in the pole vault with a height of 4.83 meters (15-10.25). In the multis, sophomore Javin Richards took third with 4,877 points in the men's heptathlon, good enough for ninth all-time in USU indoor history. Richards was on the podium in four of the seven events, taking first place in the pole vault (4.65m/15-3.0) and third place in the 60 meters (7.13), 60-meter hurdles (8.60) and 1000 meters (2:58.49). Senior Caden Dupee placed sixth with 3,653 points behind a second-place pole vault (4.45m/14-7.25), third-place shot put (12.39m/40-7.75) and fourth-place 60 meters (7.29) performance. Freshman Breanna Raven finished ninth (3,216 points) in the women's pentathlon, while sophomore Sophie Chandler placed 10th (3,177 points) and freshman Alisabeth Apedaile finished 14th (1,392 points). Raven finished first in the long jump with a mark of 5.5 meters (18-0.5) and fourth in the 800 with a time of 2:30.87.
