Final Stats

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Senior quarterback Cooper Legas passed for 213 yards and one touchdown as Utah State opened its season with a hard-fought 24-14 season-opening loss to No. 25 Iowa on a sultry Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Terrell Vaughn was Legas' favorite target. The senior wide receiver caught a career-high 12 passes for 93 yards. Vaughn's 16-yard TD catch with 1:36 to go in the game pulled the Aggies (0-1) to within 24-12. Utah State went for two and got it on a pass from Legas to junior running back Rahsul Faison.

Faison led the Aggies in rushing with 59 yards on seven carries. Following the touchdown and two-point conversion, Utah State attempted an onside kick, but Iowa (1-0) recovered it.

Legas was 32 of 48 through the air, both of which were career bests, to go along with 17 yards rushing on seven carries. He threw one interception and completed passes to eight different players.

Cade McNamara completed 17-of-30 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns to help stake the Hawkeyes to a 14-0 lead midway through the first half.

Luke Lachey was Iowa's favorite target on the day as he caught seven passes for 73 yards.

The Hawkeyes scored the first two times they touched the ball. Following a 54-yard return on the opening kickoff by Kaleb Johnson, the hosts scored two plays later on a 36-yard touchdown pass from McNamara to Seth Anderson to make it 7-0.

McNamara threw his second touchdown of the quarter on Iowa's next series, a 3-yarder to Erick All to give the hosts a 14-0 lead with 7:44 remaining.

Neither team found the end zone the rest of the half, trading field goals instead. Junior placekicker William Testa got the Aggies on the board with 11:03 to go in the second quarter to make it 14-3, capping a 16-play drive.

Just before halftime, Drew Stevens split the uprights from 20 yards out to send Iowa into the break with a 17-3 advantage.

Utah State junior placekicker Elliott Nimrod cut the deficit to 17-6 when he drilled the first field goal of his Aggie career, a 45-yarder with 12:02 left in the third quarter.

The Hawkeyes made it 24-6 with 10:17 remaining in the game on a 3-yard touchdown run by Johnson.

Grad senior inside linebacker MJ Tafisi Jr. had his sixth-career double-digit tackle outing as he led the Aggies with 12 stops, including a career-high 3.0 tackles for loss. Junior safety Anthony Switzer and sophomore safety Simeon Harris recorded eight tackles apiece in their respective Utah State debuts. Sophomore safety Ike Larsen had four tackles and a blocked punt, which extended his school record to four.

The Aggies, who had a total of 26 players make their Utah State debuts, gained 329 total yards, including 116 on the ground alone, while limiting the Hawkeyes to just 284 yards of total offense.

UP NEXT 
 
Utah State opens the home portion of its schedule on Saturday, Sept. 9, when the Aggies welcome Idaho State to Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.

For more information on the Utah State football program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUFootball, on Facebook at USUFootball and on Instagram at USUFootball. 
 
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