LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Utah State football battled throughout but ultimately left too many chances on the field in a 29-26 double overtime loss at UNLV on Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium.
Graduate quarterback
Bryson Barnes led the Aggies with 256 yards on 19-of-38 passing with one touchdown, his fifth game at USU with over 250 yards passing and seventh overall in his career, and added a team-high 113 yards on 23 rushing attempts with one touchdown. Barnes is now one of just six Mountain West quarterbacks all-time with multiple games of at least 250 passing yards and 100 rushing yards.
Senior running back
Miles Davis added 42 yards rushing on 10 carries with one touchdown while sophomore quarterback
Anthony Garcia added two rushes for 21 yards. Junior running back
Javen Jacobs added one carry for two yards.
Junior wide receiver
Braden Pegan led the Aggies with 109 yards receiving on eight receptions. Senior wide receiver
Brady Boyd added three catches for 39 yards and a touchdown while Garcia had three catches for 33 yards. Davis added two receptions for 14 yards and freshman running back
Noah White had one catch for 47 yards. Jacobs and graduate tight end
Broc Lane both added one catch for 12 and two yards, respectively.
Defensively, graduate linebacker
John Miller led USU with 11 tackles, including 2.0 sacks and 2.5 tackles-for-loss. Junior safety
Brevin Hamblin also had 11 tackles and junior linebacker
Bronson Olevao Jr. recorded 10 stops with Olevao Jr. also adding an interception and pass breakup. Freshman linebacker
Chris Joe tied his season high with five tackles, including 1.0 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss, while senior cornerback
Noah Avinger and sophomore linebacker
William Holmes each added 1.0 tackles for loss. Avinger also led the Aggies with a career-high-tying two pass breakups.
The Aggie offense started the game in rhythm. After an opening drive which moved deep into Rebel territory ended in a missed field goal, the Aggies scored back-to-back touchdowns on their next possessions to answer a Rebel field goal that opened the scoring. USU first went 75 yards in seven plays, finishing with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Barnes to Boyd to give the Aggies their first lead of the day. UNLV answered with a drive into Aggie territory before Olevao Jr. came away with an interception to keep the Rebels out of the end zone.
Again with ball, the Aggies drove 82 yards in nine plays, including a 47-yard pass from Barnes to White to set up 1-yard touchdown plunge by Davis to extend USU's lead. The Rebels responded with a touchdown drive on the ensuing possession with Anthony Colandrea running it in from 10 yards out to trim Utah State's lead to 13-10, which remained the deficit until halftime.
Utah State again came out with momentum to begin the second half. After forcing the Rebels into a 3-and-out to open the third quarter, USU picked up five first downs as part of a 13-play drive, reaching deep into the red zone before a third-down sack forced USU to settle for a 24-yard field goal by junior kicker
Tanner Rinker.
UNLV then retook the lead on the next possession as Colandrea found Daejon Reynolds for a 9-yard score. The Rebels also tacked on a 31-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to 20-16.
Both teams went three-and-out on their next possessions, though solid punt coverage helped the Aggies begin their next drive at their own 38-yard line. On the third play of the drive, Barnes broke off a 58-yard touchdown run to jump back in front of the Rebels, 23-20. UNLV tied it on their next possession with a 32-yard field goal, with Miller recording a sack to force the field goal attempt deep in the red zone.
Utah State had two opportunities to take the win prior to double overtime. A 21-yard rush by Barnes set the Aggies up in Rebel territory in the final minute, though a missed 44-yard field goal would send the game into overtime.
On UNLV's first possession of overtime, Olevao Jr. stepped in front of a third-down passing lane to force the Rebels into a field goal try, resulting in a miss from 39 yards out. The Aggies, however, matched the missed field goal on their own possession to begin overtime, this time from 41 yards out.
In double overtime, Rinker converted a 39-yard field goal to put Utah State up 26-23. With the opportunity to answer, however, UNLV needed only one play for Kayden McGee to score from 25 yards out to give the Rebels the 29-26 victory.
Up Next
Utah State football (5-5, 3-3 MW) heads further west to take on Fresno State on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 8:30 p.m. (MT). The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
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