Weber State linebacker Simote Lokotui (13) and teammates have a good time after defeating Utah State Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, in Logan, Utah. Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal by way of AP
Weber State vast receiver Tajon Evans, proper, helps dump water onto coach Jay Hill after the workforce’s win over Utah State Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, in Logan, Utah. Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal by way of AP
It’s a broadly accepted custom in school soccer for large colleges to play small colleges early within the season, normally ending in ridiculously lopsided scores. It’s considered as a mutually useful association.
The small colleges get a hefty examine that does loads to maintain this system afloat, all served up with a giant dose of humiliation. The large colleges get a straightforward opponent to present their workforce a break, there being no sense in risking a possible nationwide rating or an harm earlier than convention play begins.
Or so the considering goes.
So final Saturday Utah State, an FBS faculty, lined as much as play Weber State, an FCS faculty, in Logan. The Aggies had already been on the opposite finish of such preparations. Per week earlier they performed powerhouse Alabama on the street and misplaced 55-0. The large fish eats a small fish that eats a smaller fish and so forth. Or that was the plan, anyway.
There was only one downside: Weber State went off script. The Wildcats didn’t cooperate in any respect. They didn’t simply beat the Aggies; they routed them.
Weber State 35, Utah State 7.
Utah State’s lone rating was a 100-yard kickoff return by Terrell Vaughn within the first quarter, which gave the Aggies a 7-3 lead. The Wildcats scored the following 32 factors.
Josh Davis, who had greater than 100 mixed yards speeding and receiving, ran 17 yards for a landing, Ty MacPherson caught TD passes of 9 and 18 yards, Desmond Williams returned an interception 33 yards for a landing and Kyle Thompson kicked two discipline targets and that was that.
The Wildcats handed for 202 yards and ran for 199 yards. The opposite large stat of the day: Utah State quarterback Logan Bonner, who made a star flip final season however is attempting to rebound from an harm, accomplished simply 12 of 31 passes for 120 yards.
The stunning end result of the sport recalled the final time this occurred — truly, the ONLY time this had occurred of their earlier 13 conferences. It was Nov. 11, 1978. The Aggies had been 7-2 heading right into a sport towards Weber State, which was 3-6 following losses to North Dakota State, Montana and Montana State.
The Aggies, alternatively, had been formidable. The roster included Eric Hipple, Rick Parros, Ron Cassidy, John Thompson, Dave Parkin, Rulon Jones, Donnie Henderson and Craig Bradshaw, all of whom could be drafted and/or play within the NFL. They had been coached by Bruce Snyder, who would go on to be the pinnacle coach at Cal and Arizona State and an assistant within the NFL.
They received their first 5 video games of the season, together with a 24-7 street win over BYU. Their unbeaten streak ended with a loss to Lengthy Seaside State, adopted by a slender 17-16 street loss to Miami.
Anyway, the Aggies lined as much as play the Wildcats and nothing went proper. They couldn’t cease Weber State vast receiver Randy Jordan any greater than they might cease the snow that fell all through a lot of the sport and piled up on the sphere. Jordan, who could be named a Division I-AA All-American that yr, caught 10 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns, and the Wildcats received 44-25. The one benefit of it from Utah State’s perspective was that solely 6,000 followers had been there to witness it.
Such upsets usually are not as unusual as you would possibly assume. The yr 1978 marked the primary time colleges had been designated Division I-A and I-AA (in 2006 these designations had been modified to FCS — Soccer Championships Subdivision — and FBS — Soccer Bowl Subdivision). Since then, FCS/I-AA colleges have beat the larger colleges 232 instances, a mean of about 5 per yr.
Whereas Weber State was dispatching Utah State final Saturday, former FCS colleges delivered large upsets — Marshall beat nationally ranked Notre Dame, Georgia Southern beat Nebraska, and Appalachian State beat nationally ranked Texas A&M. However, Utah had its means with Southern Utah, profitable 73-7 whereas apparently attempting to make an announcement for pollsters after the Utes blew their No. 7 preseason rating with an opening-game loss to Florida.
Irrespective of how you narrow it, USU, which has been outscored 90-7 the final two video games, abruptly is reeling after profitable 11 video games a yr in the past and ending within the prime 25. After being eaten by a giant fish, they had been eaten by a smaller fish, too.
Weber State vast receiver Tajon Evans, proper, helps dump water onto coach Jay Hill after the workforce’s win over Utah State Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, in Logan, Utah.
Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal by way of AP