Saturday, September 3, 2011

Auburn 28 - 38 Utah St. (3:38 left in 4th quarter)

And that's your ball game. The Aggies pound it in, and they lead by 10 points with only 3:38 to go.

This is no fluke. Utah State's offense has absolutely dominated Auburn's defense. They have clearly been the better team all day.

Having said that, here's my advice for Auburn: the next time you get to play for the UCFC -- and it may not come back to the South for a very long time -- don't schedule an 11 A.M. kickoff.

Auburn 28 - 31 Utah St. (4:17 left in 4th quarter)

The ruling on the field STANDS!

And Utah State has first and goal at the 2. They can put this game away with a touchdown.

Auburn 28 - 31 Utah St. (4:17 left in 4th quarter)

Auburn hasn't been able to stop Utah State all day, so it's probably not surprising that the Aggies drove down to the Auburn 5, where they were stopped to set up a 4th and 3. Utah State sent in the kicking team, but was hit with a delay-of-game penalty to put the on the 10. But IT WAS A FAKE FIELD GOAL! The kicker threw a pass -- which appears to have been caught for a first down at the 2. But the play is currently under review.

Auburn 28 - 31 Utah St. (10:20 left in 4th quarter)

To reiterate, here were Utah State's results last year (home team listed first):

Oklahoma 31 - 24 Utah St.
Utah St. 38 - 17 Idaho St.
Utah St. 24 - 41 Fresno St.
San Diego St. 41 - 7 Utah St.
Utah St. 31 - 16 BYU
Louisiana Tech 24 - 6 Utah St.
Utah St. 7 - 45 Hawaii
Nevada 56 - 42 Utah St.
Utah St. 27 - 22 New Mexico St.
San Jose St. 34 - 38 Utah St.
Utah St. 6 - 28 Idaho
Boise St. 50 - 14 Utah St.

Not exactly the record of a UCFC title-holder. But that team did not have Chuckie Keeton, a true freshman quarterback from Cypress, Texas. Keeton has been amazing in this game -- he is 24-30 for 228 yards and 0 interceptions. He has also run for 36 yards.

Auburn 28 - 31 Utah St. (10:20 left in 4th quarter)

Utah State holds, and Auburn will be forced to punt. If the Aggies can score one more touchdown, they could just about put this game away.

Auburn 28 - 31 Utah St. (11:20 left in 4th quarter)

Last year, Utah State opened their schedule with a 31-24 loss at Oklahoma. They also played Nevada pretty tough, losing only 56-42. But for they most part, they weren't very good, going 4-8 on the year. This would be quite an upset -- probably one of the biggest in UCFC history.

Auburn 28 - 31 Utah St. (11:20 left in 4th quarter)

I should also point out that the SEC has held the UCFC since Florida beat Oklahoma in the 2008 BCS title game -- a total of 30 games in a row. It would be quite surprising if the title was lost to a WAC team.