The litter swirled around an empty Autzen stadium as Utah State Aggies head coach Brent Guy commented on his team’s loss to the Oregon Ducks. It was fitting, considering that not much went their way in the 66-24 defeat. The Ducks gained a school-record 688 yards, including 408 on the ground, and scored the second-most points ever by an Oregon football team.
“The University is a very good football team,” Guy said. “They are fast, read zones well, and are talented all around the ball.”
Fast seemed to be the word tossed around most often by Utah State players, but Guy is a former defensive coordinator at Arizona State and the pace shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
His big concern was the play coming out of the locker room after the half. He expected the Aggies to make a surge, but being caught in a headwind made it difficult for the punters to get any distance on their kicks.
“I don’t think we ever got onto the other side of our own 40,” Guy said. “It was frustrating, but give credit to the Ducks for doing what they were supposed to do.”
One bright spot for the 0-2 Aggies (0-0 Western Athletic Conference) came from the play of quarterback Diondre Borel. He didn’t start the game, but it didn’t take him long to get onto the field. After starting quarterback Sean Setzer left after the first quarter, Borel led the offense down the field in seven plays and connected with running back Curtis Marsh for a 15-yard touchdown pass.
“I was a little bit nervous on my first rushing attempt, but it faded away pretty quickly,” Borel said. “The stadium was loud for a bit but after it quieted down, we really didn’t have to worry about the noise.”
Borel sure didn’t look nervous. At halftime he had 16 rushing yards and was 6-of-9 for 70 yards passing with one touchdown.
“He definitely gives us a boost,” says Marsh. “Anytime you can get a guy in there who can get you first downs, you’re going to feel more confident. He’s mobile, and the threat of him running helps open things up.”
The dual threat from Borel was something that UNLV found out about last week. UNLV beat Utah State 27-17, but Borel ran for 70 yards in the second half, sparking a late surge by the Aggies.
But for all his success to start the season, head coach Guy doesn’t want to name a starter just yet.
“I don’t want to make a snap decision between Sean and Diondre,” he said. “I think Diondre did a very good job moving the team, and made plays against a very good defensive football team. He’s never been in this type of environment and he did very well. I’m pleased.”
Guy is going to give Setzer, an Oregon native, another shot against Utah next week to win over the starting job for the start of conference play against Idaho on Sept. 20.
The play by Setzer wasn’t stellar by any means; he completed 7-11 passes for a total of 61 yards. But this marked the first time the Wilson High School graduate has played in the state of Oregon since he graduated in 2005.
“It was great to play in front of family and friends in a place I’ve grown up going to games at,” he said. “But I wish I could’ve done better. It’s frustrating getting blown out like that.”
One point of note is that the Aggies’ next game is against No. 23 Utah, a team that last week beat Michigan at Ann Arbor. This will be the first time since 2003 that Utah State will face two ranked opponents in back-to-back weeks.
With the loss, the Aggies have lost 20 consecutive games against ranked opponents, and they are 1-45 lifetime against AP Top 25 teams.
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