This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Las Vegas • Utah State won 28-24 Saturday night, but not without having to sweat out its sixth victory this year.The Aggies took the 28-24 lead in the fourth quarter as Jojo Natson completed an 82-yard drive with just under four minutes remaining. UNLV got as close as the Aggies' 16 yard line with 18 seconds left before turning the ball over on downs.After a mistake-prone first half, the Aggies' defense settled down to hold UNLV scoreless for the third quarter. Utah State moved down the field with big passing plays to set up a one-yard touchdown run by Joey DeMartino.The three-point lead was short lived, as the Rebels responded with a grinding 79-yard, 7-minute drive the Aggies extended with penalties. UNLV quarterback Tim Herring gave his team the lead with a 4-yard toss to Maika Mataele.The Rebels took a 17-14 lead into the break, gashing the Aggies defense for 191 first-half yards and parlaying good field position into scoring drives. Utah State itself had a chance to score before the half, but squandered two scoring plays with cancelling penalties.Explosive plays helped UNLV move down the field quickly, as the Rebels completed passes of 35 yards and 39 yards on separate scoring drives. A Utah State fumble set up the first, which culminated in a 10-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Sullivan, and Sullivan made a big catch in the second quarter to set up a touchdown run for Tim Cornett.kgoon@sltrib.comTwitter: @kylegoon