College football: Utah State beats Weber State 70-6

Logan • Weber State would've had more luck stopping the rain than Utah State's offense on Saturday night. And the Wildcats would've had better luck running their own offensive plays against the brick wall of the Laub Football Complex.

In the history of beatdowns, a 70-6 victory will rank high at Utah State. The Aggies were less a college football team and more an elemental force — at least that's how they looked against the Wildcats playing in front of a sellout Homecoming crowd.

Utah State forced three-and-outs on Weber State's first seven possessions, while scoring touchdowns on their first seven drives.

Superlatives can be excused: Utah State's 64-point win was the program's best since 1964. And it was as close to perfect as most teams get.

"If that could happen every game, that'd be beautiful," said senior running back Joey DeMartino, who finished with 107 yards and three touchdowns.

It took less than a half for Chuckie Keeton to tie his program record with five passing touchdowns in a game. On the other end of the spectrum, it took the Wildcats more than 27 minutes to get a first down against a staunch Aggies defense.

Keeton threw for 249 yards, moving the chains on eight straight third downs while throwing touchdowns to four receivers. D.J. Tialavea caught two scores, his first of the season, and Travis Reynolds and Ronald Butler also caught one apiece in the first half.

The Aggies even mixed in linebacker Kyler Fackrell on offense. The 6-foot-5 sophomore hauled in a 4-yard fade in the corner of the end zone for his first career score.

"It was actually really, really good coverage by the defender," Keeton said. "But at the same time Kyler has a lot more fight and aggressiveness than maybe the defender expected. I guess you gotta trust players, and big players make big plays."

Utah State's defense also led off with big plays: Weber State could not move the ball. The Wildcats managed only one first down and a total of 30 yards in the first half. It was tough to run and pass with Aggies defenders in the backfield, as Zach Vigil, Nick Vigil, Jake Doughty and others racked up tackles.

Even when the backups came in, it didn't bring much relief for Weber State. Coach Matt Wells said he had been frustrated in the second-team defense's effort against Air Force, but they didn't disappoint him this week. The Wildcats were held without an offensive score and crossed midfield only once, and Utah State managed nine tackles for a loss.

The only Weber State points came with 50 seconds left, after Spencer Unga recovered an Aggies fumble and took it 38 yards for a score. A missed extra point summed up what was mostly a futile effort for the Wildcats.

Ahead of a road game against USC next weekend, Wells said he was glad to see his team focus on Weber State and execute as well as they have all season. He hopes for similar intensity this week, as the program seeks to knock off one of the biggest figureheads in college football.

"We've knocked on that door for four straight years," Wells said. "We'll see if these kids will be ready to open it up and knock it down — we'll see." —

Storylines

O The Aggies score touchdowns on their first seven possessions.

• Utah State's defense holds Weber State to 30 first half offensive yards.

• Chuckie Keeton throws five passing touchdowns for the second straight week.