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Provo
Utah State's Darell Garretson thrived. BYU's unbeaten record and Taysom Hill's left leg did not survive.
Quarterbacks are always the story lately when USU and BYU meet on the first Friday of October, partly for the wrong reasons.
Incredibly, for the third year in a row, a starting quarterback sustained a major injury in this rivalry. BYU's promising season and Hill's national awards campaign suddenly disintegrated late in the first half of USU's 35-20 victory at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Hill will miss the rest of the season after suffering a fractured left leg and will have surgery Saturday morning, according to coach Bronco Mendenhall. Recovery time is expected to be 3-4 months.
Care to guess who played quarterback for BYU the last time the Aggies won in Provo? That's right, Jim McMahon in 1978.
In this episode, USU ruined McMahon's No. 9 jersey retirement celebration with a stunning upset that thrilled the Aggies and devastated the Cougars in multiple ways.
Running around the right side, Hill had his leg injured as he was being dragged down by USU safety Brian Suite — the same player whose clean hit on Hill's right knee ended the quarterback's freshman season almost exactly two years ago in Provo. Hill was carted to the locker room, fulfilling the fears of everyone who worried that the blessing of his running ability someday would become the curse of his season.
The Aggies, unfortunately, know the feeling.
Last October in Logan, USU quarterback Chuckie Keeton sustained a season-ending knee injury when he was tackled while scrambling. Keeton reinjured his knee three weeks ago and may be sidelined for the rest of his scheduled senior year.
Garretson, again filling in for Keeton this season, performed wonderfully Friday by throwing for 257 yards and three touchdowns in the first half as the Aggies built a 28-14 lead. Those three scores all came in the last five minutes of the half, with Garretson's 72-yard TD pass to Hunter Sharp coming right after BYU lost Hill.
Christian Stewart, Hill's replacement, threw three interceptions in the second half.
Much like last year, when Keeton's injury deflated nearly an entire stadium in Logan and overshadowed Hill's strong showing in a BYU win, Garretson's game was not the biggest story Friday. That's hardly his fault, because he was simply outstanding. Same thing with USU coach Matt Wells, who delivered a landmark victory with innovations that included using linebacker Nick Vigil as a running back.
It's just that Hill and the Cougars were developing into one of college football's biggest stories, and that's all gone now.
The irony for Hill is how the game started. He found Jordan Leslie - who will remain the last BYU player to wear No. 9 — for a 53-yard completion down the right sideline, launching an opening drive that Hill finished with an 11-yard touchdown run. Early in the second quarter, Hill tossed a 25-yard TD pass to Mitch Mathews.
If there was a certain degree of inevitability regarding Hill's injury, considering how frequently he runs with the ball, the reality of having it happen to him shocked the Cougars and their fans. Only this week, the school launched a website promoting Hill for the Heisman Trophy and other awards.
Hill was a popular guest on national radio shows during the Cougars' bye week. In a Salt Lake Tribune interview, he spoke of how much he was enjoying this season and the team's possibilities going forward. Hill also told the story of recovering from knee surgery two years ago, after having gone from starting two games as freshman to "nothing," by his account.
He's accomplished too much since then to say his career is back to nothing. Then again, Hill had much further to fall this time.
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