This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ruston, La. • Chuckie Keeton's sophomore year has pretty much turned into one seasonlong coming-out party for the quarterback at Utah State.
In the biggest game, against a nationally ranked opponent, Keeton is pushing his excellence up a level.
On Saturday afternoon, Keeton set the Utah State single-season school record for touchdown passes. Early in the second half, he broke Diondre Borel's school record for all-purpose yardage in a season. The records are nice by themselves. Against Louisiana Tech, however, they served as merely a byproduct of how well he played against the Bulldogs.
Keeton threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter. By halftime, Keeton had gone 11 of 16 for 198 yards. He also rushed for 64 yards on nine carries, asserting himself against Louisiana Tech whenever he pleased.
For Keeton, he's putting a cap on a year that saw him win the starting quarterback job in fall camp. He set the touchdown pass record with a throw to senior tight end Kellen Bartlett in the corner of the end zone.
Ending the streak
Senior cornerback Willie Davis read Colby Cameron's pass perfectly. He slid to his right, reached up and plucked the football out of the air with 52 seconds remaining in the first half. Davis' interception was the first for Cameron in 444 passes, an NCAA record. Davis now has four interceptions in the last four games. That total is the most for a Utah State player since 2003, when Terrance Washington had five. This is the first year in the starting lineup for Davis.
Twitter: @tjonessltrib —
Utah State 48, No. 19 La. Tech 41
OVERTIME
Utah St. 14 3 24 0 7 — 48
Louisiana Tech 0 3 21 17 0 — 41
First Quarter
USU • K.Williams 86 pass from Keeton (Diaz kick), 13:57.
USU • Bartlett 3 pass from Keeton (Diaz kick), :58.
Second Quarter
LaT • FG Nelson 36, 12:19.
USU • FG Diaz 38, 3:55.
Third Quarter
USU • Keeton 13 run (Diaz kick), 13:24.
USU • FG Diaz 30, 11:34.
LaT • Dixon 2 run (Nelson kick), 8:17.
USU • Keeton 25 run (Diaz kick), 5:20.
LaT • M.White 25 pass from Cameron (Nelson kick), 4:04.
USU • K.Williams 1 run (Diaz kick), 1:00.
LaT • D.Banks 98 kickoff return (Nelson kick), :48.
Fourth Quarter
LaT • Dixon 1 run (Nelson kick), 10:54.
LaT • H.Lee 7 run (Nelson kick), 1:54.
LaT • FG Nelson 32, :00.
Overtime
USU • K.Williams 4 run (Diaz kick).
Attendance • 25,614.
USU LaT
First downs 27 37
Rushes-yards 45-306 47-233
Passing 340 396
Comp-Att-Int 20-34-0 35-61-2
Return Yards 11 13
Punts-Avg. 5-40.0 3-47.0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 8-110 9-56
Time of Possession 31:33 28:27
Individual Statistics
Rushing • Utah St., K.Williams 20-162, Keeton 17-121, Hill 5-20, Natson 1-8, Team 2-(minus 5). Louisiana Tech, Dixon 22-109, Holley 15-77, Cameron 7-35, H.Lee 3-12.
Passing • Utah St., Keeton 20-34-0-340. Louisiana Tech, Cameron 35-60-2-396, Team 0-1-0-0.
Receiving • Utah St., K.Williams 4-125, Jacobs 4-82, Austin 3-62, Reynolds 3-34, Tialavea 3-12, Van Leeuwen 1-19, Bartlett 1-3, Natson 1-3. Louisiana Tech, Patton 11-181, Gru 4-47, M.White 4-44, Holley 4-38, Guillot 3-32, H.Lee 3-30, Dixon 3-(minus 1), Stuart 2-18, Casey 1-7.