This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Albuquerque • The last two weeks, Utah State suffered through beatdowns at home.
Saturday night, it started out giving a beatdown of its own.
The Aggies led New Mexico 31-3 after a first half of steamrolling the Lobos in nearly every phase of the game. From its freshman quarterback, to its running game, to its stingy defense, to even special teams, Utah State dominated.
From the beginning, New Mexico floundered. Utah State recovered a fumble on the Lobos' opening drive, scoring a play later to take a 7-0 lead. That lead increased on the Aggies' next drive, as starting quarterback Darell Garretson was a perfect 6-for-6 on a touchdown campaign, finding Joey DeMartino for a two-score lead.
The teams traded field goals before Utah State seized control on a 26-second scoring drive: DeMartino took only two runs to cover 74 yards and get to the end zone.
Jojo Natson piled on with a 65-yard punt return - the Aggies' first since 2007 - to increase the lead to 31-3 before the half.
New Mexico struggled with a two-quarterback offense, gaining 149 yards in most futile attempts to get the ball into the Aggies' half of the field.
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