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Even though the Utah State Aggies managed just 38 yards on the ground in the last three quarters of their 16-13 loss at Colorado State, USU coach Matt Wells thought the run game was sufficient, pointing to the 5.3 average per rush the Aggies maintained as evidence.
In the blur of the game, he probably hadn't had time to digest that much of the yardage came on three plays, a 59-yard touchdown run by Joe Hill and runs of 22 and 15 yards, by LaJuan Hunt and Craig Harrison, respectively.
Or, maybe it was just wishful thinking on his part that the run game was decent, because going forward, it is going to have to be.
With quarterback Darell Garretson suffering an injury to his right hand that could sideline him for the rest of the season, the Aggies need their run game to carry the offense regardless of who the next quarterback will be.
Senior Craig Harrison finished the game for the Aggies on Saturday, but USU might look at using one of its freshmen quarterbacks moving forward, Kent Myers or DJ Nelson.
The Aggies were hoping to redshirt the two, but then, the Aggies were hoping for a lot of things this season, none of which seems to be going as planned.
Utah State thought its run game was secure this season with Joe Hill returning and LaJuan Hunt and Rashad Hall looking strong in the preseason.
Unfortunately, the rushing attack hasn't materialized, ranking 100th nationally and averaging just 132.7 yards a game.
On Saturday, the Aggies managed just four net yards on 16 carries outside of the three big plays.
Hall, Natson and Nick Vigil, all of whom have had moments of effectiveness this season on the ground, combined for just three carries for three yards.
Hill, who led the team with nine carries for 64 yards, admitted the run game wasn't efficient.
"We had a couple big plays but I put it on the running backs, we could have made some better reads and the offensive line made some mistakes," he said. "We have to build on that because it's going to be a big key the next couple of games."
Luckily for the Aggies, UNLV (2-5, 1-2) isn't one of the more formidable opponents in the league. The Rebels are coming off a 30-27 overtime win against Fresno State, but lost four of their five previous games. The Rebels rank 118th nationally averaging just 18.7 points and are giving up 37 points a game.
The biggest concern for the Aggies, at least in the immediate future, is their own offense rather than the Rebels.
Down two quarterbacks, the Aggies need the run game to step up more now than ever.
"The obvious thing is we're going to have to run the ball," Wells said.
"When you have injuries you have to improvise and adjust and we're going to have to do that," he added.
Twitter: @lyawodraska
Utah State vs. UNLV
O Saturday, 2 p.m. TV • ESPNEWS