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Logan • A week after Utah State's football program celebrated one of its best all-time wins, the Aggies ran into San Diego State.
It wasn't pretty.
Utah State was coming off a 52-26 victory over Boise State last season when it journeyed to Qualcomm Stadium and got manhandled by the Aztecs. Donnel Pumphrey rushed 23 times for 181 yards and two touchdowns, leading San Diego State to a 48-14 win.
The Aggies were unbeaten and leading their division in the Mountain West Conference before the lopsided defeat. They ended up losing five of their final seven games, including the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
"The biggest thing that comes to mind is they ran it down our throat," Utah State coach Matt Wells said Monday. "We couldn't stop the run and we couldn't run the ball on offense, which is a bad combination."
It might not have made any difference, but Utah State was plagued by injuries to key players — something that was overlooked because of Aggie Nation's euphoria after the win over Boise State.
Nose guard David Moala and defensive end Ricky Ali'ifua missed the SDSU game. Leading receiver Hunter Sharp played, but only after missing practice all week.
"Schemes are schemes but players make schemes good," Wells said. "Some of the plays that didn't get made were being made before. … We just didn't have the same guys in there."
San Diego State took a 34-7 halftime lead and won its ninth straight game over Utah State. Wells expects another smash-mouth effort by Aztecs, who are 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the Mountain West.
"That's exactly what they want to do," he said. "They want to stop the run and force you into being behind the chains. Then they impose their will and run the football."
Protecting the football
Utah State, which is 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the MWC, has committed only one turnover in the last three games.
According to Wells, a handful of factors have come into play, including "good decisions" by junior quarterback Kent Myers and running backs who are "doing a nice job of securing the ball."
Utah State's offensive line has also given Myers reasonable time to throw, Wells said, and the receivers are breaking open a little bit sooner than they did early in the season. That allows him to quickly get rid of the ball.
Conversely, the Aggie defense has not forced a turnover since a 34-20 win over Arkansas State on Sept. 16.
Sophomore linebacker Derek Larsen said, "That, I think, is the biggest emphasis we're going to see from our coaches during the week. We have to get turnovers. …
"We're putting the emphasis on that in practice. It's just not translating over to game-time. But coach [Frank] Maile has been harping on that — to try and strip the ball, try and get it out."
Wells praises former Fresno State coach
After Utah State's 38-20 victory over Fresno State on Saturday night, Bulldog head coach Tim DeRuyter was fired.
Wells called DeRuyter "a good friend … a great man who does it the right way." He said the relationship among all members of the fraternity make coaching "the best profession out there."
It's also a perilous one.
"… Many times, it can be a cruddy business and [Sunday] was one of them," Wells said. "It hits home for me because I just saw the guy — not even 12 hours before, when we walked off the field. …
"I've been through it as an assistant and it's no fun because families are affected, assistants' families are affected and the kids are affected. It's just so public. But we get it. We all understand that."
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