Awards, report card, stats from 59-10 win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
First game ball of the season goes to redshirt sophomore quarterback Alex Hornibrook. Hornibrook was sacked twice early, lost a fumble inside the UW 30 when he couldn’t handle the snap from center, and was victimized by three early drops. When UW took over at its 21 with 9 minutes 37 seconds left in the first half, Hornibrook was 2 of 6 for 14 yards and the Badgers were facing a 10-0 deficit. Hornibrook remained calm and completed 4 of 4 passes for 42 yards, with three of the completions converting third-down chances, to lead UW on a 79-yard touchdown drive. He finished the game 15 of 23 for 244 yards and three touchdowns. “I didn't feel like he was skittish or anything there,” UW coach Paul Chryst said. “We didn't have a ton of opportunities. But I didn't think that, in my opinion, and maybe the tape will be different, I didn't feel any nervousness from him. “We just weren’t executing. But I thought we all worked through it and I was proud of their response. Alex would be included in that.”
OFFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME
Freshman tailback Jonathan Taylor, who wowed UW’s coaches and players as camp progressed, didn’t have a carry in the first half. His number was called on UW’s first offensive play of the second half and Taylor delivered. Taylor got the ball from Hornibrook and saw daylight to the right side. He popped through the line of scrimmage and got the sideline. Taylor gained 41 yards to the Utah State 31 before he was stopped by safety Dallin Leavitt. Although Taylor didn’t reach the end zone, his long gain sparked the offense and UW scored three plays later when Hornibrook hit Troy Fumagalli for a 23-yard touchdown. That gave UW the lead for good and sparked a 28-point third quarter. “The thing with this offense is once we get rolling, we’re hard to stop,” said Taylor, who added a 13-yard touchdown run and finished with 87 yards on nine carries. “Getting us rolling and getting the offense clicking and into a rhythm set up the rest of the game.”
DEFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME
Reserve safety Joe Ferguson acknowledged after the game he did not think he would reach the north end zone after intercepting Kent Myers’ pass at the UW 1. But with a decent head-start on the Utah State players and led by a convoy of blockers, Ferguson covered the 99 yards to help UW take a 52-10 lead in the final quarter. Ferguson thus set the UW modern-era record for longest interception return. He broke the mark of 98 yards, set by Billy Lowe on Oct. 16, 1954 against Purdue. “I caught it and 10 yards into it I was feeling good,” Ferguson joked. “And then another 10 yards I (thought): ‘Man I’m slowing down. I’m probably going to get tackled soon.’ “And then another 10 yards and I (thought): ‘How am I not getting tackled yet? I know I’m going slow.’ “And then I see pretty much all my teammates surround me. It felt like I was in the Flying V in the Mighty Ducks. “I (thought): ‘I might score.’” He did score, with outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel hustling back to drill Utah State wide receiver Jaren Colston-Green at the Aggies’ 45 for the final key block. “I saw him just dart across me,” Ferguson said. “And then saw a big collision and just kept moving.”
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY OF THE GAME
Kudos to senior cornerback Lubern Figaro for playing hard late in a blowout. On the kickoff following Ferguson’s touchdown, Figaro ripped the ball away from Utah State’s Gerold Bright near the Aggies’ sideline Reserve linebacker Mike Maskalunas, a walk-on, continued to pursue the play from the opposite side of the field and thus was in position to fall on the loose ball. UW took over at the Aggies’ 37 and scored four plays later.
INSIDE THE HUDDLE
UW’s kickoff coverage featured four defensive starters – safety D’Cota Dixon, linebackers Garret Dooley and Leon Jacobs and safety Natrell Jamerson. Jamerson also worked on the punt-coverage unit and made a great play to drop Zach Van Leeuwen for no gain on Anthony Lotti’s 54-yard punt in the opening quarter. In case you missed it, walk-on Tyler Johnson was the fourth outside linebacker. Arrington Farrar was the fourth inside linebacker. Farrar moved to linebacker from safety late last spring. Five freshmen played for UW. They were: quarterback Jack Coan, tailback Jonathan Taylor, wide receiver Danny Davis, cornerback Madison Cone and long-snapper Adam Bay.
QUOTABLE
“I knew we was going to bounce back…They probably felt like they was punching us in the mouth but there was no doubt in my mind. I wasn’t stressing it. I was over there having fun. I know how hard we work and I knew everybody cared.” – Derrick Tindal, UW cornerback, on the Badgers’ early 10-0 deficit
BY THE NUMBERS
8 Players who scored touchdowns for UW 9 Penalties on UW, for 73 yards 59 Consecutive points by UW 216 Total yards for Utah State over the final three quarters
UP NEXT
UW (1-0) vs. Florida Atlantic (0-1), 11 a.m.
Sept. 9: The Owls, with first-year coach Lane Kiffin at the helm, opened the season with an ugly 42-19 home loss to Navy on Friday. The game lasted almost six hours, thanks in large part to three delays because of lightning. UW