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Chuckie Keeton, Utah State Aggies not quite ready for prime time

By Doug Carey

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Chuckie Keeton and Utah State came away with the win in their opener but it wasn’t pretty.

The hype machine came to a screeching halt Thursday night in Logan, Utah. After being touted all summer as a possible bowl representative from the Group of Five, Utah State needed Andrew Rodriguez’s late 88-yard TD on a punt return to edge Southern Utah 12-9 in the season opener for both teams.

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The Aggies got the win, but make no mistake: This was a giant step back for a veteran squad expected to give Boise State a serious run in the Mountain West. The Aggies actually trailed 9-5 going into the fourth quarter. To Southern Utah. The same Southern Utah team went 3-9 last year.

The same Southern Utah team that was picked to finish eighth in the 13-team Big Sky preseason poll.

The stats are so ugly they should be destroyed immediately. The teams combined to go 2-of-33 on third downs, and neither team converted a third-down conversion in the first half. The Aggies had 123 yards in penalties and just 250 yards of total offense.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Utah State coach Matt Wells told reporters after the game, via the school’s website. “I’m not going to try to put lipstick on a pig.”

Quick sidenote: A mea culpa is probably in order at this point. Earlier this week, a certain reporter actually made a case that Utah State senior quarterback Chuckie Keeton could make a run at the Heisman. We’re not sure what that certain reporter could have been thinking at the time, but obviously a rewrite is in order.

Sep 13, 2014; Logan, UT, USA; Utah State Aggies quarterback Chuckie Keeton (16) warming up prior to the game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Romney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

Instead of building on a strong 2013 season, Keeton (who missed most of last season with a knee injury) struggled mightily against the Thunderbirds, going 16-of-33 for 110 yards and one interception. You can place the blame on new offensive coordinator Josh Heupel if you want, but Keeton has to wear this one.

Keeton rarely had time to throw as the Aggies’ offensive line inexplicably struggled against an FCS opponent, but we still thought he’d be able to make things happen on the ground. Instead, he finished with seven rushing yards on six carries. This after he threw for 304 yards while engineering a 34-3 win over Southern Utah in the 2012 opener.

But enough about Keeton. The Aggies clearly have other concerns, starting with next week’s opponent.

Utah State will face a confident Utah team in Salt Lake City on Sept. 11 (ESPN2) with the Utes coming off Thursday’s 24-17 win over Michigan. My initial thought was that Utah State would cruise to a win in the opener and be able to rest their starters before the showdown against the Utes, but Southern Utah had other plans.

The only consolation here is that I’m not the only one who needs to pump the brakes on the Utah State hype. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Brett McMurphy and Mark Schlabach both had Utah State playing in the Fiesta Bowl. We’re guessing they’d also like a rewrite following Thursday’s dismal showing.

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