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Utah State upsets BYU, which loses Hill

Oct 4, 2014 - 6:40 AM Provo, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Darell Garretson threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns to lead Utah State to a 35-20 upset of No. 18 BYU on Friday.

Hunter Sharp had five receptions for 173 yards and a touchdown and Devonte Robinson caught a pair of touchdown passes for the Aggies (3-2), who snapped a three-game losing streak to their in-state rival.

Nick Vigil and Joe Hill rushed for 57 and 54 yards, respectively, with Vigil adding a rushing touchdown.

The Cougars (4-1) may have lost more than the game as Heisman Trophy candidate Taysom Hill left late in the second quarter with a fractured left leg. Hill was 8-of-11 for 99 and a touchdown and also rushed for a score.

Christian Stewart replaced Hill and struggled mightily, completing 10-of-29 passes for 172 yards with three interceptions.

Jamaal Williams rushed for 99 yards on 17 carries in the setback.

BYU started the game with a swift five-play, 75-yard drive that Hill capped with his nation-leading eighth rushing touchdown of the season. On the opening play from scrimmage, Hill went up top to Jordan Leslie for 53 yards to the Aggies 22. Four plays later, Hill went around the left side and dove into the end zone for an 11-yard score.

The Aggies answered with a lengthy touchdown drive late in the first to tie the game at 7-7. On 3rd-and-goal, Robinson hauled in a 7-yard touchdown over the middle from Garretson to cap a 10-play, 85-yard drive with 50 seconds left in the quarter.

Hill began the second quarter with a 12-yard run that moved the ball near midfield, then the signal caller picked up a big first down later in the drive when he rushed for four yards on 3rd-and-2. On the following play, Hill lofted a 25-yard touchdown to Mitch Mathews down the near sideline for a 14-7 BYU lead.

Utah State responded again with a long march down the field. The drive started at the 12, and Garretson hit Robinson for a 36-yard gain to move into BYU territory. The Cougars held stout to force a field goal attempt, but an offside penalty on the try gave the Aggies a first down. Garretson made the hosts pay five plays later, rushing around the right end for a 5-yard TD to tie the game at 14-14.

Williams fumbled for the first time in his career, a total of 450 carries, on BYU's opening play of its ensuing possession. Garretson immediately found a wide open Robinson in the corner of the end zone for a 22-yard score on the to give Utah State a 21-14 lead late in the second.

Hill suffered a devastating leg injury at an unfortunate time. On 2nd-and-7 from midfield, he took a designed quarterback run around the far side and was tackled for a gain of two. Hill's left leg got caught under Brian Suite during the play and the signal caller was in immediate pain as he hobbled to the sideline.

After receiving attention from the medical staff, Hill was placed in an air cast and taken off the field on a cart. X-rays taken at halftime showed a fracture of the left leg, but no other information regarding the injury was released.

The Cougars were forced to punt and Garretson capped the first half scoring with a 72-yard TD strike to Sharp to give the Aggies a 28-14 lead at the break.

BYU drove inside the Utah State 10 on its first touch of the second half, but Stewart was intercepted by Torrey Green at the 2-yard line.

Trevor Samson knocked down a 41-yard field goal after the Cougars forced a punt to cut the deficit to 28-17.

Sharp then grabbed a 56-yard pass from Garretson that placed the ball inside the BYU 10, and a roughing-the-passer penalty two plays later set up Vigil's 1-yard TD run to increase the lead to 35-17 with 1:49 remaining in the third quarter.

Stewart was picked off late in the third and early in the fourth before Samson kicked a 24-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 15 with under nine minutes to play.

On the ensuing kickoff, Samson booted a shallow kick that was recovered by the Cougars deep in Utah State territory, but an offside penalty negated the turnover.

The Aggies ran out clock over their next couple possessions as they dropped BYU for the first time in Provo since 1978.

Game Notes

Former BYU quarterback Jim McMahon had his No. 9 retired at halftime. McMahon won the Davey O'Brien Trophy and Sammy Baugh Trophy in his senior season in 1981, finishing third in the Heisman Trophy balloting that year ... Vigil's TD was the first of his career. His primary position on the Utah State depth chart is linebacker ... The Cougars had won 13-of-14 in the series ... The Aggies had lost six straight and 25 of their last 26 on the road entering the game ... Leslie caught four passes for 135 yards and Mathews had eight receptions for 117 yards in the setback.