BYU 34 Utah State 14: A Trip to Logan

October 3, 2008:

This may be the only road game that I travel for BYU this season. I will want to go to a bowl game, especially if it is a BCS game.

8:00 A.M. - I woke up to go to the bathroom. Normally I would be late for work, but I took the day off to enjoy my time to Logan.

10:00 A.M. - OK. I can't sleep in any longer. Got up, took a shower and watched TV.

12:00 P.M. - Went to the Graywhale to look for a rare CD for a birthday present for a good friend.

2:30 P.M. - Left SLC to head up to Logan for the game.

4:00 P.M. - Arrived in Logan and looked for lunch... We ate at Juniper. First time I've eaten in 24 hours. It felt goooood.

6:00 P.M. - Kickoff. I had never been to a game at Romney Stadium in Logan. It was kind of cool, because the field is located in what feels like a pit. Our tickets were on the upper side of the student section. You could look past the west side of the stadium and catch a picturesque view of Cache Valley.

7:00 P.M. - BYU jumped out to a 24-0 lead after the 1st quarter thanks to a long 76-yard touchdown pass to WR Austin Collie and two key turnovers that led to points for the Cougars.

8:00 P.M. - The halftime score is 24-0 as neither team scores in the 2nd quarter. It felt a little disturbing that BYU could not score against a very bad Utah State team for 15 minutes. Side note: with Romney stadium experiencing a near sellout, there was a people jam to try and get to the concessions. It took the entire halftime just to make it to the concessions stands. That was super aggravating.

8:45 P.M. - After missing most of the third quarter thanks to the mosh pit and slow lines of high schoolers running the concessions, BYU scores twice to take a 34-0 lead. That marks 2 3/4 games of shutout football by the BYU defense. BYU has now outscored its opponents (UCLA, Wyoming, and Utah State) a combined 137-0 over the span. Wow.

Side Note: I went to get some famous Aggie Ice Cream after the half. They had a sign with 5 different ice cream flavors. I walked up to order and asked for a certain flavor. They gave me this snide, "Why do you think we are standing here serving only vanilla?" (like I was an idiot for asking for chocolate fudge.) First, vanilla wasn't even on their stupid menu! Second, I know I was wearing a BYU t-shirt, but why the 'tude? I am a paying customer. Beloved BYU creamery, I know that you would treat an Aggie customer with kindness had the situation been switched. You have just made certain to me that BYU creamery ice cream is better than Aggie ice cream, and Utah State is an agricultural university!

9:30 P.M. - Utah State breaks through on a 40-yard run to score the first points against the Cougars in nearly three games.

Another side note: There were nine BYU fans that went in our group and we were sandwiched with Aggie fans in front and behind us. They were actually really cool fans, and they weren't acting like annoying Ute fans. I doubt I'll get such luck at Rice Eccles stadium. But hey, isn't that what a great rivalry is about?

9:40 P.M. - Utah State scores again. 34-14. Utah State nearly recovers the onside kick. After 10 more exciting minutes where Utah State threatens to score a few more times, the game ends with almost everybody still there. Aggie fans leave happy that they only lost by 20 points. BYU fans are upset by the poor 4th quarter performance by the Cougars. But on the bright side, at least we had a humbling moment in a sure victory so that we will not overlook New Mexico and TCU looming on the schedule.


10:45 P.M. - A last minute stop to Arctic Circle with friends to celebrate the win over sweet potatoes fries and shakes!

Overall, an awesome adventure. Would I go back to Logan again? Yes! Would I buy Aggie Ice Cream? No! Will BYU drop in the polls? Yes. One spot. No major upsets occurred in the top 10. So the fight for higher rankings continue...