Times have changed. Friday night, once reserved for preps, before media money seduced colleges to play on Friday evening, produced two spectacular games — both in the often overlooked Mountain time zone.
The Odyssey was in Logan for a game of interest in that 2 teams wounded by the transfer portal (36 exited Utah State and 29 left Fresno) have maintained quality programs thanks to the considerable coaching acumen of Jeff Tedford and Blake Anderson. Dub them anti-Cristobals! The tilt was exciting with 2 late lead changes. With 5 minutes left, Utah State took its first lead of the game, 32-31. The Aggies produced 568 yards of offense but were plagued by penalties and 2 turnovers. Behind backup QB Logan Fife, the Bulldogs responded with an emphatic 5-play, 72-yard touchdown drive, only flawed by leaving the Aggies offense 2+ minutes for a potential game-winning drive. An acrobatic interception by Fresno in the last minute preserved the Bulldogs 37-32 margin and kept Fresno alive for the Mountain West title game.
The most creative play of the game came on Utah State’s 2-point conversion following a TD to reduce their deficit to 28-23 early in the fourth quarter. The Aggies ran a reverse which had the makings of a subsequent pass into the end zone. At least 2 Fresno State defenders thought so. Jalen Royals made a brilliant fake which caused 2 nearby Bulldog defenders to leap in the air. While they leaped, he decided to sidestep them and dash into the end zone for a unique 2-pointer. Delicious!
Thankfully, the game ended in time that most of the 2nd half (and thereafter!) of the Colorado-Stanford game could be watched. With the Buffs leading 29-0 at the half, the watch seemed like it would consist of watching Shadeur Sanders pad his statistics and seeing how healthy Travis Hunter was. How could a downtrodden 1-4 Stanford team possibly put up significant resistance? The impossible proceeded to happen!
The Cardinals kept throwing the ball to Elic Ayomanor in the 2nd half. Again and again and again. Did not matter to the Stanford brain trust in the least that Travis Hunter was covering Ayomanor. A 46-yard field goal by their terrific field goal kicker, Josh Karty, forced overtime at 36 all. Ayomanor wound up with a staggering 294 receiving yards that included a ridiculous TD catch on the back of Hunter’s helmet in overtime. The imagination boggles at how much NFL money that Ayomanor made after his mano-a-mano success against the usually brilliant Hunter who also committed a costly personal foul (but partially redeemed himself with 13 catches and 2 TD grabs).
Shadeur Sanders’ interception in the 2nd overtime sealed the Buffs’ fate and highlighted a CU shortcoming. Subsequent to a pass interference call, Colorado had the ball on the Stanford 2. Their nonexistent running game meant continued reliance on Sanders’ arm. Often that is a good tactic given that Sanders threw for 5 TDs and 400 yards. However, the lack of a run game also makes it more problematic to milk the clock with a substantial lead and to pound the rock home from the 2.
The shocking outcome on Friday the 13th was the biggest lead ever blown in Buff history as well as the biggest comeback in Stanford lore.
No matter what happens in future realignment, Mountain teams will always remain #1 in one category: beautiful scenery. Watching the sunset in Logan in the aptly-named Cache Valley (in French, cache means hidden) with the backdrop of mountains is amazing. Ditto in places like Provo, Boulder or Colorado Springs. To boot, those jaw-dropping sunsets do not require any NIL money.