Logan, Utah - A punt returned for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference Thursday night, as the Utah State Aggies pulled out a win against the Thunderbirds 12–9 in a defensive struggle.  

With just under five minutes to play in the game and the score at 9–5 in favor of the Thunderbirds, USU's Andrew Rodriguez returned a punt 88 yards for a touchdown, snatching the victory from T-Birds who had led the entire game until that point.

The Thunderbirds struck first early in the game after linebacker Matt Holley blocked an Aggie punt, and T-Bird quarterback Ammon Olsen found wide receiver Mike Sharp from 27 yards out for a touchdown. However, the PAT was blocked and returned by USU making the score 6–2.

The Aggies put three more points on the board with 4:59 to play in the first quarter with a 30-yard field goal from kicker Brock Warren, making the score 6–5. The last play of the first quarter was an interception for Thunderbird defensive back Josh Thorton.

Near the end of a second half filled with punts, the Thunderbirds pushed the ball into the redzone, and on a 4th & 12 Calhoun hit a field goal with nine seconds left on the clock to give SUU a 9–5 advantage going into the halftime break.

At the half the two teams had combined for 15 punts, and neither team had converted on a third down.

No points were scored in the third quarter, and every single possession during the quarter ended in a punt.

An extremely long scoring drought was snapped with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, when Rodriguez returned the aforementioned punt 88 yards to the house to give the Aggies a 12–9 lead.

When SUU got the ball back a penalty and sack stacked up and forced the Thunderbirds to punt the ball back to the Aggies. However, SUU's defense held and with 2:13 left in the contest the Aggies were forced to give the ball back to SUU.

On SUU's final drive, faced with a 4th & 9, a pass from Olsen to receiver Justin Brown fell incomplete, allowing USU to take possession and run the clock dry.

In a game dominated by defense, SUU defensive back Miles Killebrew said he was pleased with how the unit played as a whole.

“I'm proud of our defense first of all,” he said. “They gave great effort from the line all the way back to the secondary. The coaches did a very good job of preparing us and we just played our hearts out, on both sides of the ball, but I'm really proud of my defense especially.”

SUU defensive end James Cowser gave Utah State full credit for the victory, and said the team will use this game to improve next time out.

“Utah State did what they had to do to win,” he said. “Their defense played phenomenal, their offense kept rolling when they had to roll and their special teams got it done. Unfortunately, you've got to play the game for the full 48 minutes, but there's a lot we can learn from, a lot we can take pride in and get better.”

Olsen finished the game 17-of-34 passing, for 111 yards and one touchdown. USU senior QB Chuckie Keeton had similar numbers without the TD, finishing 16-of-33 for 110 yards.

Sharp finished with 40 receiving yards on four catches and Brown finished with 38 yards on five catches.

SUU running back Jarom Healey finished as SUU's top rusher, carrying the ball 12 times for 38 yards. Aggie back LaJuan Hunt carried the ball 23 times, resulting for 80 yards.  

Linebacker Mike Needham led the team in tackling, finishing the game with 10. Holley finished with eight, and Cowser finished with seven.

By the time the game was over, the two punters had put their work in, combining for 28 punts on the night.