Spokesman.com
Utah State linebacker strips Coug tight end, flips the game
Utah State linebacker Asher Cunningham made the play of the game, and it wasn't even close. He stripped tight end Jack Pedersen just before Pedersen's knee hit the turf on a third-down play with under eight minutes left. Then he pounced on the ball deep in WSU territory. That set up the Aggies' go-ahead touchdown. Game flipped.
Cunningham also knocked the ball loose from Caden Pinnick in the third quarter. Utah State recovered that one too, scored five plays later, and the momentum never came back. The Elon transfer finished with a career-high 17 tackles, half a sack, and two tackles for loss. He now has 52 tackles on the season. That puts him near the top 20 nationally. The guy was everywhere.
On the other side, Jirah Leaupepetele did what nose tackles do: the dirty work nobody notices until you watch the tape. The 349-pound Eastern Washington transfer plugged gaps, recorded his first full sack of the season, and stood up his blocker on a critical third-and-short with under three minutes left. He brought down the running back just before the line to gain, forced a punt, and kept WSU alive. Five tackles, tied for third on the team. That's a good day's work.
This loss stings. If you want the full picture of how the offense let this one slip, go read "Cougs hand Utah State a win with an offense that forgot how to finish." It's exactly what it sounds like.
Go Cougs.
