BOISE, Idaho, Dec. 23, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah State started strong but not much went right after that Saturday in a lopsided 45-22 loss to Georgia State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
The Aggies simply couldn’t stop the Panthers, allowing 643 yards of offense — including 386 on the ground — to finish 6-7 overall for the second consecutive season.
It was an anticlimactic end to an up-and-down season for Utah State, which won three of its final four games to become bowl eligible.
Georgia State (7-6), meanwhile, snapped a five-game losing streak with its offensive exhibition on the blue turf of Boise State’s Albertsons Stadium.
Panthers quarterback Darren Grainger accounted for 368 total yards and five touchdowns to collect the game’s Most Valuable Player award. Grainger completed 19 of 22 passes for 257 yards and three TDs, and added 111 yards and two TDs on his 24 rushing attempts.
Utah State scored 14 points and gained 161 yards in the first quarter but managed just eight points and 185 yards the rest of the way.
Senior wide receiver Terrell Vaughn led the Aggies with eight catches for 86 yards and a touchdown, while junior WR Jalen Royals chipped in with three catches for 57 yards and a TD.
Royals got the Aggies offense rolling early with a historic score, hauling in a 35-yard pass from QB Levi Williams for his 15th TD reception this season — setting a USU single-season record.
Another record was set later in the first quarter when running back Davon Booth broke free for a 65-yard touchdown run — the longest TD run ever for Utah State in a bowl game. Booth, a junior, finished the game with 71 yards on four carries.
USU’s offense mostly sputtered after that, and Georgia State scored 31 unanswered points to take a 45-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, senior linebacker MJ Tafisi Jr. made 11 tackles to set a USU record with his ninth consecutive double-digit tackle game. His 142 tackles this season rank ninth all-time at Utah State.
USU also got big games from a pair of sophomore safeties: Simeon Harris set a career-high with 11 tackles and came up with his first career fumble recovery, and Ike Larsen tied his career-high with 11 tackles.
