Dressed in a cow’s spots, the Aggies’ new pig farmer bailed out his new team.
Former Utes quarterback Bryson Barnes led Utah State to a season-opening 36-14 win over Robert Morris on Saturday night in Logan.
When Aggies starter Spencer Petras left the game with an injury in the second quarter, Barnes, the former Utes walk-on who transferred to Utah State earlier this year, stepped up.
Sporting USU’s spotted ag-themed helmet, Barnes finished the game with 198 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception while completing 11 of his 21 attempts.
“I’ve been through it. I’ve had to do it at Utah for the last three years, and it prepared me for this moment,” Barnes said. “Coach really preached that. You’re one hit away and you never know when that hit is going to be. It could be the first play, it can be in practice leading up to the game and it can be in week eight. You never know when that opportunity is going to happen, so you have to be ready for it. The preparation process is that you have to prepare like you’re the starter when you are the backup.”
The quarterback also had 88 rushing yards, including a 63-yard touchdown run to give his new team some breathing room.
Petras, the Iowa transfer who won the starting job in the offseason, threw for 145 yards, a touchdown and two picks before leaving the game.
Aggies wide receiver Kyrese White caught three passes for 131 yards and two scores. Star wideout Jalen Royals had five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.
USU travels to Los Angeles next week to take on No. 23 USC.
“That game, in a way, summed up our last 60 days. We took some blows, adversity hit, and it finished with a group rolling their sleeves up being tough players that finished with love, integrity and toughness. And that’s what we want this program to be about,” USU interim head coach Nate Dreiling said. “The second half was a great snapshot of what we are about and how we need to run. There are a lot of things we need to clean up from penalties to defense. The biggest jump is from game one to game two, so hopefully we can make that jump and get things ready for next week.”