Texas Tech football: Matt Wells’ best games as Utah State head coach

No. 5: Beating a 12-1 Northern Illinois team in the 2013 Poinsettia Bowl

Entering the 2013 Poinsettia Bowl, the Aggies were considerable underdogs to No. 23 Northern Illinois, which entered the game 12-1.   In fact, the Huskies were led by QB Jordan Lynch, a Heisman Trophy Finalist.

Lynch finished the season with 4,812 total yards and 47 combined touchdowns.  But by holding him to just 216 yards passing and 39 yards on the ground, USU kept him from becoming the first college player to both rush and pass for 2,000 yards in the same season.

Forcing two turnovers from Lynch, the Aggies held NIU 28 points below its season average.  That could be encouraging for Red Raider fans wondering if Wells’ teams are able to play the type of defense that we have been longing for in Lubbock.

Offensively, 168 of Utah State’s 289 total yards came on the ground.  The Aggies were led by Joey DeMartino, who galloped for 143 yards and a touchdown.

An interesting aspect of his game was the fact that both teams were coming off surprising losses in their conference championship games.  After Utah St. fell to Fresno St. and UNI stumbled against Bowling Green, motivation was a question for both teams.

That is often the case in bowl games where one or both of the teams is likely disappointed in not going to a more prestigious bowl.  So the fact that Wells was able to get his team ready to play a physical game against a ranked team speaks volumes about the job the Utah State coaching staff did in their bowl preparation.

Red Raider fans have been impressed with the way Wells has come across when we have seen him speaking to his team because it appears like he is a natural leader of men.  That is something many felt like the program had been missing.  If the 2013 Poinsettia Bowl is any indication, the Red Raiders may have remedied that problem.