Sophomore quarterback Andrew Peasley, senior Nick Heninger and junior Connor Coles were named the Mountain West offensive, defensive and special teams player of the week, respectively after their performances against New Mexico on Nov. 26, 2020.
LOGAN, Utah – Utah State’s first win of the season, 41-27 over New Mexico on Thanksgiving night, saw the Aggies clicking in all three phases of the game.
As a result, the team was recognized for it on Monday as Utah State swept the Mountain West weekly awards. Sophomore quarterback Andrew Peasley, senior Nick Heninger and junior Connor Coles were named the offensive, defensive and special teams player of the week, respectively.
It is the first time in all three of their careers that Peasley, Heninger and Coles have earned conference player of the week accolades. Overall, these are the Aggies’ 32nd, 33rd and 34th weekly honors in their eighth season in the league.
Making his first-career start for the Aggies, Peasley, who was also named the College Sports Madness MW Offensive Player of the Week and a Manning Star of the Week, accounted for 357 yards of total offense and four touchdowns to help the Aggies rally past the Lobos.
Peasley completed 14-of-21 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns – all to different receivers. He also led Utah State on the ground with 118 yards and the game-clinching 62-yard touchdown run with 4:03 left in the fourth quarter.
His 14 completions, 21 pass attempts, 239 yards passing and three touchdowns were all career highs, as was a career-long completion of 36 yards. His 62-yard run also proved to be a personal best.
Down 13-6 at the half, Peasley threw touchdowns passes of 36, 26 and 25 yards, respectively, to give the Aggies a 27-13 lead with 6:54 to go in the third quarter.
Peasley became the first Utah State quarterback to rush for 100 yards in a game since Kent Myers rushed for 191 yards against Colorado State in 2015. In fact, Peasley is just the fifth Aggie quarterback since 1957 to rush for 100 yards in a game, joining Chuckie Keeton against Louisiana Tech in 2012, Diondre Borel against Fresno State in 2009 and Tony Adams against Colorado State in 1972.
Furthermore, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound signal caller from La Grande, Ore., became the first Aggie quarterback to account for four touchdowns in a game since Jordan Love had five total touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) against North Texas in the 2018 New Mexico Bowl.
Peasley orchestrated a Utah State offense that had season highs in points (41), first downs (22), rushing yards (209), passing yards (243), total offense (452) and yards per play (7.5) against New Mexico.
Heninger tied his career high with eight tackles, including a career-high-tying 3.0 tackles for loss and a career-high-tying 2.0 sacks, against the Lobos. He also recorded a career-high two forced fumbles, one of which was returned 16 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound native of South Jordan, Utah, helped the Aggie defense record season lows in points (27), passing yards (152), total offense (348) and yards per play (4.6).
Coles was 2-of-2 on field goals and 5-of-5 on extra points as he tallied a career-high 11 points against New Mexico. He made good from 27 and a career-long 44 yards out. For his career, the native of Bozeman, Mont., is 3-of-3 on field goals.
Utah State returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 3, when the Aggies conclude the home portion of their schedule against Air Force. The game, which will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network, is slated to kick off at 7:30 p.m.
A limited number of tickets for the Utah State-Air Force game went on sale this past Friday. Tickets are available on utahstateaggies.com, and fans can also contact the USU Athletics ticket office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation.