LARAMIE, Wyo. – JoJo Natson returned a punt 80 yards for touchdown and had a 66-yard scoring run to help Utah State beat Wyoming 20-3 Friday on night.
Utah State (7-3, 4-1 Mountain West) became bowl eligible for the fourth straight year. The Aggies have never played in four consecutive bowl games.
The 80-yard punt return is Natson’s longest in the two years he has been returning punts and the second punt the junior wide receiver has returned for a TD this season. The 66-yard run also was the longest of his career.
Natson’s punt return and scoring run both came in the Aggies’ 17point first quarter.
On the punt return, Natson faked right and broke left all the way down the sideline. His scoring run also went down the left side after he came across the formation and raced around the left tackle.
Kent Myers completed 13 of 16 passes for 150 yards.
Nick Diaz had field goals of 20 and 28 yards for Utah State, which had to make the trip to Laramie and a short turnaround after playing at Hawaii the previous weekend.
While the Aggies gained 356 total yards, they were held to 2 of 10 on third-down conversions.
Wyoming (4-6, 2-4) was led by last week’s national player of the week, Brian Hill, who ran for 122 yards on 25 carries. It was Hill’s third consecutive 100-yard game since entering the lineup full-time on Oct. 24 because of injuries to Wyoming’s top two running backs.
Hill had 387 all-purpose yards, including 281 rushing, in Wyoming’s 45-17 victory over Fresno State last week.
Against Utah State, the Cowboys ran 75 plays and gained 363 yards, but two interceptions and 10 penalties for 95 yards thwarted several scoring opportunities.
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