Mother nature decided to try the intestinal fortitude of two struggling Western Athletic Conference football teams on Saturday afternoon. The Utah State Aggies (3-7, 2-4) hosted the San Jose State Spartans (1-8, 0-5) amid a flurry of snowstorms and sub-freezing temperatures at E.L. Romney Stadium in Logan, Utah. The Aggies dug deeper and came away with a 24-9 victory. Diondre Borel and Robert Turbin pounded the Spartans on the ground. Turbin eclipsed the 1000 yard mark for the season as he posted 190 yards on 24 carries. His total on the year is now at 1122 yards. The school record for rushing yards in a season stands at 1536 by Demario Brown. Turbin also scored two touchdowns in the first half. Diondre Borel carried 12 times for 73 yards. The Spartans were threatening to score late in the second quarter but USU safety Walter McClenton forced a fumble which was recovered by teammate Rajric Coleman. The Aggies went into half time with a 14-0 lead. Utah State’s bid for a shutout ended in the third quarter when SJSU turned an Aggie special teams blunder into six points. A snap sailed over punter Peter Caldwell’s head. He managed to recover it and get a punt off but it sailed out of bounds after passing the line of scrimmage by only two yards. The Spartans capitalized on a touchdown run by RB Lamon Muldrow. The two point conversion failed and the Aggies led 14-6. San Jose State threatened again trailing by only one touchdown but a false start on a 4th and 1 forced the Spartans to attempt a 31 yard field goal. Tyler Cope made the kick and put San Jose within striking distance of the lead, 14-9. Midway through the game it became apparent that Utah State wasn’t going to have to throw the ball to be successful against the San Jose defense. The Aggies had 251 yards rushing at the break and finished with 381 yards. Derrvin Speight made a contribution of 70 yards on the ground to the Aggie effort including a touchdown run in the final quarter to put USU up 24-9. The Aggies essentially abandoned the passing game in the 4th quarter. Borel finished with just 50 yards on 7 for 18 passing. The Spartans passed for 245 yards on the game but struggled to run the football against the Aggie defense. Muldrow had 46 of SJSU’s 56 rushing yards. The Aggies play their final home game of the 2009 season next Friday night, November 20 vs. the #6 Boise State Broncos. Make plans to come support the Aggies and represent Utah State University Athletics well in this nationally televised Friday night game.