Vigil brothers lead Utah State to New Mexico Bowl win

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – After yet another injury, Utah State wound up needing its fifth-string quarterback. Fortunately for the Aggies, they had the Vigil brothers the whole way.

Nick Vigil ran for a touchdown and combined with his brother to make 16 tackles as Utah State shut down UTEP 21-6 Saturday in the New Mexico Bowl.

“Knowing that he’s talented, plays on both sides of the ball,” praised senior Zach Vigil, who made nine stops and was chosen the game’s defensive MVP.

The Aggies have one of the top-ranked defenses in the nation. The Vigils, a pair of linebackers who had combined for 551 career tackles, helped hold UTEP to 149 rushing yards and no touchdowns.

Utah State (10-4) won a bowl game for the third straight year. UTEP (7-6) is 0-6 in postseason play since winning the 1967 Sun Bowl.

When Kent Myers went down at the end of the first half, Wells called in Ronald Butler, a receiver and fifth-string quarterback, to close out the half. Butler then rushed for 69 yards in two carries.

“Those are the kind of things (that are) hard to coach,” Aggies coach Matt Wells said. “My hat is off to our players.”