The Mountain West Conference in its current form — with 12 full-time football members — has been in existence since 2013.
During that time, tiers have emerged.
At the bottom are teams like UNLV, New Mexico and Hawaii. Over the last decade, the Rebels, Lobos and Warriors have regularly struggled in conference competition, even with some outlier seasons.
At the other end of the spectrum are the very best of the conference — Boise State, San Diego State and Fresno State. Those three programs have combined to win seven of the last nine conference titles and regularly, if not annually, compete at the top of the conference.
“The expectations are through the roof in both the fanbase and through the building.” — Utah State coach Blake Anderson
Then there is the middle tier and, generally speaking, that is where you’ll find Utah State.
It might not be fair to put the Aggies in the middle (the same could be argued about Air Force).
Utah State’s all-time winning percentage in MW competition (.571) is better than both Fresno State (.561) and San Diego State (.527), tied with Air Force and behind only Boise State (.770).
Since 2013, Utah State has had three 10-win seasons, a nine-win season and has finished with a winning record five times.
And yet, the Aggies aren’t often — if ever — viewed as one of the best programs in the conference.
Case in point, despite being the reigning MW champion, Utah State wasn’t picked to win its own division — the Mountain Division — this season.
That honor went to Boise State, which garnered 14 first-place votes. Air Force came in a close second in the Mountain Division with 10 first-place votes.
Fresno State, meanwhile, was selected to win the West Division with 20 first-place votes. San Diego State, also in the West Division, received eight first-place votes.
How many first-place votes did the Aggies get? A measly three.
Respect has been hard to come by for Utah State and there are reasons for that.
Some of it has to do with Boise State. The Broncos have thoroughly dominated the Aggies through the years and are 8-1 against USU in MW competition. There is no precedent to pick against Boise State at this point.
San Diego State, too, has had great success against the Aggies, the recent 2021 MW championship game notwithstanding. The Aztecs are 13-3 all-time against USU, though that calculus has shifted somewhat in the Aggies’ favor recently.
Utah State has had success of late against Fresno State, winning three of the last five meetings, and has been competitive against Air Force (the Falcons lead the series as MW conference foes 5-4), but there is general feeling that the Aggies aren’t on the same level with the best teams in the conference.
Utah State has also had a difficult time maintaining success when it has it.
The Aggies have never had back-to-back double-digit win seasons and twice since joining the MW have followed up a double-digit win season with a mediocre six- or seven-win campaign, years that were then followed by dismal three-win and one-win seasons.
There have been valid excuses for those setbacks, coaching changes especially, but the reality is Utah State hasn’t been able to sustain elite play since joining the MW.
This is where it is important to note that the last decade has been the most successful in Utah State football history.
Entering the 2022 season, though, Utah State has a chance to be more than just successful.
Defeat Boise State and, well, that would be a start.
Win another conference title and Utah State would join Boise State, San Diego State and Fresno State as the only current MW programs with multiple conference championships.
Win 10 or more games again and the Aggies will have finally demonstrated a little bit of staying power.
Upset No. 25 BYU in Provo or No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa (the latter being more than a long shot) and Utah State would enter national discourse with plenty of time remaining in the season to become more of a household name.
Expectations are high inside the program, no matter what outside observers think. Coaches and players haven’t been shy about that.
“The expectations are through the roof in both the fanbase and through the building,” Utah State coach Blake Anderson said.
There is also a lot of confidence that the Aggies can and will replace the standouts who sparked the resurgent 11-win campaign from a year ago. Players like wide receivers Deven Thompkins and Derek Wright, or defensive linemen Marcus Moore and Nick Heninger.
“I feel really confident,” Aggie quarterback Logan Bonner said. “We are way past where we were last year. Especially for me. We are farther along (at this time) than we were last year, so I am really confident in what we can do.”
Utah State isn’t a finished product at this point. No team is and the Aggies have to replace 50% of their total production from last season.
There is a feeling within the program, though, that Utah State’s system and culture work. That what Anderson and company have installed leads to success.
After all, Anderson did win multiple Sun Belt championships at Arkansas State and executed one of the greatest turnarounds in all of college football last season in Logan.
“We will stick to our formula and our approach,” Anderson said. “I think our kids know that if we do that well, we will have a chance to be successful.”
Maybe even finally elite.
