The Bronco Mendenhall era of Utah State football officially began Saturday night, and the Aggies got things started the way their fans would’ve hoped — with a win over the UTEP Miners.
The Aggies defeated the Miners 28-16, overcoming an uneven performance in the process.
Here are three takeaways from the Aggies’ season-opening win.
Bryson Barnes didn’t disappoint as QB1
Barnes has had a long college football career, defined to this point as being one of the better backup quarterbacks the state of Utah has seen.
First at Utah and then at Utah State, Barnes had been a backup extraordinaire, filling in admirably for injured starting QBs over multiple seasons. In this his sixth and final season, Barnes is finally QB1 outright and he did not disappoint in his new role.
Barnes completed nearly 70% of his passes thrown Saturday, for 229 yards and a touchdown. He also showed off his legs, rushing for 29 yards and a score (his rushing yardage was seriously dampened by six sacks he took).
More than the statistics, though, Barnes looked comfortable from the opening series, in command of new offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven’s offense.
He spread the ball around as needed — six Aggies had at least one reception — and was able to connect on passes at every level — deep, intermediate and short. It was evident that the Aggies are his team.
Barnes wasn’t perfect. Far from it in fact. While some of his sacks were smart in the moment — late in the game he took one to keep the clock ticking down to the final whistle — many were a result of him trying to do too much or holding onto the ball for too long.
Barnes didn’t completely command the field with his arm, either, with most of his effective throws coming as he rolled out of the pocket to his right.
His pocket presence wasn’t great, but it was Game 1 and his first season-opening start ever, plus he has a host of new players around him in addition to the new OC.
All things considered, Barnes was good and validated Mendenhall and his staff’s decision to ride with him as QB1.
The defense felt decidedly different
With a new defensive coordinator (Nick Howell) and a host of new players, there wasn’t really a question as to whether or not USU’s defense would look different in 2025 than it did in 2024 (or even 2023).
Realistically, it had to, but from the opening series Saturday, the Aggies not only looked different on defense, they felt different, too.
From the outset it was obvious the team had bought into the mantra of getting as many helmets on the ball as possible. Most of the time a Miner got stopped, in the first half especially, it was because multiple Aggies were in on the play.
USU defenders were flying around, showing an energy that had been lacking for years now. A three-man front, though undersized a bit, was largely effective for Utah State. UTEP barely rushed for over 100 yards in the game, and averaged under three yards per carry (if you include sacks).
The Aggies’ linebacking corps was excellent, led by senior John Miller (10 tackles, a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss), but he wasn’t alone, as both Bronson Olevao Jr., and Chris Joe made a real impact.
No one should mistake UTEP for an elite offensive team, but the Aggies nonetheless held the Miners to fewer than 300 total yards of offense and only two touchdowns. Outside of a late third quarter/early fourth quarter drive, USU’s defense never let UTEP get into any real sort of rhythm.
The is still a lot of work to do. The interior of the Aggies’ front was too soft for much of the game and the secondary was beat multiple times — once for a touchdown.
But on the whole, defense wasn’t the glaring weakness for Utah State.
Discipline issues remain
One thing that was supposed to be a thing of the past after Mendenhall took over was a lack of discipline by the Aggies.
During the previous era, USU was defined by a lack of discipline. The Aggies simply couldn’t get their emotions under control and get out of their own way, in multiple seasons.
Mendenhall was supposed to change all that, though, with his no-nonsense approach. Through one game — and yes, it is just one game — that hasn’t exactly happened.
Utah State did avoid some of the personal foul penalties that had become the norm in previous years, but not all. The Aggies finished the game with 11 penalties for 73 yards, though not all were bad penalties and not all were because of a lack of discipline.
UTEP had fewer penalties but for more yards (eight for 85), an indication that many of the Aggies’ penalties were less egregious mistakes. Still there were enough late hits, holding and/or false starts to effectively neuter Utah State for much of the second half.
Those penalties, that lack of discipline, ultimately didn’t hurt Utah State in the end. The Aggies walked away with a relatively convincing victory. But double digit penalties is not ideal and feels a little like a return of the old Aggies.