Win or lose Saturday in College Station, Texas, Utah State will walk away with pockets a lot more full than when it arrived.
According to multiple reports, Texas A&M will pay USU $1.65 million in guaranteed money to play this weekend at Kyle Field.
Later this month on Sept. 27, Utah State will make another trip to SEC country, this time to Vanderbilt. The Commodores reportedly will pay USU $1 million to play that game.
Last year, Utah State played both USC and Utah in the nonconference. The Trojans gave the Aggies $1.45 million, while the Utes agreed to go play in Logan in exchange for a pair of future games between the in-state rivals in Salt Lake City.
In 2023, Iowa paid Utah State $1.65 million to play a game in Iowa City, and in 2022, Alabama paid the Aggies $1.91 million to make the trip down to Tuscaloosa.
No one will dispute the values of the funds raised by playing “money games” for Utah State athletics. In the ever increasingly expensive world of college athletics, with NIL and revenue sharing taking center stage, money games are vital for smaller, less funded programs like Utah State.
Are there benefits beyond the financial, though?
Is Utah State going to get something else out of making the trip to College Station this weekend to play one of the most talented teams — based on blue-chip ratio — in all of college football? Even if the Aggies don’t walk away with a win.
Head coach Bronco Mendenhall was clear — he believes so.
“Man, besides just a great challenge, a great opportunity and to play college football, I love the chance to play really good teams,“ he said. ”I love the chance to test the mettle of our team, our staff and our program. And the metrics (of money games) are always really helpful."
Mendenhall also noted that the Aggies aren’t going to concede anything to Texas A&M. Texas A&M might be ranked No. 19 in the country, but Utah State isn’t going to give up before even playing a down at Kyle Field. Not this Aggie team.
Mendenhall did note, however, that while money games have a purpose and benefit, he is not a fan of playing multiple money games in a single season. And if he had his druthers, Utah State will only play a single money game per season with him at the helm.
“I never have an issue with picking a game like this and playing it,” he said. “It’s usually not wise to play two of those games per year. A lot of times, when you choose to play two of those games, with a very difficult conference full of parity, you end up damaging your team.
“Even though you might grow financially, it’s usually the expense of your roster. Sometimes it’s at the expense of confidence and it’s really hard to sustain.”
Per FBS Schedules, Utah State currently doesn’t have two money games on the books in a single season after this year, although seasons when the Aggies are slated to play Utah in Salt Lake City (in 2026 and in 2031) seem likely to include another Power 4 conference opponent who will pay USU to play.
That is unless Mendenhall gets his way.
“You can count on a game like this every year that I’m the head coach,” Mendenhall said. “I’d prefer not to play two. I’ve inherited some. When you take over programs, sometimes games are scheduled like five years out, but I would advise against playing two of those games (in a single season). The focus is to win the conference championship.
“I’m not talking about being afraid (of playing P4 teams) nor talking about conceding a victory. I’m just talking about the travel, managing the roster, and having your best chance to win the conference.”
