It was going Utah State’s way in Friday’s game against Boise State as the Aggies held a 24-13 lead late in the third quarter.
If they could hold on it would mean an undefeated home record for the first time since 2018 and the program’s first win over Boise State since 2015.
Unfortunately for Utah State, a collapse down the stretch allowed the Broncos to come back and win 25-24, keeping them alive for a Mountain West championship berth.
“Margins are thin in Mountain West Conference games, and they certainly are as you’re working toward being at the top part of the conference,” Aggies head coach Bronco Mendenhall said.
“One or two plays were the difference tonight, and yeah, I’m disappointed that we didn’t win. I’m glad to be with our team one more time at a bowl somewhere, and I look forward to spending every second I can with them.”
Friday afternoon was never a very clean game for the Aggies. They did score on the opening drive and led 21-10 late in the second quarter, but their theme of ending halves poorly continued.
Following Miles Davis’ 11-yard touchdown run that put Utah State up by 11, Boise State marched down 60 yards and punched in a field goal right before halftime.
While Utah State led at halftime, a concerning trend arose: Boise State was dominating time of possession. The Aggie defense had some flashes, but more often than not, the offense just couldn’t keep itself on the field.
In total, Boise State controlled the ball for 36:58 while Utah State held it for only 23:02.
The second half started in favor of the Aggies as the defense got two consecutive stops and the offense earned a field goal to go up 24-13.
That 11-point lead was the biggest of the night for either team, but it didn’t last long after a 66-yard touchdown pass from Broncos backup quarterback Max Cutforth to Quinton Brown late in the third quarter.
Boise State missed a two-point try, however, making the score 24-19 with 3:17 remaining in the third quarter.
Utah State had plenty of opportunities to push it back out to a two-score lead, but two ill-advised decisions from the sideline on fourth downs aided Boise State in the comeback.
The first was a decision to go for it on fourth down early in the fourth quarter. Utah State had the 24-19 lead, and about a 31-yard field goal would’ve given it an eight-point lead. Instead, they tried to go to Bryson Barnes but he was tackled for a loss.
The second came on a drive that was started with a huge fumble recovery by the Aggie defense. The Aggies got down to the USU 42 and it was fourth and inches.
The Boise State offense was already gifted three drives that started in Utah State territory and it scored on two of those. Mendenhall elected to go for it again, and a failed conversion gifted Boise State a short field, which it turned into the game winning touchdown.
Utah State has struggled on third down conversions all year, but Friday’s game may have been the hardest time it’s had. On both third and fourth downs the Aggies converted only once on 12 total attempts.
“When you’re backed up behind the sticks, like third and long, or fourth and medium, it’s hard for a play caller,” running back Javen Jacobs said. “It’s hard for us to convert when we hurt ourselves with penalties, or we let up a sack or something like that.
“I think that we’ve been able to move on from that and not let that dictate the game. We bounce back and create another explosive play and we’re right back in it. I think if we don’t hurt ourselves on either side of the ball, we’re going to do so much better.”
Even with the 25-24 deficit following the Boise State touchdown, the game wasn’t over yet. The Utah State offense only needed a field goal, and it had 2:26 left to make something happen.
Well, that game-winning drive never came. In fact, Utah State had its worst drive of the night, as a holding call and a sack made for a quick three-and-out.
The defense did its job after it forced a third turnover on downs, but the offense only had 25 seconds left.
Barnes seemed to give the offense hope on a 16-yard run for a first down, but two flags were thrown, and both penalties were holding against USU linemen.
Barnes had back-to-back completed long throws, but time ran out on the last 32-yard throw.
He was sacked twice on Friday and USU also gave up nine tackles for loss and four QB hurries. Barnes ended the night with 184 passing yards on a 42% completion percentage. He added 89 yards on the ground.
Jacobs had a standout game with 145 all purpose yards (92 rushing and 53 receiving and a touchdown.
Boise State is now tied with San Diego State and New Mexico at the top of the Mountain West standings at 6-2. UNLV could join that group with a win over Nevada on Saturday. With the ties, the Mountain West will use four metrics to decide which teams will earn berths in the conference championship game.
Utah State’s season doesn’t end here, as a win last week over Fresno State made it bowl-eligible. The Aggies’ bowl destination will be announced on Dec. 7.