Pac-12 · Bronco Mendenhall, year 2 (6-9) · Maverik Stadium · 25,513 · 20,723 avg in 2026
LastL 14–16 at Washington · Sat Sep 12 · James Jennette 1 sacks, 2 TFL, 2 tackles
Nextat Utah · Sat Sep 19 · 3:30 pm ET · Rice-Eccles Stadium · Utah by 28 · series 28-73-4, lost the last 3 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 5 | #52 | #157 | -14.5✗ | Idaho State | L 17–29 151 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Sep 12 | #56 | #25 | +28.5✓ | @Washington | L 14–16 132 | 0-2 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 19 | #55 | #30 | +28 | @Utah | |||
| 4 | Sep 26 | #56 | #122 | Troy | ||||
| 5 | Oct 3 | @Boise State | ||||||
| 6 | Oct 10 | Washington State | ||||||
| 8 | Oct 24 | @Texas State | ||||||
| 9 | Oct 31 | Colorado State | ||||||
| 10 | Nov 8 | Fresno State | ||||||
| 11 | Nov 15 | @San Diego State | ||||||
| 12 | Nov 22 | @Oregon State |
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Explosive% | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | @Washington | L 14–16 | 271 | 3 | 24:55 | -0.015 | 31.0% | 166.6% | |
| Sep 5 | Idaho State | L 17–29 | 407 | 4 | 33:33 | +0.095 | 42.7% | 119.5% | |
| Season average (2 games) | 339 | 3.5 | +0.040 | 36.9% | 143.0% | ||||
Utah State is the high-altitude Cache Valley program that hands you a loss when you're not looking — now steadied by a veteran rebuilder and, improbably, packing its bags for the Pac-12.
Aggie fans have spent forever as the state's third program, behind Utah and BYU, told Logan is too small and too cold to matter. They'll point to the Pac-12 invitation and ask which little brother is…
The season in chapters
What fans said
Real posts from the day of the game, chosen by community score · usernames not shown
What it is like to watch them2025 · 6-7 · last season
✓ measured from 13 games · ranks are among Mountain West teams the same season
Recent form · last 10 games · incl. 2025
Cold. 3-7 over the last 10, and lost the last four.
In my first go here at Utah State as a true freshman — I wouldn’t say I was underprepared — I think that the moment was a lot, taking that all in at the time
Next Sep 19
vs Utah · away
~ our read on style
Market outlook
Sportsbook consensus · best odds across multiple books · 2026-09-14
the open questionwhere does it go from here?
Bronco Mendenhall begins his first season at Utah State with a 6-7 losing record to inherit and a program identity rooted in 2012's 11-2 season.
our readdeveloping
Brady Boyd: a garbage time merchant signal screened this season.
our readbackground
Outcome band · Utah State · 2026
Floor, base and ceiling come from the season-path projection, which plays out conference title games and the CFP — so a ceiling can run past 12 games.
Utah State win total rose from 5 to 5.5 (+0.5 wins) between Jun 24 and Jun 25, 2026 (tier C). It is win total up 0.5 from 5.0 to 5.5. The market moved; the fan base is split on what it means. Oddsmakers react to information, not sentiment — but that doesn't mean they're right. The room is divided — bulls and bears both have game-specific cases.
The off-field storyline driving the noise right now. Not analysis — the soap opera, and that's the point.
The 'market knows something fans don't' read -- when odds move, it's on information.
This event was in 252 of 1195 board posts (21%) over the last 60 days — a fanbase consumed by it. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
Board health this week (70 posts): 17% positive · 37% neutral · 46% negative. Team-level weekly mood — not specific to this event. The boards ≠ the fanbase: a self-selected vocal slice.
Fan mood index · most recent r/cfb data
More in this tab
Utah State is the Mountain West program whose 2012 11-2 + Famous Idaho Potato Bowl + Maverik Stadium altitude define what Logan-Utah-G5-football looks like.
The program ledger
since 2025Utah State hires assistant AD
Mendenhall's front office is getting rebuilt from the inside out — an assistant AD hire while the roster sits at #97 nationally and win totals are barely inching up isn't cosmetic, it's structural groundwork.
Utah State honors Dave Kuresa with trophy
Kuresa's trophy moment is the kind of culture-building Mendenhall leans on while the depth class sits at #97 — you win the room before you win the conference.
Matt Wells joins Utah State staff
Wells knows this program's bones — a #96 class and a thin P room don't scare a guy who already built Aggies into a MWC contender once, and Mendenhall just bought himself a coach who doesn't need a learning curve.
Monson Tukuafu commits to Utah
Utah locks up an in-state kid before he could look elsewhere — depth class ranked #87 nationally means the Utes need every homegrown brick they can get.
Win total: 5 → 5.5 (▲0.5)
Mendenhall hire bought half a win on the board — market's not sold yet, but a #87 class with real pressure at punter doesn't scream 'ceiling raised,' it screams 'wait and see.'
Top 3 commits
Recruiting Footprint · 2026
UT leads the 2026 class with 9 commits. National footprint reaching 9 states.
Where they recruit · 2023-2026
101 signees across 22 states, 2023-2026. UT leads the pull.
That is 25.2% of every high-school FBS signee UT produced over those cycles — second only to BYU, 2 signees back. The full map →
Miles from home · 2026 roster
The median Utah State player grew up 580 miles from campus.
Half this roster came from closer than that; half came from farther.
Straight-line distance from each player's listed hometown to Maverik Stadium. Hometowns are placed at city-centroid precision, not street address — fine at this scale, but a player's true door-to-door number can differ by a few miles. 158 of 166 listed players have a geocoded hometown. Source: CFBD roster hometowns.
Top community posts · last 12 months · r/cfb
Fan confidence lower than any point since 2019
15th percentile among FBS programs
The bounces have gone their way on the fumbles they've forced: 57% recovered, vs. ~49% expected.
4 of 7 forced fumbles recovered; 6 of 12 own fumbles recovered themselves, 2025 only.
Roughly even on flags: 16 penalties committed vs. 14 drawn on opponents.
118 penalty yards committed vs. 115 drawn on opponents, 2026 season total.
Outcome band · Utah State · 2026
Recruiting Footprint · 2026