Utes are red, Aggies are blue

This Saturday, the Utah State Aggies will welcome the Utah Utes to Maverik Stadium for the first time since 2012, when the Aggies took down the Utes in a 27-20 overtime thriller. Since Utah’s 2011 migration to the PAC-12 Conference, these two teams have played each other just three times, and this week’s matchup marks the first time they will face off on the gridiron since 2015. With this highly anticipated in-state game on the docket for this Saturday, here’s a brief history of these teams and their head-to-head matchups. 

University of Utah and Utah State first met on Nov. 25, 1892, where Utah State, then the Agricultural College of Utah, claimed victory 12-0. It was another eight years before the teams faced each other again in 1900, with the Utes leaving Logan victorious, defeating the Aggies 21-0. In the first 11 matchups of the two schools, the losing team was shut out an astounding ten times.  

The U and Utah State spent 47 years together in the same conference, between the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the Mountain States Conference from 1914 and 1961. In 1962, the Mountain States Conference was dissolved. Utah left to form the Western Athletic Conference and Utah State became independent until it joined the Big West Conference in 1977. In their time spent together as conference foes, the Utes and the Aggies matched up 44 times, the Utes boasting a 31-10-3 record in those competitions.  

USU and the U have met 10 times since 2003. In the 10 attempts, Utah State left triumphant just once, with their lone victory coming in their 2012 upset at Maverik Stadium. While they haven’t been conference foes since 1962, the Aggies and the Utes have spent nonoverlapping time in the same conferences over the past two decades. After being denied entry to the WAC in 1962, the Aggies eventually joined the conference in 2005, just six years after the Utes left for the Mountain West Conference in 1999. Similarly, Utah State left the WAC in 2013 to join Mountain West two years after Utah exited for PAC-12.  

While the two schools haven’t met on a football field since 2015, both programs have been on the rise since their last meeting. Since 2015, Utah State has claimed a 51-46 record with six bowl game appearances and has won their first-ever Mountain West Championship in 2021. In the same period, the Utes have gone a combined 67-33 with seven bowl game appearances, claiming the PAC-12 Championship in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022.  

This year’s competition will feel a little more personal for several players on each side with familiar faces all around. After spending three years in Salt Lake City with the Utes, quarterback Bryson Barnes is now in Logan and suiting up for the Aggies. In his three years as a Ute, Barnes saw extensive playing time, replacing injured starter Cam Rising in all three seasons. In his debut year in Aggie Blue, Barnes has seen plenty of action after the injury to USU starter Spencer Petras in the season opener. He will possibly see time this weekend against his former team. Additionally, former Utah safety Jadon Pearson is now defending for Utah State and making his impact felt early for the Aggie secondary. On the other side, new Ute Paul Fitzgerald joined the squad after playing in all 13 games for Utah State during their 2023 campaign.  

While there has been nearly a decade separating the last time these two teams played, expect plenty of fireworks to come at kickoff on Saturday. Both teams have plenty of recent success to draw on and have proven there are plenty of explosive players to go around early this season. With the Utes looking to establish themselves in their first year in the Big 12 and the Aggies hoping to come up with a statement win at home, it will be an exciting installment of the ongoing feud this Saturday in Logan.