Aggies drop another close game, fall to Boise State
Utah State led Boise State for a total of 56 minutes and two seconds on Nov. 28 at Maverik Stadium but was ultimately unable to finish the job as they fell 25-24 to the Broncos. A late touchdown from Boise State put them ahead, and the Aggies were unable to get into field goal range for a chance to win.
“Margins are thin, and they are in Mountain West conference games, and they certainly are as you’re working toward and want to be at the top part of the conference,” said head coach Bronco Mendenhall. “One or two plays were the difference tonight and disappointed that we didn’t win.”
Utah State started the game with the ball and punched it in for a touchdown on the opening drive. The Aggies were aided by two pass interference calls against the Broncos, one of which negated what would have been a Boise State pick-6.
Utah State forced a quick punt from Boise State, but a fumble from Bryson Barnes on the first play on the Aggie drive gave BSU the ball back on the 23. Utah State’s defense held strong again, limiting Boise State to just a field goal to lead 7-3. USU opponents have now only scored 17 points off of 10 Aggie turnovers on the season.
After a quick three-and-out from Utah State, Boise State took advantage of good starting field position and put together a quick four-play 46-yard touchdown drive to take the lead 10-7.
Utah State answered back swiftly, though, needing just 1:02 to find the endzone on a 56-yard touchdown run from Javen Jacobs to take back a 14-10 lead.
The Aggies got back on the board again late in the half, scoring on an 11-yard run from Miles Davis to go up 21-10 with 1:55 left in the half. The run came just one play after a controversial targeting call negated another Boise State interception in the endzone that would have kept USU scoreless.
The Broncos were able to tack on a 32-yard field goal before the half ended to make it 21-13 Aggies at intermission.
Coming out of the half, Utah State drew first blood with a 32-yard field goal on its second possession of the half, which would ultimately be the Aggies’ only points of the second half. The Broncos quickly responded with a 66-yard touchdown pass with an unsuccessful two-point try that tightened the score to 24-19 in favor of USU.
On the ensuing possession, Utah State drove the ball to the Boise State 14-yard line, where they faced a fourth-and-one. The Aggies opted to go for a knockout punch rather than take the points with a field goal but were stuffed on a Barnes keeper up the middle out of a shotgun formation.
The Aggie defense forced a punt from the Broncos on their next drive, but the lead remained at five.
With under six minutes remaining, Utah State had the ball again after a fumble recovery from Noah Avinger, staring down another fourth and one, this time from its own 40. The Aggies opted for the same play call as before, a Barnes run up the middle from the gun, and another negative run was the result.
“There’s the intuition part the coaches use, and then there’s the analytics part, which the book says. Both seemed right, and with Bryson — hard to convince me that he wouldn’t get both of them,” Mendenhall said. “Neither ended up working out, and I’m responsible for those calls. That’s what the head coach does and certainly believed we would get both.”
Seven plays later, with just 2:26 remaining, Boise State punched it in for a touchdown to take a 25-24 lead after another failed two-point conversion.
Utah State was unable to muster enough offense to get into field goal range before time expired, and the Broncos left victorious again.
“We came up short tonight,” Avinger said. “Obviously, that’s always hard, losing, especially your last regular-season game.”
Utah State’s season-long struggles continued, with the Aggies converting on just one of 10 third-down tries and tallying 11 penalties for 91 yards. Defensively, Utah State allowed Boise State to convert on 13 of its 24 third-down tries as the Broncos racked up 496 total yards.
“I think it needs to be pointed out – didn’t and haven’t been able to crack that code in terms of the penalties,” Mendenhall said. “Boise’s ability to play or execute on third down on both sides had an impact on the game.”
Utah State ultimately finished 6-6 in Mendenhall’s first season at the helm, earning itself a bowl game that will be announced next Sunday. Despite earning another postseason berth, the Aggies’ two losses in close, winnable games were the difference between 6-6 and an appearance in the Mountain West championship.