Boise State’s Bryan Harsin comments on budding USU rivalry

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Oct 16, 2015; Logan, UT, USA; Utah State Aggies quarterback Kent Myers (2) carries the ball past Boise State Broncos defensive tackle Tyler Horn (69) in the first half at Romney Stadium.

Two seasons ago, Utah State football traveled to Boise with a spot in the Mountain West Conference title game on the line, only to be crushed by the Broncos 50-19. However, the Aggies returned the favor last season forcing eight Boise State turnovers en route to a 52-26 thumping in Logan.

At the Mountain West media days event in Las Vegas on Tuesday, BSU head coach Bryan Harsin spoke about the matchup between two of the top teams in the Mountain Division.

“I think Boise State and Utah State are two very good football teams in our conference, and I think there’s obviously a rivalry, just because of our location,” Harsin said. “As far as prediction, I don’t know. You know both teams are going to be preparing. We’re going to have a few games under our belt at that point, but it’s going to be a big game for both of us because it’s going to be a conference game and it’s a Mountain game. I don’t know how it’s all going to turn out … They played really well against us last year, the previous year we played really well.”

The Aggies put themselves in position to win the division and compete for a conference title after last season’s mid-October victory, but dropped three of their next four games and fell out of contention.

“I don’t think anything changed, I think we just got a little too high on ourselves and as a team,” said senior offensive lineman Austin Stephens. “I think it was a good learning lesson for all of us. We learn the hard way sometimes. It’s always tough to learn the hard way, but we’ve got to do it right? So to learn it that way was hard, but I think we’ve used that to motivate us as we go forward into the season and I think we can build on those things last year.”
USU will play the Broncos this season on Oct. 1 at Albertsons Stadium in Boise. The Aggies open the season with a home matchup against Weber State on Sept. 1.