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LOGAN — Say what you will, the pig farmer went for it.
Against his former team in the Battle of the Brothers game Saturday, Utah State transfer quarterback Bryson Barnes played with the same reckless abandon Utah fans grew accustomed to seeing over his 2023 season in Salt Lake City.
The result was some thrills, and some mistakes.
In the third quarter, Barnes' daring 14-yard scramble on third-and-15 set up a manageable fourth down, on which he fired a dart to Colby Bowman for a critical conversion. The Aggies proceeded downfield and scored to cut the Utes lead to 28-21.
There were other plays Barnes would like to have back, like an under thrown ball into Utah territory while leading 14-10 in the second quarter that got picked off and swung the momentum.
Barnes' final stat line of 16-of-31 passing with 223 yards, 49 rushing yards, two passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown and two interceptions wasn't nearly enough for the underdog Aggies to shock the No. 12 Utes in front of over 24,000 fans at Maverik Stadium.
Yet in a 38-21 loss, the performance taught Aggies fans what Utes fans already knew: When needed, the gun-slinging kid from Milford will take the risks necessary to give his team a chance.
"He's the toughest player on the field when he's out there," interim head coach Nate Dreiling said. "And he willed our way to stay in that game."
Everything needed to align for Barnes to get a shot against his former team. It was announced just last year the Utah-Utah State game was to be renewed for the first time since 2015, and the Aggies would get the chance to host the first matchup.
Barnes, the Utah backup who stepped up during Cam Rising's absence last season, was again the backup after transferring to Utah State. That was until starting quarterback Spencer Petras went down in the season opener, thrusting Barnes into the spotlight.
Coming off a scoreless effort against USC, expectations weren't high against the Utes' stalwart defense, with many questioning if Utah State was even capable of sniffing the end zone.
The Barnes-led offense laid those doubts to rest; then, for a moment, flirted with the upset.
In the first quarter, a poised Barnes pump faked, stepped up and dropped a perfect ball into the arms of Otto Tia for a 39-yard gain. The next play, Barnes scanned the field and found Broc Lane for a wide open touchdown pass to take an early lead.
Barnes kept his sights downfield the next possession, inserting a bomb 35 yards to a spot where only Jalen Royals could catch it, and the receiver hauled in the one-handed grab. The next play, a dart to Jack Hestera went for another touchdown, and the Aggies led 14-3.
"He's a dog," said running back Rahsul Faison. "He really wants it. So when you're that type of player, good things will happen."
Utah punched back with a 25-0 run, and looked poised to run away with the game. But with momentum slipping in the third quarter, Barnes' third-down run sparked life back into the team.
"His best play of the game," Dreiling said.
Ultimately, costly mistakes and Utah's superior talent did Utah State in. Some miscues were on Barnes' hands; his second quarter pick brought the Utes back on the field, and they scored a touchdown before halftime to retake the lead.
In the fourth quarter, Barnes overthrew a ball to an open Tia, which, if caught, would have likely cut the score back to one possession.
"When you're playing a team like Utah, who's picked to win the Big 12 … things have to go pretty perfect," Dreiling said.
But, overall, the Aggies' offensive performance was night-and-day different from last week's showing in Los Angeles — and the pig farmer provided the spark.
Faison rushed for 119 yards on 19 carries; Tia had five receptions for 78 yards, and Royals, Lane and Hestera went for over 40 reception yards. The showing suggested Utah State has the firepower necessary to compete in the Mountain West this season, and kept the game against the Utes competitive.
"I told the offensive coaches, 'Hey, let's slow this thing down against SC.' That was not how they do things and that was 100% my fault," Dreiling said. "I stayed out of their way … you saw what they could do. They scored 21 points against what's probably going to go down as a top three-to-five defense in the country, and that's with a backup quarterback and two receivers getting knocked out of the game."
