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It was a second half to remember for the Aggies, notwithstanding a couple of potentially costly mistakes.
Utah State made several massive plays on both sides of the ball during the final two quarters on its way to a gritty, gratifying come-from-behind 28-17 road victory over Fresno State in a Mountain West football game on late Saturday evening at Valley Children's Stadium.
USU, which came storming back from a 17-7 halftime deficit, broke a seven-game road losing streak and became bowl eligible for the 12th time in a 15-season stretch, in the process.
"The defense played consistent the whole second half, and Bryson Barnes and the offense then just methodically just play after play after play ended up taking over the game," USU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "And I couldn't be more proud, trailing at halftime on the road against a really good team and then to carve our way back, to pull ahead and then seal the game, what a fitting tribute to who these kids have become from game one to now."
The Aggies (6-5, 4-3 MW) completely flipped the script after a rough first half as they outscored the Bulldogs (7-4, 4-3) 21-0 during the final 30 minutes of action, plus finished with a big 245-105 edge in total offense during that timespan. USU found paydirt on three of its first four possessions of the second half after struggling to sustain anything offensively in the early going.
"It wasn't a somber locker room, but it was a determined locker room at halftime, and there wasn't discouragement, but there was some frustration that we were in the situation we were, meaning we were behind," Mendenhall said. "We knew that's not where we wanted to be against this team, but there was belief, there was a lot of hard coaching, there were a lot of really clear corrections that needed to happen. And, again, I tribute our coordinators for getting the messages across that needed to be gotten across, and then our players for taking those messages and executing it, and then having the outcome that we did."
Barnes, USU's tough-as-nails quarterback, took a beating throughout the evening, but at times willed his team to its first victory over a bowl eligible team this season. No. 16 threw for 150 yards, rushed for another 113 on a bruising 23 attempts and orchestrated back-to-back TD drives that lasted 15 and 13 plays, respectively, as the visitors wrestled control of the game.
"I've not seen anything like that in my coaching career," Mendenhall said of Barnes. "The number of hits he's taken this year, the number of runs he's taken, the number of players he's just had fierce contact with, usually initiated by him, the number of sacks, the number of just physical plays, I'm not sure there's been a player I've been more impressed with, with his resolve, his grit, his fortitude, his toughness, his pain threshold, his commitment, the way he comes back each week and then plays again, he's remarkable. I mean, you could devote five headlines to him and just keep writing it out all the way out to the new year, and and it wouldn't get old to me. I mean, he's exceptional. That I became the head coach at Utah State and I inherited him, I don't know what aligned, but, man, I'm grateful."
The Aggies pared their deficit to 17-14 on their second well-executed trick play of the contest. Running back Noah White took the hand-off from Barnes and pitched it to Anthony Garcia on the full sprint, and the QB-receiver found Barnes open in the end zone from two yards out with 5:48 remaining in the third quarter.
It was Garcia's second TD pass of the game and the first one was a beauty. The sophomore hauled in a pass from Barnes behind the line of scrimmage and dropped a 24-yard dime to Brady Boyd in the middle of the end zone to pull USU even at 7-7 in the first quarter. It was Boyd's team-leading seventh TD catch of the season and Garcia is now up to four TD tosses.
The Aggies then took the lead at the 10:37 mark of the fourth quarter on a 19-yard run by Javen Jacobs, who broke a tackle and then showcased his speed. Barnes had a couple of gritty runs on that scoring march, highlighted by a 13-yard scamper on a third-and-13 play.
USU was able to extend its advantage to 28-17, courtesy of a 32-yard run by Jacobs less than five minutes after his first foray into the end zone.
"Javen Jacobs, man, there were some really nice runs, so he came into his own also and kind of John Wooden's definition of competitive greatness, right? Being at your best when your best is needed," Mendenhall said. "Javen Jacobs was also kind of a glue component to that in those drives in the second half."
USU made a couple of big mistakes offensively after halftime, starting with a Miles Davis fumble that FSU recovered at the Aggie 19-yard line in the third quarter. Indeed, the Bulldogs had a golden opportunity to extend their 17-14 lead, but Aggie linebacker Bronson Olevao Jr. intercepted an errant pass that deflected off the hands of a receiver.
"There's a lot of ups and downs," Barnes said. "That's a game of football right there in a nutshell. Like, you're going to have your ups, you're going to have your downs. You're going to have your really highs, then you're going to have some really low lows. So, for us to hit a big low and then for our defense to create a big high for our team, it was great to come back, reset and go get that drive because I do believe we scored within about two plays after we got that interception back."
It was Olevao's second INT in as many games.
"I mean, nothing special this week," said Olevao, who also came through with a big sack and another crucial tackle for loss Saturday. "It was just I was in the right place at the right time. (The quarterback) threw a tipped ball to the receiver and I was right there to catch it. But what we were talking right before that drive is it's on us as a defense, it's on us to create something ...and I'm glad I was right there in the position to make that play and kind of shift the momentum back, so our offense (could capitalize). Props to them (our offense). They were resilient the entire game."
USU's other second-half mishap on offense was an interception off a tipped pass. Barnes, to his credit, tackled 300-pound defensive tackle Deijon Laffitte on the INT to potentially prevent a pick six.
USU's defense made sure FSU didn't capitalize on either of its takeaways — which has been a theme this season. Case in point: The Aggies have turned the ball over eight times during the 2025 campaign, yet have only allowed 14 points off of those takeaways.
It was, simply put, a clutch defensive performance by the Aggies, who limited the Bulldogs to just three first downs after halftime. USU especially fared well on third-and fourth-down plays, inasmuch as FSU only converted on 3 of 14 third downs and none of its three fourth downs.
"The fourth downs, man, what just a great plan, but also super execution in critical moments because, man, they're hard to get off the field with the way they run the football," Mendenhall said. "And then third down, I mean, again, those two things allowed our offense to have the opportunities. Now, our offense then needed to execute and remain consistent, but our defense kept giving them the opportunities, the opportunities, the opportunities, the opportunities, and eventually that took hold."
The Aggies did allow two explosive touchdowns in the opening half — the first a 69-yard run by Rayshon Luke and the second a 43-yard pass from E.J. Warner to Jahili McClain with 39 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Otherwise, the visitors got the job done on that side of the ball.
Star safety and Cache Valley native Ike Larsen made several big plays for the Aggies, highlighted by a third-down pass breakup at the line of scrimmage when the Bulldogs had an open receiver out of the backfield. Larsen finished with a season-high eight tackles, including one for a loss.
Cornerback Noah Avinger chipped in with seven tackles and a pair of PBUs — one on a crucial third-down play — while Tyree Morris produced a sack for USU, which got a massive open field tackle from true freshman safety Charger Doty early in the second quarter to prevent the Bulldogs from converting on a third-down pass.
The Aggies rushed for a hard-fought 227 yards — highlighted by 113 by Barnes and 68 by Jacobs — on their way to 403 total yards, which is 114 more than the Bulldogs typically allow. USU standout receiver Braden Pegan accounted for 79 yards on eight receptions, but did suffer what appeared to be potentially a serious leg or knee injury midway through the fourth quarter.
Indeed, the Aggies had to overcome quite a bit of adversity Saturday — including a badly missed 46-yard field goal by Tanner Rinker on the final play of the first half — but still managed to earn by far their best win of the season. Mendenhall spent a fair amount more time than normal with his team in the locker room following the game.
"I didn't want to come (do this press conference)," Mendenhall said. "Doug (Hoffman) dragged me (out). I love being with my team. They're amazing and to see them happy is the greatest reward for any parent or coach. And (there were just) lots of smiles and lots of tears, and there were lots of I love yous, lots of hugs. I mean, that's quite a contrast from just everyday life and, yeah, when you have a chance to be in that environment and soak it up with people you care about and love, no offense to you guys, but I wish I was still in there."
