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Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes (16) dives into the end zone as Hawaii defensive back Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen (29), defensive back Matagi Thompson (25) and defensive back Kona Moore defend in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Logan, Utah. The touchdown was called back after Utah State was called for a chop block. | Eli Lucero
Utah State football knows it can’t achieve most, if not all of the goals it had for the 2024 season.
Contention for the Mountain West Conference championship is long gone. At 2-3 in the conference play, the best Utah State can do this season in MW competition is finish 4-3. As things currently stand, that would put the Aggies in the middle of the MW but far from a contender in the end. Boise State and Colorado State are both unbeaten right now, 6-0 ad 5-0 respectively, while UNLV has only one loss to a MW opponent.
The Aggies also hoped to secure a berth in a bowl game if not more, but that ship has sailed.
Even if they win their remaining two games, there is no path to a bowl for USU this year. On Nov. 29, when time runs out in the Aggies’ contest against Colorado State, that will be it for 2024 and Utah State football.
And yet, ask any Aggie and they will tell you that the season still has real meaning for them. That they still have something to play for.
It was evident Saturday in USU’s runaway win over Hawaii. The Aggies played incredibly hard — that wasn’t new or anything — but in this game there wasn’t really any reason too.
That didn’t stop them, however.
So what is motivating Utah State right now?
“Finishing strong, that is what we keep talking about,” running back Rahsul Faison said. “We have been through a lot, but we want to finish strong.”
He went on to note that the team wants to finish strong for three groups:
The…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/utah-state-football-believes-still-042424327.html
Author : Deseret News
Publish date : 2024-11-18 04:24:24
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