Utah State linebacker John Miller (26) and safety Ike Larsen (6) celebrate with safety Jordan Vincent (24) after an interception against Hawaii Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Logan. The Aggies play their first MWC road game of the 2025 season Oct. 11 against Hawaii. | Eli Lucero
When Blake Anderson took over Utah State’s football program in 2021, few if any, thought the Aggies would be in contention for the Mountain West Conference title right away.
It was supposed to be a significant rebuild for Utah State, after the dismal pandemic-marred 2020 season.
Instead, the Aggies won 11 games the first year under Anderson and went 6-2 in conference play, winning the program’s first ever MWC title in football.
That 2021 USU team was great — it beat both Power Five conference opponents it played — but it also benefitted from a particularly advantageous conference schedule.
Of the Aggies’ six regular-season conference wins in 2021, only one came against a team that finished the season with a winning record (Air Force).
Utah State’s two conference losses, meanwhile, came against two (Boise State and Wyoming) of the six MWC teams that ended the year with winning records.
By way of comparison, this past season Utah State played three of the four MWC teams that finished the season with a winning record and lost all three of those games.
All of which is to say the right conference schedule can make or break a season.
Bronco Mendenhall will be in his first year leading Utah State in 2025. Are things lined up to give the Aggies a chance to make some noise in the MWC?
Here are three takeaways from the Utah State football’s 2025 conference schedule.
The road may not be kind to Utah State
The Aggies won’t play a road game in conference play until Oct. 11 when they travel to Hawaii.
That trip is the beginning of what could be…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/stands-utah-state-2025-mountain-225110278.html
Author : Deseret News
Publish date : 2025-02-20 22:51:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
