By Daniel Olsen

Utah State came within a Hail Mary pass of pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the college football season, ultimately falling 16-14 to the #19 Washington Huskies in Seattle. Despite entering as underdogs with backup quarterback Grady Brosterhous making his first career start, the Aggies pushed the Huskies to the final second. Utah State now pivots to another high-stakes test as they head to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Utes.

Aggies show Explosive plays Early

Utah State showed early explosiveness and late-game resilience against the Huskies. After Washington converted on a field goal for the first score of the game, Grady Brosterhous converted a 78-yard passing touchdown to Javon Robinson to take the early 7-3 lead. Washington responded with a touchdown on their next possession and the score was 10-7 Huskies at the halftime break. Freshman running back Ansu Sanoe was the player who scored the go ahead 1-yard rushing touchdown for the Huskies which was the first touchdown of his career.

The second half turned into a grueling defensive battle. Washington managed to extend its lead to 16-7 through two field goals by Tyler Robles in the fourth quarter. However, key drops by Washington wideouts and clutch stops by the Aggie defense kept Utah State within striking distance throughout the fourth quarter.

USU has Golden Opportunity in Closing Minutes

The closing minutes gave the Utah State Aggies a chance to win the game. Virginia transfer receiver Eli Wood caught his second touchdown pass of the season with just under two minutes remaining. While the Aggies failed to cover the onside kick, they used their timeouts and stingy defense to force a punt with about a minute to go.

Utah State drove down the field into enemy territory, but was a bit short of the necessary range for their kicker, Kian Afrookhteh, to kick the winning field goal. While the attempt to win the game with the Hail Mary was put in the end zone, the Huskies came up with the interception and ran until they were tackled to seal the victory.

There were missed opportunities here and there with a drop on the last drive that would have put the Aggies closer to field goal range. However, Washington lacked the explosive plays and had missed opportunities of their own. Jedd Fisch was glad to see his team start 2-0, but noted the vast amount of work that needs to be done to improve.

Key Game Statistics

Category	Utah State	No. 19 Washington
Final Score	14	16
Passing Yards	196	249
Rushing Yards	75	107
Total Yards	271	356
Turnovers	3	0

Coach Bronco Mendenhall Applauds Team Effort

“They represent our team, our school, and the principles of our program,” Coach Mendenhall said. “They came here with every intent to win the game. We are disappointed we didn’t. I’m still proud of this team and who they are becoming. I’m lucky to be their coach.”

The defensive effort was also applauded for a Utah State team that held the Huskies to 16 points despite the three team turnovers and being unable to cause any turnovers of their own.

“I think the effort was outstanding and gave us a chance to win the game,” Coach Mendenhall said. “Coach Howell and staff put together an excellent game plan. There is still plenty of room to improve. It’s fun to see people improve, especially on the road versus a good opponent.”

Grady Brosterhous came in as the backup quarterback while McCae Hillstead recovers from a hand injury. He showed moxy in some explosive plays that gave the Aggies a chance to win.

“This is my first career start,” Brosterhous said. “We battled. We were able to score two touchdowns. We needed to do more. That falls back to me.”

Several individual players on the defensive end did their best to keep the Huskies out of the red zone.

“I felt like we did a great job containing and staying on top of the deep routes,” safety Brevin Hamblin said. “We stayed on top of routes and contained him very well.”

Looking Ahead: Utah State vs. Utah Utes Preview

Utah State will look to channel their performance against Washington into momentum as they head into Salt Lake City for an in-state showdown against the Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The game will be broadcast at 1:30 PM Mountain Time on FOX. They will look for a similar effort as they take on a Utes team that won 43-10 over the Arkansas Razorbacks last weekend. The battle in the trenches will be critical to dominate again in a game that features a dual-threat quarterback in Devon Dampier. Utah State will be looking for their first win of the season in the 113th installment of the Battle of the Brothers series.