FRESNO, California — Utah State football stormed back from a 10-point halftime deficit, outscoring Fresno State, 21-0, in the final 30 minutes to secure a 28-17 win on Saturday night at Valley Children's Stadium. With the victory, the Aggies are now bowl eligible for the 12th time in the past 15 seasons.

In a gutsy performance, graduate quarterback Bryson Barnes threw for 150 yards on 16-of-30 passing and added 22 rushes for 111 yards, recording his fifth career 100-yard rushing game and now tying for fifth in the nation with three games this season of at least 100 yards passing and rushing. Barnes also recorded his first career TD reception in the contest.

Junior running back Javen Jacobs added 68 yards rushing and two touchdowns on eight carries, his second-highest rushing total of the season, alongside two catches for four yards.

Junior linebacker Bronson Olevao Jr. led the Aggie defense, registering an interception for the second-straight game and adding a sack to disrupt one of the Bulldogs' final drives. Olevao Jr. finished with four tackles, including a team-high two tackles-for-loss.

Fresno State opened the scoring with a 69-yard TD run by Rayshon Luke midway through the opening quarter. After exchanging stalled drives, the Aggie defense came up with a stop on 4th-and-1 to give the offense starting field position at Fresno State's 40-yard line. Three plays later, USU dialed up a trick play, calling a double-pass from Barnes to sophomore quarterback Anthony Garcia who then found senior wide receiver Brady Boyd for a 24-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The Bulldogs won the second quarter, 10-0, behind a 30-yard field goal by Dylan Lynch and a 43-yard TD pass from EJ Warner to Jahlil McClain. USU drove into Bulldog territory on the final possession of the first half but was unable to eat into the deficit and entered halftime trailing, 17-7.

The second half belonged to Utah State, beginning with the Aggie defense forcing a three-and-out on the Bulldogs' first possession out of halftime. Barnes then pioneered the Aggie offense on a 15-play, 78-yard drive that ran off 8:37 of game time, a season-high for Utah State. The Aggies again turned to trickeration to find the end zone, running the Aggie version of the "Philly Special" with freshman running back Noah White pitching the ball to Garcia who then found Barnes for a two-yard TD to bring USU within 17-14.

The Aggie defense stood tall on the ensuing possession, despite a 44-yard run put the Bulldogs in Utah State territory, holding firm to force a punt. A fumble, however, returned the ball back to Fresno State inside the red zone. With FS threatening to rebuild a multi-score lead, Olevao Jr. snagged an interception off a tipped pass near the goal line to thwart the scoring opportunity.

Utah State's offense then put together another lengthy scoring drive, piecing together a 13-play, 80-yard drive. Jacobs finished off the drive, putting USU up 21-17 with a 19-yard TD run. With all the momentum, the Aggie defense forced Fresno State to go three-and-out. On the ensuing drive, Barnes and Jacobs combined for 60 yards rushing with Jacobs again springing loose to score from 32 yards out to make it 28-17.

In the final minutes, the Aggie defense sealed the win, recording two fourth-down stops on Fresno State's final attempts to make a comeback.

Utah State outgained Fresno State, 244-109, in the second half, including a 130-47 edge in the fourth quarter. After going 1-of-8 on third downs in the first half, the Aggies went 7-of-8 in the second while holding the Bulldogs to a 3-of-14 mark for the entire game, also holding Fresno State to 0-of-3 on fourth down attempts. USU recorded 27 first downs while holding FS to only 12 in the game.

Junior wide receiver Braden Pegan led USU with eight catches for 79 yards while Boyd finished with three receptions for 42 yards and a TD. Senior wide receiver Kahanu Davis added two catches for 37 yards while senior running back Miles Davis added one catch for five yards plus another 38 yards on 12 rushing attempts. Garcia stuffed the stat sheet, recording one catch for seven yards, one rushing attempt for 10 yards and recording 26 yards passing while completing both of his passing attempts for a pair of touchdowns, becoming the first player in the nation this season to record two passing TDs on just two passing attempts.

Senior safety Ike Larsen posted a team-high eight tackles plus one TFL and a pass breakup while senior cornerback Noah Avinger followed close behind with seven tackles plus a team-high two PBUs. Graduate linebacker John Miller added five tackles while junior defensive tackle Tyree Morris also posted five tackles, including a sack.

Up Next
Utah State football (6-5, 4-3 MW) returns home to conclude the regular season against Boise State on Friday, Nov. 28, at 2 p.m. (MT). The game will be broadcast on CBS.

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