LOGAN, Utah – Utah State football put together another stellar defensive outing, paving the way for a 31-14 win on Halloween afternoon at Maverik Stadium. USU forced a pair of turnovers while holding the Rams to a season-low 263 yards of total offense, the first time CSU has been held below 300 yards this year.

The Aggies held the Rams to a season-low 77 yards rushing, including a mark of -5 yards in the first half. Offensively, junior quarterback McCae Hillstead piloted a turnover-free performance from the offense, throwing for 173 yards on 17-of-22 passing with one touchdown and adding 11 carries for 79 yards and another score. 

The Aggies took control from the opening kickoff as Hillstead and the offense pioneered a 75-yard drive over six plays to reach the end zone. Redshirt freshman running back Nehemiah Washington capped off the drive with his first career touchdown, scoring on a 31-yard run to put USU on the board. The Rams gained a pair of first downs while driving into Aggie territory on the ensuing possession before USU's defense stiffened up to stop the Rams just outside of field goal range. After the opening drive, the Aggie defense prevented the Rams from crossing midfield for the remainder of the first half. 

Utah State again drove the length of the field, gaining 73 yards before senior kicker Kian Afrookhteh extended the lead with a 25-yard field goal. The Aggies took a commanding 17-0 lead on their drive as Hillstead scrambled on 3rd-and-14 in the red zone, meandering through the Rams defense for an 18-yard score, his first rushing touchdown in his career. USU held the ball for over 20 minutes of the first half as the Aggies maintained their 17-0 lead heading into halftime.

The Rams began the third quarter with a promising drive, again gaining a pair of first downs to reach Aggie territory. This time, however, after being forced into a fourth-down attempt, sophomore safety David Kabongo strip-sacked CSU quarterback Hauss Hejny. Sophomore defensive tackle Carson Tujague recovered the fumble and the Aggie offense capitalized, marching to the end zone with a 10-play, 70-yard drive. The rushing attack led the way as each of senior wide receiver Javon Robinson, sophomore running back Noah White and graduate running back Javen Jacobs recorded carries of 10-plus yards on the drive with Jacobs culminating the drive with a 12-yard TD run to go up 24-0. 

Another pass interference call aided Colorado State's next possession as the visitors managed to disrupt the shutout with a 6-yard TD run by Durell Robinson. The 2-point attempt to cut the deficit to two possessions, fell incomplete as USU retained a 24-6 advantage.

After Utah State's next drive ended in a punt, the defense again came through. Following a fourth-down conversion from the Rams which placed the ball at USU's 23-yard line, senior outside linebacker Tevita Tuha interrupted a handoff in the backfield to force a fumble which was recovered by graduate outside linebacker James Jennette.

The offense then made it 14 points off of Ram turnovers with a 10-play, 71-yard drive. Hillstead kickstarted the drive with a 17-yard pass to graduate wide receiver Anthony Garcia on the opening play before finishing off the drive with a seven-yard TD pass to freshman wide receiver Kaina Watson. In the closing minutes, Colorado State managed to again find the end zone with a 21-yard pass from Hejny to Cedric Ross, also scoring a 2-point conversion to cut the deficit back to three possessions. The ensuing onside kick try failed, however, allowing the Aggies to run out the clock on the 31-14 victory.

Utah State tied their season-high with eight tackles-for-loss. Kabongo and Tujague led the way as both recorded a sack and 2.0 TFLs. For Kabongo, he recorded 2.0 TFLs for the third-straight game, tying his career-high, while Tujague's 2.0 TFLs were a new career-high. Graduate inside linebacker Bronson Olevao Jr. added a season-high 1.5 TFLs, junior cornerback D'Angelo Mayes and Tuha both added 1.0, and junior inside linebacker Asher Cunningham finished with 0.5 TFLs. Kabongo posted a team-high seven tackles while Mayes and Cunningham both finished with six. 

Jacobs finished second behind Hillstead with 14 carries for 56 yards and added two catches for 15 yards. Washington and junior running back Sesi Vailahi both set career-highs in rushing as Washington ended with three carries for 32 yards and a TD while Vailahi had 39 yards on four carries. White had five carries for a season-high 30 yards and added one reception for 20 yards while Robinson added one carry for 15 yards alongside two catches for 10 yards.

Garcia led the team in receiving with a career-high 11 catches and tied his career-high with 121 yards. Hillstead made his first career reception, catching a pass from Garcia for a 44-yard gain. Watson recorded one catch for seven yards, hauling in a touchdown for the second-straight week.

The Aggies finished with a season-high 464 yards of total offense, also setting a season-high with 247 rushing yards. Utah State had five scoring drives of 70 yards or more for the first time since doing so at Vanderbilt last season.

Utah State football (3-5, 2-2 Pac-12) remains at home for its lone back-to-back home stand of the 2026 season to face off against Fresno State on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. (MT). The game will be broadcast on USA Network.

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