LOGAN, Utah – Utah State football fell in its season opener to Idaho State 29-17 on Saturday night at Maverik Stadium.

The Aggies gained 407 yards of total offense while holding the Bengals to 241 yards but were done in by four turnovers and three further drives stopped on downs. 

ISU opened the scoring on the opening drive with a field goal by Mason Lindberg after USU stopped the drive after earning a first-and-goal from the 7-yard line. The Aggies responded with a 23-yard pass from junior quarterback McCae Hillstead to junior wide receiver Rex Haynes on the opening play from scrimmage. Hillstead then capped the eight-play, 75-yard drive with a 15-yard TD pass to graduate senior wide receiver Eli Wood.

The Bengals drove back into Aggie territory but were turned away by a sack from junior linebacker Mataira Brown and settled for a 48-yard field goal from Lindberg. The Aggies then drove back down the field themselves with three passing plays of 10 yards or more before the drive stalled and a field goal attempt from senior kicker Kian Afrookteh missed wide right. Idaho State then drove 71 yards in 11 plays with quarterback Jordan Cooke capping the drive with a one-yard TD plunge on 4th-and-goal.

After an interception thwarted USU's ensuing drive and set the Bengals up with first-and-goal, the Aggie defense held firm as sophomore safety Charger Doty recorded a pass breakup and senior safety Brevin Hamblin made a third-down stop, forcing a 25-yard field goal from Lindberg. Utah State's offense then burned much of the remaining time in the half, going 67 yards over 16 plays to set up a 28-yard field goal from Afrookteh with four seconds remaining.

The Aggie offense maintained its momentum to begin the second half, driving 72 yards in 16 plays before ultimately being stopped at the goal line to turn the ball over on downs. USU's defense responded by forcing a three-and-out and graduate senior running back Javen Jacobs set the offense up deep in Bengal territory with a 16-yard punt return. Hillstead added a 14-yard scramble to push the Aggies into the red zone before finding graduate senior receiver Demick Starling on a four-yard TD throw to put Utah State back in front 17-16. The lead was short-lived, however, as Idaho State drove 49 yards to set up a 43-yard field goal by Lindberg to jump back in front.

Turnovers continued to haunt the Aggie offense as another interception gave the ball right back to ISU. The Bengals extended their lead with an eight-yard TD pass from Cooke to wide receiver Chedon James. Attempting to form a response, USU's ensuing drive ended with an interception in the end zone. Utah State's defense gave the Aggies life with a three-and-out but the ensuing possession ended on downs, allowing ISU to add a 41-yard field goal from Lindberg to extend the lead to 29-17. USU's final desperation drive ended with another interception on an attempted Hail Mary.

Hillstead finished with 178 yards on 15-of-30 passing with two touchdowns and three interceptions, adding 43 rushing yards on nine carries. Graduate senior quarterback Grady Brosterhous came on in relief to throw for 67 yards on 5-of-13 passing with an interception plus 10 carries for 35 yards. 

Wood led USU's receivers with six catches for 90 yards and a score. Jacobs added four catches for 27 yards while leading the Aggies with 80 rushing yards on 20 carries. Senior wide receiver Javon Robinson added three catches for 31 yards and one rush for three yards while Starling finished with three catches for 30 yards and a TD. Haynes, freshman wide receiver Nikko Boncore, senior tight end Collin Remenowsky and graduate senior wide receiver Anthony Garcia each added one reception for 23, 22, 14 and eight yards, respectively. Sophomore running back Noah White added three carries for five yards.

Defensively, senior linebacker Harrison Taggart and sophomore safety David Kabongo led the Aggies with eight tackles each. Brown and sophomore defensive tackle Carson Tujague each added sacks for USU while junior linebacker Asher Cunningham and senior linebacker Tevita Tuha both recorded tackles-for-loss. Doty and Hamblin recorded Utah State's lone PBUs on defense.

Utah State football heads to the road for the first time in 2026 to take on No. 17 Washington on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 1:30 p.m. (MT), in Seattle. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.

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