Utah State can’t overcome big plays from No. 22 Boise State
Oct 3, 2026, 9:11 PM | Updated: 9:23 pm
The Utah State Aggies opened Pac-12 play against No. 22 Boise State on Saturday, October 3. (Photo courtesy Brian Preece)
(Photo courtesy Brian Preece)
BOISE, Idaho – Utah State’s offense showed more fight than it had all season, but it still couldn’t keep pace with Boise State in a 37-18 loss.
The Aggies found life behind a quarterback rotation, Javen Jacobs’ burst in the running game, and a career night from Eli Wood.
This time, the defense couldn’t keep pace.
Boise State hit chunk plays through the air, finished drives in the red zone, and answered Utah State’s best push with a three-play touchdown drive that put the game away.
Final | Boise State 37 – Utah State 18
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 4, 2026
Grady Brosterhous started at quarterback and rotated with McCae Hillstead for most of the night. The change appeared to put the Broncos’ defense on its heels at times, even if it never fully turned into an upset bid.
The Aggies also got the running game going.
Jacobs broke loose for two long runs and surpassed the 100-yard mark for the first time this season. Wood gave the passing game its best individual performance of the year, catching seven passes for a career-high 102 yards and his third touchdown of the season.
Utah State’s defense, though, couldn’t slow down Boise State’s big-play offense. The Broncos had three completions of 30 yards or more and scored touchdowns on three of their four red-zone opportunities. The Broncos’ only empty red-zone trip came on a late turnover on downs after the outcome was already decided.
Recap
Utah State lost the coin toss, called by injured captain Harrison Taggart, but the day already carried a bigger win for the Aggies.
Taggart attended his first road game just two weeks after suffering paralysis and leaving the field in an ambulance during a road loss to Utah. His presence gave Utah State an emotional lift before Boise State quickly took control on the blue turf.
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Boise State deferred, giving the Aggies’ offense the first crack. Grady Brosterhous made his fourth consecutive start and moved Utah State into Broncos territory, but the drive stalled and ended with a punt.
The Broncos wasted little time answering. Maddux Madsen connected with Rasean Jones for 63 yards to set up Boise State in the red zone, and two plays later, Dylan Riley powered in from 5 yards out to give the Broncos a 7-0 lead with 8:17 left in the first quarter.
Utah State followed with a quick three-and-out, and Boise State kept leaning on chunk plays.
On fourth-and-1, the Aggies appeared to have the play bottled up at the line, but the ball carrier slipped out of the scrum and broke free for 23 yards before tumbling to the turf after running into a downfield blocker. The drive ended the same way Boise State’s first one did — with a touchdown.
Madsen found tight end Matt Wagner, who followed his blockers into the end zone for an 11-yard score and a 14-0 Boise State lead.
END 1️⃣ | 🔵🔘🔘🔘 pic.twitter.com/ZmxXw2zcvr
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 4, 2026
Utah State turned to McCae Hillstead on its third drive, giving the former BYU quarterback his first action since the season-opening loss to Idaho State. Hillstead nearly hit Rex Haynes on a deep shot with his first pass, but officials ruled the ball hit the turf before Haynes secured it.
The drive ended with Landon Rehkow’s third punt of the half.
Utah State’s defense had few answers early for a varied Boise State attack. Madsen, a fifth-year quarterback out of American Fork, kept the Aggies off balance with his arm and legs while the Broncos continued to dictate tempo.
Riley added his second rushing touchdown of the half on a 33-yard burst, stretching Boise State’s lead to 21-0.
The Aggies finally found life on the next possession.
On third-and-2, Javen Jacobs broke contain and sprinted 64 yards before being dragged down at the Boise State three-yard line. It was the explosive play Utah State’s offense had been starving for.
Brosterhous returned on third-and-goal and rolled right before finding Jacobs in the flat for the Aggies’ first touchdown. Utah State cut the deficit to 21-7 with 5:52 left in the half.
.@gbrosterhous12 ✈️ @_JavenJacobs on the board! #ShowMe | @CBSSportsCFB pic.twitter.com/yWYf4G5Sfu
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 4, 2026
The defense followed with a needed stop, forcing a Boise State punt, but the momentum did not last long.
On Hillstead’s first pass of the next drive, Boen Phelps deflected the ball at the line of scrimmage, and Jake Ripp intercepted it, returning it untouched for a pick-six. The defensive score pushed Boise State’s lead to 28-7.
Brosterhous returned for the next series, and Jacobs immediately delivered another spark. The running back ripped off a 46-yard gain on first down, surpassing 100 rushing yards for the first time this season and moving Utah State to BSU 34.
Two Boise State penalties on the next play — pass interference and an unsportsmanlike conduct flag on the Broncos bench — gave Utah State first-and-goal at the 10. The Aggies could not turn it into a touchdown, settling for a 28-yard Kian Afrookhteh field goal to enter halftime trailing 28-10.
HALFTIME | 🔵🔵🔘🔘@kianafrookhteh with a 28-yard field goal to take us to halftime. pic.twitter.com/9pQP2Wh0J5
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 4, 2026
The late surge helped Utah State salvage the first-half stat sheet. Boise State controlled time of possession 17:34 to 12:26, but Jacobs’ two long runs helped the Aggies finish the half with 144 rushing yards compared to 119 for the Broncos.
Madsen completed 10 of 13 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, while Brosterhous and Hillstead combined to go 6 of 10 for 56 yards.
Boise State took over to begin the second half and methodically chipped away. The Broncos used more than six minutes before kicking a 43-yard field goal to stretch their lead to 31-7.
An already struggling Aggie defense lost defensive back Chapman Lewis during the drive after the junior appeared to injure his left shoulder on a tackle.
Utah State could not answer on the next possession. Back-to-back sacks of Brosterhous ended the drive near midfield, and Landon Rehkow’s fourth punt gave the ball back to Boise State.
The Aggies forced their second three-and-out of the night before handing the reins back to Hillstead for their second drive of the half. Hillstead helped move the offense with completions of 22 and 25 yards to Wood and Kache Kaio, pushing Utah State into scoring position.
The drive stalled on downs, leaving the Aggies still trailing by 21.
Utah State’s defense gave the offense another chance moments later. Linebacker Asher Cunningham delivered a big hit on Rasean Jones and punched the ball loose. Markie Grant fell on it, giving the Aggies their first takeaway of the night.
This time, Utah State took advantage.
Brosterhous and the offense started at the Boise State 30-yard line and needed only two plays to cash in. Wood beat the Broncos’ coverage and hauled in a 31-yard touchdown, his third score of the season. Brosterhous went back to Wood on the two-point conversion — Utah State’s first successful two-point try of the year — to cut the deficit to 31-18 with 9:32 left.
For a moment, the Aggies had the crowd back in it and the Broncos on their heels.
Grady strikes again! @gbrosterhous12 ✈️ @Eli_wood_14 #ShowMe | @CBSSportsCFB pic.twitter.com/JbyKs3oJRI
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 4, 2026
The defense couldn’t hold the momentum.
Maddux Madsen opened the next drive by dropping a pass over Brevin Hamblin’s outstretched fingertips and into the hands of Akeem Wright for 33 yards. On the next play, Madsen found a wide-open Ben Ford for 31 more, moving Boise State inside the red zone again.
One play later, Madsen connected with Ford for an 11-yard touchdown. The three-play, 75-yard drive took just 62 seconds and pushed Boise State’s lead to 37-18 after a failed two-point conversion.
It was the kind of quick-strike answer Utah State couldn’t match.
Brosterhous and the Aggies kept moving the ball on the next drive, including a 27-yard first-down completion to Noah White, but the possession ended with another turnover on downs.
Boise State bled the clock down to 1:13 before giving the ball back on downs deep in Utah State territory.
The Aggies left Boise with signs of offensive progress, especially from Jacobs, Wood and a quarterback rotation that gave the Broncos some issues. But the defensive breakdowns and empty possessions kept Utah State from turning progress into pressure.
Now Utah State turns to a short week.
Washington State travels to Logan for a Friday, Oct. 9, matchup at Maverik Stadium, where the Aggies will try to make their flashes last longer than a few drives.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in the NFL, Locals in MLB, and the Utah State Aggies. Follow Brian’s coverage here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
Parts of this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team.
