Special teams, red-zone struggles sink Utah State against Texas State
Oct 24, 2026, 9:34 PM
The Utah State Aggies fell 20-17 against Texas State on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Joe Buvid/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Buvid/Getty Images)
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Utah State football had every chance at a Pac-12 road win but couldn’t finish the job, falling 20-17 to Texas State.
The Aggies’ (2-5, 1-2) defense did enough to win, holding the high-scoring Bobcats (4-3, 2-1) to just 13 offensive points. But poor special teams coverage gave Texas State its first big swing when Jaylen Jenkins returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
Final
Texas State 20 – Utah State 17
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 25, 2026
Add in an offense that repeatedly settled for field goals instead of touchdowns, and Utah State let a chance at its second Pac-12 win slip away.
Grady Brosterhous completed 21 of 26 passes for 206 yards as the Aggies found success between the 20s but came to a grinding halt near the red zone. Anthony Garcia threw Utah State’s only touchdown pass of the night when he found Kaina Watson late in the fourth quarter.
Utah State’s defense was awesome from the opening kickoff, sacking Brad Jackson four times and limiting the Bobcats to 250 yards of offense—less than half their season average entering the night.
First Quarter
For the first time in 2026, Utah State won the coin toss and chose to receive the opening kickoff, looking to jump-start a struggling offense.
On second down, quarterback Grady Brosterhous took advantage of an overzealous Bobcats defense, cutting against the grain to pick up a first down. Two plays later, Brosterhous found Javon Robinson in the flat, and the speedy wideout sprinted for a 29-yard gain to put USU deep in Texas State territory.
The Bobcats’ defense settled in, forcing the Aggies to settle for a 43-yard Kian Afrookhteh field goal. It marked the third time in seven games Utah State had scored on its opening possession.
Aggies strike first!
43-yard field goal is good from @kianafrookhteh! https://t.co/ZBkY9L0b1J
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 24, 2026
Disaster struck on the ensuing kickoff for Bronco Mendenhall’s group when a special teams bust allowed Jaylen Jenkins to take a nearly untouched 100-yard run to the end zone.
The Aggies answered by moving the ball again, this time sparked by an 18-yard completion from Brosterhous to Noah White in the flat. USU’s now-healthy offensive line created a clean pocket for its graduate senior quarterback and opened massive rushing lanes when nothing was available downfield. Brosterhous took advantage, using several effective scrambles to keep the defense on its heels.
But the drive stalled shy of the red zone for the second consecutive time. Afrookhteh split the uprights from 48 yards to make it 7-6 with 5:23 left in the opening period.
Punched back.
@kianafrookhteh knocks a 48-yard field goal through! https://t.co/o5NwmSoqwV
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 24, 2026
Texas State’s first offensive possession ended quickly when defensive back David Kabongo broke up a third-down pass to force a punt. Consecutive five-yard penalties backed the Bobcats up near their own goal line, giving USU advantageous field position at the 45.
Brosterhous and the Aggies couldn’t capitalize, instead punting after a three-and-out.
Pinned against their own goal line, the Bobcats again failed to generate momentum and punted for the second time in the quarter. Texas State entered the game with only 11 punts all season.
END 1️⃣ | 🔵🔘🔘🔘
7-6 Texas State after the first quarter, but the Aggies are driving! https://t.co/YVrfuhmXrP
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 25, 2026
A designed quarterback run gave USU a first down to end the opening quarter.
Second Quarter
The Aggies used a steady diet of Javen Jacobs rushing attempts and a 13-yard pass to Anthony Garcia to reach the red zone for the first time. After two short gains on goal-to-go, the Bobcats pressured Brosterhous and forced another field goal attempt.
Afrookhteh nailed the 27-yard kick to give Utah State a 9-7 lead with 11:08 remaining in the half.
Still looking for a spark, Texas State took a shot downfield, but D’Angelo Mayes broke up the deep pass. The Bobcats earned one first down but couldn’t move much further before punting again.
USU picked up one first down before giving the ball back. Another special teams breakdown followed as Texas State broke through and blocked the punt, taking over near midfield.
It didn’t matter. The Aggie defense swarmed, sacking Brad Jackson twice to force a three-and-out and erase the threat.
Sack party in San Marcos 🤘
@asher_cngham6 🤝 @BronsonOlevao https://t.co/qImjVAdjVf
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 25, 2026
After another Utah State punt, Texas State finally put together its first sustained drive of the half. The passing game opened up, and Jackson began using his legs as the Bobcats moved into USU territory for the first time.
Texas State reached the red zone before an offensive pass interference call pushed the Bobcats back to the Aggies’ 31-yard line. A Tyree Morris sack — Utah State’s third of the half — forced Texas State into a 49-yard field goal attempt.
The kick sailed well left, giving the Aggies a 9-7 halftime lead.
HALF | 🔵🔵🔘🔘
We have the lead at the half in San Marcos! https://t.co/N2MhPYUc2N
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 25, 2026
USU dominated time of possession, controlling the football for 21:40 of the first 30 minutes.
Third Quarter
Texas State got the ball first and steadily moved downfield, staying in manageable short-yardage situations. The big play came when Jackson found Chris Dawn Jr. for a 21-yard gain.
Later in the drive, the Bobcats capitalized on a pass interference flag. One play after the penalty, Texas State called Jackson’s number, and he powered in for a 3-yard rushing touchdown to put the Bobcats ahead 14-9.
USU’s first drive of the half went nowhere as the pocket Brosterhous had enjoyed early in the game disintegrated into a three-and-out.
Utah State got the football back after a nine-play drive ended in Texas State’s fifth punt of the night.
END 3 | 🔵🔵🔵🔘
15 minutes to go. https://t.co/1oApK3hJvy
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 25, 2026
The defensive rock fight continued into the final period with the Aggies trailing by five. USU’s offense generated only six yards in the third quarter and possessed the ball for just 3:10.
Fourth Quarter
With leading running back Torrance Burgess Jr. on the sideline, Texas State looked one-dimensional against an Aggie defense that was coming all out after Jackson.
Jackson still led the Bobcats into field goal range, and Jacob Bonilla drilled a 51-yard field goal to make it 17-9 with 13:19 left.
Two quick passes finally got the Aggies’ offense moving, with two fast first downs on the next drive. Later in the possession, Brosterhous found Demick Starling for a 14-yard gain. The best drive of the night continued when a 17-yard hookup with Garcia set up first-and-goal.
One play later, Garcia took the handoff, looked downfield and found Kaina Watson in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown.
There’s that man AG!
@AnthonygarciaQB ✈️ @4_kaina
2-point conversion is GOOD and we are all tied up! https://t.co/qHClerk4Ah
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 25, 2026
Down two, Brosterhous hit Jacobs for the two-point conversion, tying the game at 17 with 8:07 left.
USU looked like it had gotten its defense off the field on Texas State’s next drive, but a pass interference call on Mayes extended the possession. The Bobcats used the mistake to move into field goal range before taking a 20-17 lead on Bonilla’s 37-yard kick.
Brosterhous took over with 1:56 on the clock and one timeout remaining, needing three points to force overtime.
After missing a wide-open Garcia on third down, the former Virginia walk-on stepped through the pass rush and found Garcia for 18 yards and a first down. Utah State called its final timeout after Jacobs ran for a first-down gain, then moved into field goal range with 17 seconds left.
After a delay-of-game penalty against the Aggies, Brosterhous tried a deep shot to Garcia, who came down out of bounds. That set up a game-tying field goal attempt.
Afrookhteh came on for a 48-yard try, but the kick missed, sealing Texas State’s 20-17 win.
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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.
