UTAH STATE AGGIES

Utah State Struggles In Road Loss To New Mexico

Oct 25, 2025, 7:29 PM

Head coach Bronco Mendenhall Utah State football...

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 06: Head coach Bronco Mendenhall of the Utah State Aggies prior to game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field on September 06, 2025 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Joe Buvid/Getty Images)

(Photo by Joe Buvid/Getty Images)

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico – Utah State football came out flat in Bronco Mendenhall’s return to New Mexico with a demoralizing 33-14 loss.

USU (4-4, 2-2) was in the Land Enchantment to take on the New Mexico Lobos (5-3, 2-2) on Saturday, October 25.

Newly minted father Bryson Barnes completed 13-of-23 passes for 164 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He was sacked three times.

Miles Davis capitalized on a 64-yard scoring run to finish the day with 116 yards and averaged 11 yards per carry to highlight the Aggie offense. Braden Pegan caught five passes for 108 yards and a TD to continue his breakout season.

Brevin Hamblin led the defense with 11 stops. Defensive end John Miller and defensive tackle Carson Tujague had ten tackles each.

Recap

Utah State struggled from the outset, allowing the Lobos to strike first with a 49-yard D.J. McKinney punt return for six points.

McKinney added his second touchdown early in the second period, capping a 13-play, 80-yard drive with a one-yard scoring plunge to take a 14-0 lead.

Utah State’s offensive line struggles continued with New Mexico going up 16-0 after a safety midway through the second quarter.

USU fell behind 19-0 before BYU transfer Miles Davis showed his strength on a 64-yard touchdown run.

Unfortunately, the Lobos only needed 2 minutes and 7 seconds to answer with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Jack Layne to Cade Keith.

UNM led 26-7 at the half.

Following a scoreless third, Barnes threw his only touchdown pass, finding Braden Pegan for a 13-yard TD.

The Aggies wouldn’t score again.

New Mexico added a late touchdown when former Weber State standout running back Damon Bankston broke through the USU defense for a 41-yard TD run.

Following Utah State football with KSL Sports Zone

Utah State enjoys a bye before hosting the Nevada Wolfpack at Maverik Stadium on Saturday, November 8. Kickoff is at 5:30 p.m. MT.

Listen to USU football games on KSL Sports Zone with Scott Garrard and former Aggie QB Kevin White on the call.

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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.

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Utah State Struggles In Road Loss To New Mexico