Utah State Football Opens Mendenhall Era With Win Over UTEP
Aug 30, 2025, 10:19 PM | Updated: Aug 31, 2025, 12:32 am
Utah State football players celebrate after opening the season with a 28-16 win over the UTEP Miners. (Courtesy USU football)
(Courtesy USU football)
LOGAN, Utah – The Bronco Mendenhall era began in style for Utah State football with a season-opening 28-16 win over the visiting UTEP Miners.
Utah State (1-0) hosted the UTEP Miners (0-1) on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium on Saturday, August 30.
“It was a really gratifying day,” Mendenhall said after the game. “I’m really fortunate to be the coach at Utah State. The stadium was electric, and with the HURD, our alumni, and just the community members, it was really a home-field advantage. I felt lucky to be the coach tonight.”
⬅️ WINNING. TEAM!
Still undefeated in the Cowprint Helmet! 🐮#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/TvKvyYmx0h
— USU Football (@USUFootball) August 31, 2025
Bryson Barnes completed 19-of-28 passes for 233 yards and a 52-yard touchdown to tight end Broc Lane. Barnes added 63 yards and a TD on the ground.
Former BYU Cougar Miles Davis carried 12 times for 95 yards and a 58-yard TD. He also caught all six of his targets in the passing game for 61 yards.
Tanner Rinker connected on two field goals in his USU debut.
DB Noah Avinger led the Aggies with 11 tackles, followed by ten stops from John Miller and eight tackles from Brevin Hamblin.
Utah State’s defense finished with two sacks and an interception. The Aggies did not turn the football over.
First Half
The Aggies started their season with the ball, and the Bronco Mendenhall-led offense looked solid out of the gates.
Quarterback Bryson Barnes completed all of his first five attempts, running back Miles Davis rumbled for a 13-yard carry, and wide receiver Brady Boyd caught two passes for 10 or more yards.
A false start and a sack stalled the drive before reaching the end zone, and Tanner Rinker booted a 49-yard field goal to put Utah State up 3-0.
Field goal is good! First points of the year from @Tanner_Rinker! Aggies up 3-0 🤘
📺 @CBSSports pic.twitter.com/oNQb6obDoU
— USU Football (@USUFootball) August 30, 2025
The next two possessions saw the teams trade punts.
On the Miners’ second drive, former five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson put together his first scoring drive, connecting on three of four passes and finding Kenny Odom on a 34-yard lob.
After two more punts, the Aggies got the ball back, looking to retake the lead.
And they did just that. Former BYU running back Miles Davis broke free and walked the wire on the sideline for a 58-yard rushing touchdown with less than 30 seconds left in the quarter.
RELATED: Miles Davis Rumbles 58 Yards For First Utah State Touchdown In 2025
Miles Davis TO THE HOUSE!
📺 @CBSSports pic.twitter.com/bHPkMmrvao
— USU Football (@USUFootball) August 31, 2025
The game really started to swing in Utah State’s favor in the second quarter. The Miners’ first drive ended in a Noah Flores interception.
The offense made sure to reward the turnover, drilling a field goal to make it 13-7.
UTEP moved down the field a bit on its next drive but ultimately still had to punt back to the Aggies. It took less than two minutes and only five plays for USU to get back into the end zone.
Barnes found tight end Broc Lane wide open in the middle of the field for a 52-yard touchdown.
Bryson ➕ Broc 🟰 7⃣ points!
📺 @CBSSports pic.twitter.com/mybFHpCrCv
— USU Football (@USUFootball) August 31, 2025
UTEP was able to tack on a field goal at the end of the half, but Utah State still held a comfortable 20-10 lead going into the locker room.
Second Half
The Miners got the ball to start the second half. After moving the chains a few times, they were forced to punt it back to the Aggies.
Utah State pieced together a quick seven-play drive that ended in a Barnes rushing score. Barnes drew a roughing the passer flag, connected on all three of his passing attempts, and put the cherry on top of the drive with his first scrambling score of the season.
Bryson with the keeper to the endzone! 😤
📺 @CBSSports pic.twitter.com/WiyQ504QR4
— USU Football (@USUFootball) August 31, 2025
They decided to go for two, and Anthony Garcia hopped over the line to give USU an 18-point lead.
The rest of the drives in the third quarter ended in quick punts. Heading into the fourth quarter, seven of UTEP’s nine drives ended in either a punt or a turnover.
With their back against the wall, the Miners were finally able to get back in the end zone.
A nine-play, 69-yard drive ended in a goalline rushing touchdown. They also went for two, but got stonewalled at the line, and the score remained 28-16.
After that score, both offenses sputtered down the stretch. The next ten minutes of game time were filled with short possessions ending in punts.
USU held on for the 12-point win.
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