San Diego State safety C.J. Baskerville (34) tackles Utah State running back Elelyon Noa (34) in the first half during an NCAA college football game for the Mountain West Conference Championship, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/John McCoy)
LOGAN, Utah – Following its 46-13 Mountain West Championship Game win against No. 19 San Diego State on Saturday, Utah State football received 109 votes in The Associated Press poll to rank 26th nationally and 85 votes in the coaches’ poll to rank 27th.
It is the fourth time this season that Utah State has garnered top-25 votes, including the second time in as many weeks as USU received eight votes in last week’s coaches poll to rank tied for 32nd.
Utah State is 10-3 on the season and won its first-ever Mountain West Championship following its win against San Diego State. USU finished the regular season tied for first in the Mountain Division of the MW with a 6-2 league record. Overall, it is USU’s 13th conference championship in school history and first since winning the 2012 Western Athletic Conference title.
After posting a 1-5 record in a COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, Utah State had one of the best turnarounds in the nation in 2021 under first-year head coach Blake Anderson as it is just the fourth time in school history that USU has won 10-plus games, joining the 2012 (11-2), 2014 (10-4) and 2018 (11-2) teams.
Utah State’s nine-game improvement this year is tied with Baylor (2-7 in ‘20 to 11-2 in ‘21) and Northern Illinois (0-6 in ‘20 to 9-4 in ‘21), and trailing Michigan (2-4 in ‘20 to 12-1 in ‘21) for the second-best turnaround in the nation.
Utah State is also the first Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team to post a 7-0 road record since the 2013 season.
For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the “Buy Tickets” tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.