The first sample size of 2025 Utah State football is on the shelf and ready to overreact to. The Aggies’ 12-point win over UTEP isn’t going to go down as one of their best or even a dominant performance. There’s a lot that needs to be improved if there’s any hope of anything beyond a 5-6 win season. But head coach Bronco Mendenhall really put it best after the game. “Our team is tough, our team is resilient, our team is not polished, we’re not finished, we’re not complete, but we’re willing,” Mendenhall said. “And that’s a great starting point.” Utah State defense steps up to hold off UTEP for season-opening win A great starting point indeed. One of the biggest frustrations of Utah State football over the past two seasons, the defense, saw major improvements and the offense flashed some potential. So long as there’s growth and in-season development, this will be a solid team capable of making a little bit of noise in the Mountain West. Starting with the the better part of the Aggies’ performance, the most basic of defensive metrics shows how much better they were in this game. UTEP gained just 284 yards, only the fifth