LOGAN — A 35-point second half from Utah State and three turnover forced on defense gave the Aggies all they needed to claim a commanding victory over Air Force in their Mountain West opener, leaving Merlin Olsen Field with a 49-30 win.
The Aggies scored 21 points in the third quarter to open up the offense, but even prior to reaching that runway they were dictating the course of the game. The very first sequence of the game featured the Aggies recovering a fumble by Air Force QB Josh Johnson and then scoring a touchdown on the ensuing offensive possession.
“Any time you can steal a possession or a turnover against (Air Force), it’s great, because their intent is to not give your offense possessions,” USU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “And one of our foundational ways to play football is, under all of our pillars, it says possession-stealers. And so that was huge, for sure.”
GIMME DAT 🏈!Another look at that fumble recovery from Will Holmes to start the game!📺 @FS1 pic.twitter.com/UJDHz74fzh
— USU Football (@USUFootball) September 14, 2025
That was the first of the aforementioned trio of takeaways by the Utah State defense. The two others came in the form of interceptions by Noah Avinger and D’Angelo Mayes. Getting these turnovers provided confidence to the defense and points to the offense as USU scored 14 points following those big plays from the defense.
Utah State did well in the first half, but didn’t reach its full potential, leading just 14-10 at the break. When the teams came back from the halftime break, Utah State had plenty more to offer, especially on offense.
The Aggies had three possessions in the third quarter and scored on all three. Senior quarterback Bryson Barnes led the way with both his arm and legs in the offensive explosion. He ran for one of those TDs in that span, one of three he eventually had on the night. It marked Barnes’ first multiple-touchdown game on the ground of his career.
“There’s a lot of things that go into touchdowns to begin with. There’s so many moving parts,” Barnes said. “Everybody’s got to be executing. Everybody’s got to be on the same page. And I feel like that really kind of came into fruition with my run plays down in the low red zone. And like, I want to say on two of them, I was untouched. And so I just really feel like that’s a lot of dudes working together, executing, doing their job, and I’m just lucky to be able to be carrying the ball right there. It just happens to be me in that moment.”
Barnes also threw for a touchdown in the third and it was one of two TDs through the air on the night (and it made him the first Aggie QB since Levi Williams in 2023 to have two passing and three rushing TDs in a single game, those two being the only ones to do so since at least 2000). His target was Braden Pegan, who also had a massive night with 147 receiving yards and two TD grabs. The second of those was certainly the more impressive as Pegan reeled it in despite the defense committing pass interferance.
Have a day BP! Braden Pegan with ANOTHA ONE for 6⃣!📺 @FS1 pic.twitter.com/gZX8n696K7
— USU Football (@USUFootball) September 14, 2025
That touchdown put USU ahead 35-16 in the dying moments of the third quarter. Getting several touchdowns ahead of Air Force ended up having a big knock-on effect for how the Falcons had to start approaching the game with their offense. They had to start airing the ball out, throwing 18 passes in the second half after attempting just five in the first.
“Especially when you play a team like Air Force in that offense that they run. If you can make a play from behind and play from behind early, you can kind of force certain play calls,” Barnes said, “try to get them into a passing game, which, that’s not what they want to do. And so it is a really big deal getting up to possession early and trying to force what they’re trying to do offensively.”
The Falcons still didn’t go quietly into the night. They managed to score 20 points in the second half, but it proved too spotty and paled in comparison to Utah State’s offensive output. And as Air Force tried to drag out the game by calling timeouts when the Aggies had the ball with under two minutes on the clock, Javen Jacobs provided the parting gift of a 52-yard touchdown run.
HOUSE CALL 📞 @_JavenJacobs pic.twitter.com/ZSPuM2EGww
— USU Football (@USUFootball) September 14, 2025
Utah State now technically sits alone atop the Mountain West standings with a 1-0 record in conference play. Mainly since no one else has played a league game aside from the now 0-1 Air Force Falcons. There are no trophies for being atop the standings in mid-September, but the first win in Mountain West play and a 2-1 start to the season overall is, in the words of Mendenhall, “a good start, but it is just the start.”
