BOISE, Idaho— Although Utah State has had a significant amount of familiarity with the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, wins in said bowl continue to be elusive. In the Aggies’ sixth appearance in the Boise-based bowl Monday they lost for a fifth time, 34-21 to Washington State.
For much of the game, it appeared as though Utah State would struggle to score any points as it gained just 49 yards in the first half quarters and didn’t score until there were only 17 minutes left in the game. The Aggies flirted with putting up the fewest points in Potato Bowl history (record was and remains 10 by Tulsa in the 2003 season).
Utah State head coach Bronco Mendenhall praised Washington State’s defense, which entered the game as the 27th-best team in the nation in points allowed per game.
“Really strong scheme. Really good players that execute well within that,” Mendenhall said. “They were consistently better, just really in most circumstances until the very end where we were able to kind of make a last-minute push. And so I was impressed and they were as advertised for sure.”
Utah State’s reliance on All-MW quarterback Bryson Barnes perhaps became its weakness. The Aggies’ ran 74 percent of its players (either pass or run), though Barnes across games against UNLV, Fresno State and Boise State. That strategy generally worked as Barnes tallied 917 total yards in those three games and the Aggies averaged a decent 26.0 points. On Monday, that reached a new extreme as 81 percent of USU’s plays went through Barnes while he was in the game.
However, Washington State was ready to stop Barnes above all else. They limited him to just 116 passing yards on a 42.9 completion percentage and a mere seven rushing yards (and most of those yards came after USU had gone down 20-0). Late in the game, Utah State was forced to abandon the Barnes-oriented offense when the senior QB was knocked out of the game after taking a big hit on a rush attempt.
“We knew that that was a big part of what they do, is using him,” Washington State interim head coach Jesse Bobbit said. “Our guys just played fast. Did a lot of things to let our backers flow and guys to attack him. And we were able to add up some hits on him that eventually took a toll. And a testament to him, he’s a really good player. But overall the execution through a lot of the game allowed for us to stop what they wanted to do.”
All the more frustrating in the Aggies’ offensive woes were two golden opportunities for points in the first quarter. On two consecutive defensive possessions, the Utah State defense picked off Zevi Eckhaus, setting up the offense on the 13-yard line and then 28-yard line of the Cougars.
IKE. LARSEN. PICK!📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/2dLsebipiU
— USU Football (@USUFootball) December 22, 2025
Another One ☝️@Dylanltucker with the INT!📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/nBQmPjyRyz
— USU Football (@USUFootball) December 22, 2025
Both drives came up emtpy.
The first went three-and-out with Bryson Barnes missing Brady Boyd in the end zone for a potential touchdown. Tanner Rinker then missed a 30-yard field goal, his fifth miss in his last eight attempts. On the second drive, Barnes lofted a desperate pass into the end zone that was easily intercepted by Washington State safety Matthew Durrance.
Had Utah State been able to score on those drives, it could have meant as much as a 14-7 lead early. Washington State managed a touchdown on its second possession, but had its own slow start to the game.
“We didn’t capitalize on a couple turnovers early on. Which I think swung the momentum a little bit,” Mendenhall said.
Eventually, the Cougars managed to power up, going from averaging 5.3 yards per play in the first half (and committing those two first-quarter turnovers) to averaging 9.2 yards per play in the second half.
Washington State quarterback Zevi Eckhaus, completed 26 of 44 passes for 334 yards, three touchdowns and had 34 rushing yards to lead the way on offense. It’s the second-highest passing yards total of his career, just behind his performance in the Holiday Bowl a year ago (363 yards). His top target, Joshua Meredith, won the game’s MVP award after catching eight of Eckhaus’ passes for 84 yards.
Although the passing game had its highlights for the Cougars, Mendenhall said out their ability to run “was the difference in the game,” specifically with the Cougars’ 245 rush yards in the second half alone.
“There was no intent nor capability to run the ball in the first half. Washington State was mostly in the air,” Mendenhall said. “And they had success being able to run the football in the second half which then kept our defense off-balance.”
The Aggies’ first signs of life on offense didn’t come until late in the third quarter. After a third interception on Eckhaus, Utah State finally capitalized. Barnes found Brady boyd on a 43-yard pass to set the team up in the red zone. Four plays later, Barnes ran it in from two yards out to make it 20-7 with two-and-a-half minutes left in the third.
QB1 punches it in! 🚜 @bryson_barnes10 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/xBJYxzjjY6
— USU Football (@USUFootball) December 22, 2025
That first success of the game would be spoiled by Washington State scoring a touchdown in response, pulling the game back to a three-possession one, 27-7.
It was on the next drive that Barnes went down. He scrambled for a nine-yard gain, but took a big hit from Washington State safety Cale Reeder. Barnes helmet bounced on the turf and the QB got up slowly, prompting the referees to immediatley usher Barnes off the field as a precaustion. Barnes did not return to the field, though he did stay on the sideline with the team after exiting the medial tent.
In Barnes’ place, Jacob Conover stepped in and nearly faced disaster on his first throw. A pass deep over the middle was picked off and ran back 96 yards, only to be taken back by a defensive penalty. Conover took the early Christmas gift in stride, throwing a touchdown pass to Boyd in the corner of the end zone.
.@JacobConover17 ✈️ @bradyboyd_ for 6️⃣!📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/fD0HzuDhwA
— USU Football (@USUFootball) December 22, 2025
Conover wound up completing 5 of his 7 passes, all in the fourth quarter, for 78 yards and two touchdowns.
“Really fun to see Jacob. That’ll be cemented in my memory banks forever,” Mendenhall said. “To see someone, when he gets his opportunity, to play as well as he did. To lead and to help our team.”
Despite getting it back to a two-possession game yet again, further hope could not be kindled. With just over four minutes left in the game, Washington State’s own backup quarterback, Julian Dugger, called game with a 34-yard touchdown run that sealed the Aggies’ fate. Though Conover would add the second touchdown to his bag, a 26-yard strike to Javen Jacobs.
