While the BYU Cougars are hunting for a playoff spot and the Utah Utes are looking to get by post-Kyle Whittingham, the Utah State Aggies are stuck in the forgettable–yet hopeful–middle.
The 2026 Aggies are aiming to put on a promising show as they kick off their school’s Pac-12 era, and there aren’t many better-equipped for that job than second-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who has managed to help put out fires at multiple places, especially when he returned Brigham Young and Virginia to meaning (and that was before Kalani Sitake and Tony Elliott made it cool).
These optics paint Utah State out to be a particularly likable underdog, having the means to snatch some spotlight of its own in territory where it would normally feel impossible to do so. There is one stone in desperate need of turning before we completely fall for the hype, however, and that’s USU’s schedule. Upon looking at that, it’s good to remember: there is always a catch.
I really want to say I’m seeing another step up for the Aggies this season, but the vision is simply not there. This isn’t just because of a few potential scoundrels either; half of Utah State’s calendar is taken up with the Aggies running into powers that won eight games or more in 2025: at Washington, at Utah, Troy, at Boise State, Fresno State, at San Diego State. Pure nightmare fuel.
Mind you, that list did not include all of the questionable opponents, as there are also names like Washington State (who always manages to finish positive against any logic or reason) and Colorado State (who has to be promised at least a slight rise from 2-10 now that Jim Mora’s in the driver’s seat), as well as a late flex game (potentially a rematch against someone like BSU).
In other words, on top of several undeniably troublesome obstacles for a program of both Utah State’s size and recent caliber, we also have to throw in the grayer weeks that could stun the Aggies, kicking them while they’re down.
Once they fit into their Pac-12 britches a little easier, and/or the “Mendenhall Magic” we all know and love begins to bleed a bit thicker into their on-field product, we may see the Aggies in a form where they can stomach a schedule like this one with limited suffering—but that arc will clearly have to wait until next year at the earliest.
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