What Utah State head coach Bronco Mendenhall said about Boise State matchup

Boise State, Utah State to meet on Black Friday in Logan

Utah State Aggies head coach Bronco Mendenhall. | Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

Two weeks ago, Utah State suffered one of the toughest losses of the 2025 college football season.

The Aggies out-played UNLV on the road but missed three field goals — including potential game-winners at the end of regulation and in overtime — in a heartbreaking 29-26 double-overtime Mountain West loss. 

Undeterred, Utah State bounced right back last week with a 28-17 come-from-behind road win over Fresno State. The Aggies out-scored the Bulldogs 21-0 in the second half.

“I’m just really excited for the direction and trajectory of the program,” first-year Utah State head coach Bronco Mendenhall said on Monday. “Having said all that, it’s a fast turnaround.” 

After playing spoiler against Fresno State, the Aggies (6-5, 4-3) can do the same thing on Black Friday against Boise State (7-4, 5-2). The Broncos need a win — and some help — to make a third straight trip to the MWC championship game. 

During the press conference, Mendenhall did not provide an update on leading receiver Braden Pegan. Pegan suffered an apparent lower-body injury late in the victory over Fresno State. 

Here are the highlights from Mendenhall’s press conference.

On Boise State’s sustained success 

“Boise is really aggressive. They are super confident. So really, I would say the main difference when you watch Boise play and talk collectively about them as a team right now, they’re very clear about their way — I’m talking offensively and defensively. They are very certain it will work because of the consistency of their program, their coaching tree. Even though some of the names have changed, the systems are the same. So you have a consistent approach that the players believe in and know that will work with repetition year after year of practicing in the same style. And that allows a different level of execution than most of their peers.”

On Boise State backup quarterback Max Cutforth

“So, three games in. The first game, certainly just getting acclimated, which is normal as a backup, and that was against Fresno. Second game, San Diego State in the pouring rain, so different style of game to manage and lead as a quarterback. You could see more confidence, but the game plan obviously had to reflect the conditions. 

“And I would say more of a breakout game last week against Colorado State with kind of a plan that matched the skill set, which matched the preparation and the confidence, which takes time. So I would just say gaining significant ground each week after week three (of starting). I’m sure they anticipate feeling even better going into game number four.”

On Boise State’s running game

“I like the running backs a lot, I like their offensive front a lot. Our week against Fresno will help us because of their approach. While it’s not identical, we’re not coming off of playing a style like Hawaii or San Jose, right? So there’s a closer reference point than not in terms of our preparation.”