2025 Vanderbilt Football Opponent Preview, Game 5: Utah State
Vanderbilt gets to see a new opponent for the first time in program history.
September’s game between Vanderbilt and Utah State will mark the first time the two schools have ever faced off in football.
The two teams are coming off much different seasons. Vanderbilt finished last season on a high note, finishing 7-6 with a bowl game win over Georgia Tech while Utah State is bringing in a new head coach and two new coordinators.
Bronco Mendenhall was hired by Utah State in December of 2024 after Utah State finished 4-8. Mendenhall most recently was the head coach at New Mexico, but has had plenty of college coaching experience.
In his 18 years as a head coach, Mendenhall has led his squads to a bowl game in 16 of those years, including bringing Virginia to its first ever appearance in the Orange Bowl in 2019.
Mendenhall has been known to turn teams around fairly quickly and he hopes to do the same thing at Utah State. Last season with New Mexico, the Lobos pulled off an upset win at home against a ranked Washington State team that was hoping to sneak into the playoff conversation.
In the first matchup between Vanderbilt and Utah State, the Commodores will look to avoid being a victim of a Bronco Mendenhall upset in his first season with the Aggies. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. CT on September 27, 2025 and will be streamed on SECN.
Offense
Perhaps the most notable addition on the offensive side of the ball this offseason was former Illinois wide receiver Carlos Orr-Gillespie. Formerly a consensus three-star recruit, Orr-Gillespie spent just one season with the Fighting Illini where he redshirted and did not see any playing time.
Utah State did lose wide receiver Jack Hestera to Colorado. Hestera finished last season with 24 receptions for 340 yards and four touchdowns last season.
Defense
Utah State was very active in the transfer portal, especially on defense. The Aggies added defensive end John Gayer, a junior college All-American in 2024, where he recorded 53 tackles, 21.5 tackles and 15.5 sacks at the College of San Mateo.
The Aggies also picked up Naki Fahina, a defensive tackle from New Mexico State. Fahina started all 12 games for New Mexico State and racked up 29 tackles.
Utah State did, however, lose Siolaa Lolohea, a defensive lineman, to Oklahoma State. Lolohea got 10 tackles in eight games for Utah State.
Schedule
Vanderbilt is not the only SEC school Utah State is traveling to this fall. The Aggies will also travel to Texas A&M in their second game. Outside of those two games, Utah State’s schedule lightens up. The other non-conference opponents it will face include UTEP and McNeese State.
In conference play, Utah State is tasked with facing off against the defending Mountain West champs in Boise State as well as the runner-up in a trip to UNLV. In a conference like the Mountain West, seemingly anything can happen week-to-week, so if Utah State can build chemistry, it can take advantage of its conference opponents.
Outlook
Utah State is coming off a 4-8 season that featured a 1-6 start to the year. As a result, the Aggies bring in a new haul of coaches, including Bronco Mendenhall as the head coach and Kevin McGiven and Nick Howell as the offensive and defensive coordinators. The fresh start to Utah State football could certainly help the direction of the program, but as with any new coaching staff, it makes it difficult to determine how the team could fare this upcoming season.
The Game
Date: September 27, 2025
Time: 11:45 a.m. CT
TV: SECN
Location: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
The Team
Head coach: Bronco Mendenhall (First season)
Offensive coordinator: Kevin McGiven (First season)
Defensive coordinator: Nick Howell (First season)
2024-2025 record: 4-8
2024 rankings: 6th in total offense, 129th in total defense
The School
Location: Logan, Utah
Founded: 1888
Enrollment: 28,063 (Fall 2023)
Nickname: Aggies
School colors: Aggie Blue and white
Mascot: Big Blue the Bull
The Program
Series history: No previous history
Last bowl game appearance championship: 2023
Playoff Appearances: None
The Schedule
August 30: vs UTEP
September 6: at Texas A&M
September 13: vs Air Force
September 20: vs McNeese State
September 27: at Vanderbilt
October 11: at Hawaii
October 17: vs San Jose State
October 25: at New Mexico
November 8: vs Nevada
November 15: at UNLV
November 22: at Fresno State
November 28: vs Boise State
Vanderbilt Commodores On SI:
Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.