Utah State shows grit in road loss to No. 19 Texas A&M

A wild trick play for a touchdown in the first quarter gave Utah State hope in its first road game of the 2025 college football season, but the momentum was short-lived.

Texas A&M quickly bounced back by scoring the final 23 points of the opening half, took a commanding 30-6 lead into the locker room and coasted to a 44-22 victory over USU in front of an announced crowd of 100,026 on a hot and humid Saturday afternoon at Kyle Field.

"First of all, congratulations to Texas A&M," USU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "They were the better team. Offensively, defensively and special teams they prepared well . They have a good football team. I like the effort of our team, the resilience and the way they competed. Ultimately, I have to prepare them at a higher level so that they can play better. ... It's a race, obviously. Air Force is next, the unique challenges that they bring. Plenty to take away from this game, things that can certainly be improved. I love my team."

The 19th-ranked Aggies of the Southeastern Conference were downright dominant on both sides of the ball for the remainder of the first half after the Aggies of the Mountain West found paydirt on a 4-yard, fourth-and-goal pass from quarterback/wide receiver Anthony Garcia to running back Miles Davis with 7:02 remaining in the opening quarter. Garcia took the jet sweep from Bryson Barnes and found Davis in the end zone under heavy duress to pull USU to within 7-6. The visitors were unsuccessful on the ensuing two-point conversion.

The hosts were up to the challenge, though, as they took it to the visitors the rest of the half. Texas A&M scored on five of it seven possessions in the first half and racked up 311 yards of total offense. The SEC Aggies were already even more menacing on the other side of the ball as they limited USU to 61 total yards during the first 30 minutes of action, highlighted by a ghastly minus-20 yards in the second quarter.

Texas A&M sacked Barnes four times in the second quarter, including sacks on three consecutive plays by defensive end Cashius Howell. The hosts finished with 6.0 sacks in the contest — the second time in as many games that USU has conceded six of them.

"I'm not sure we'll see a better (pass rush this season)," Mendenhall said. "They're really well-coached, talented players and we knew how important it was to stay on schedule on first and second down. Give Texas A&M credit (in that) they didn't allow us to as frequently as we wanted. And then in obvious pass situations, we saw what that looked like and they're really skilled at pressuring the quarterback."

Meanwhile, the Texas A&M offense got first-half touchdown passes of 34 and 12 yards from dual threat signal caller Marcel Reed, who also kept the ball on a 2-yard TD. Standout running back Le'Veon Moss threw down a nasty stiff arm on a 21-yard scoring scamper and Jared Zirkel booted a 37-yard field goal.

Indeed, it was looking extremely bleak for the visitors following 30 minutes of action, but they displayed a lot of grit during the final two quarters.

"I saw a team respond," Mendenhall said. "We didn't play well in the first half, some miscues and mistakes, and plays that we were giving up or not making. Texas A&M did a really nice job pressuring our quarterback and controlling the tempo on that side of the ball as well, so we really just got outplayed in the first half. Our team responded well in the second half, in terms of what I asked them to do and that was just simply focusing on their assignments and their execution and their effort. And that becomes part of what teams need to do when they're trailing and when they're on the road, and how they respond, and so I liked that part. And I thought they responded to the challenge that was given at halftime."

USU (1-1) got the ball to begin the second half and promptly marched down the field, aided by a pair of Texas A&M penalties. A 30-yard run by Davis advanced USU into Texas A&M territory and the drive was capped off by a 16-yard sideline dart from Barnes to UCLA transfer receiver Braden Pegan. Barnes then completed a pass to Javen Jacobs for the two-point conversion.

"I mean, it was cool," Pegan said of his first collegiate TD. "I'm just grateful for the opportunity, grateful to be out there. It was a cool experience, but we're going to try to get the job done next time and get the win."

USU's momentum continued as it forced a four-and-out series by Texas A&M (2-0). Unfortunately for the visitors, they were unable to take advantage of prime field position.

Texas A&M then proceeded to find paydirt on two of its next three possessions. KC Concepcion hauled in his second TD pass from Reed, followed by a 72-yard bomb from backup quarterback Miles O'Neil to Mario Craver to give the hosts a commanding 44-14 advantage early in the fourth quarter.

Reed, who finished with 220 yards and three TDs on 19 of 28 passing, was shaken up late in the third quarter and exited the game for good. The SEC Network sideline reporter was told Reed was healthy enough to continue, but the hosts elected not to gamble with a comfortable lead.

Utah State found the end zone once more on a well-designed 1-yard rollout pass from Barnes to Davis on third and goal. It was a rare third-down conversion for USU, which went 2 of 14. Barnes, who completed a beauty of a 36-yard dime to Kahuna Davis to get his team inside the Texas A&M 3-yard line, found Pegan for a two-point conversion pass, as well.

"We're just a bunch of hard workers," Pegan said. "We come to work and we focus on the process, and sometimes it doesn't go your way, but it doesn't matter. We just keep on going and we're going to come out on top eventually."

USU even had a chance to score again a couple of minutes later as it marched inside the red zone, but a holding penalty, immediately followed by a sack and fumble, terminated that opportunity. The visitors, to their credit, took full advantage of their other three trips inside the red zone.

Barnes produced 169 yards and two TDs on 15 of 30 passing for USU, which gained 189 of its 250 total yards after halftime. Davis rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries, to go along with his two aforementioned short scoring catches, and receiver Brady Body established new career highs in receptions (six) and receiving yards (87). The Lone Star State native came through with a sensational 24-yard sideline catch while dragging his toe to set up USU's first touchdown.

"I was really excited for Brady," Mendenhall said. "Any of these kids that have been at one place in a Division I program or two and are just trying to find a home where they're valued and needed and can contribute, that's a happy ending for a lot of these kids. And maybe for some in the (transfer) portal, it's not all negative, (even though) it's sometimes painted that way. But when you have a chance to transfer and you end up kind of winning the lottery (by) playing a game in your home state, I think that's pretty special for not only him, but his family."

USU's top defensive performer was linebacker John Miller, who had both of his team's sacks — both on third-down plays with Texas A&M in prime field goal range — and came through with a quarterback hurry that resulted in a third-quarter interception by Noah Avinger. No. 20 also accounted for seven tackles.

"It's a good feeling, for sure," Miller said. "It's just kind of, when you're called to shine, you've got to go out there and make that play, so coaches thankfully gave me that opportunity to go get home on a blitz and they sent me, so I have to get home and I have to get to the quarterback. That's kind of the mindset, so I was just very happy that they gave me the call to go out there and do it."

Defensive backs Brevin Hamblin and Bryson Taylor paced USU with eight tackles each.

USU was, for the second time in as many games, plagued by penalties as it racked up 72 yards on 11 infractions. Seven of those penalties took place in the opening half.

Texas A&M accumulated a balanced 554 total yards — 235 on 45 rushing attempts and 319 on 22 of 34 passing. The hosts controlled the time of possession battle, as well, as they had it for 34:14, compared to USU's 25:46.

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