What Utah State's win means for the Aggies looking forward

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SALT LAKE CITY — After taking a 37-35 victory over conference opponent Fresno State, Utah State football is now 4-1 in Mountain West play. But what does that mean for the Aggies going into the rest of the season?

With three games left, Utah State's win against the Bulldogs meant the difference between missing out on a conference championship and still keeping their hopes alive.

Those hopes only stay alive, though, if Boise State has a loss in its next three games. The Mountain Division of the conference will be decided by the Broncos' remaining games, as it has been for the past three seasons.

Utah State will play the Broncos in two weeks; but even if Boise State loses, the Aggies would be tied with the Broncos due to a conference loss against Air Force (only conference loss is to the Broncos), who will face Colorado State, New Mexico and Wyoming in their final three games of the year.

Meanwhile, Wyoming is Utah State's next matchup and, historically, the game is one of the toughest matchups for the Aggies each season. Even when Utah State posted a 24-16 win in Laramie last year, the Aggies still struggled adjusting to the Cowboys' rigid defense.

Looking forward, if Utah State can win its last three games, the Fresno State game will be the game that changed the narrative of this season for the Aggies.

Jordan Love, who threw for 388 yards and two touchdowns on 30-of-39 passing Saturday, recorded zero interceptions for the first time in a game this season. The Aggies' four touchdowns against the Bulldogs were scored by three different guys, both on the ground and in the air.

The Utah State defense forced four punts, two of which came in the fourth quarter, which led to the offense getting into field goal position. Dominik Eberle, who tied the school all-time record last week for most points by a single player, tied another record Saturday with the most made field goals in conference history.

After three losses and a too-close-for-comfort win against Nevada in the past four weeks, Utah State needed the win for conference title hopes to stay alive, but also for momentum going into two of the toughest conference games they'll see this season.