Utah State football lost its season opener to Idaho State 29-17 on Saturday night at Maverik Stadium, according to a September 5 report. While the Aggies accumulated 407 yards of total offense, the game was decided by four turnovers and three drives that ended on downs.
Idaho State opened the scoring with a field goal by Mason Lindberg after Utah State stopped a drive at the 7-yard line. The Aggies responded with a touchdown following a 23-yard pass from junior quarterback McCae Hillstead to Rex Haynes and a 15-yard touchdown pass to Eli Wood.
After a field goal by Lindberg and a touchdown run by Jordan Cooke, Utah State managed to take a 17-16 lead in the second half when Hillstead threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Demick Starling. However, Idaho State reclaimed the lead through Lindberg, who added a 43-yard field goal and a 41-yard field goal. The Bengals also scored an eight-yard touchdown pass from Cooke to Chedon James.
McCae Hillstead finished the game with 178 passing yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. He also recorded 43 rushing yards. Graduate senior Javen Jacobs led the Aggies with 80 rushing yards on 20 carries.
Defensively, senior linebacker Harrison Taggart and sophomore safety David Kabongo each recorded eight tackles. Mataira Brown and Carson Tujague recorded sacks for the Aggies.
Utah State is scheduled to play No. 17 Washington on Saturday, Sept. 12, in Seattle. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
