Bronco Mendenhall sees Utah State football progress despite loss

Aggies head coach sees progress despite bowl loss to Washington State.

Bronco Mendenhall was taking turns on the Ferris wheel at the sporting goods store this week when he had a moment to reflect on how far his Utah State Aggies have come in a year.

That morning, Mendenhall told his wife, as they were riding together, a police officer who works with the Aggies football team said something to him.

“It just says, ‘I’ve never seen a team like this,'” Mendenhall said, “which means behavior, demeanor, character, substance, which means the connection to the institution, the way they interact with the community.”

That, of course, is the kind of thing Mendenhall, a coach who considers himself a program builder and a builder of young men, would love to hear.

But it’s also something Utah State football fans would appreciate after several seasons of uncertainty, loss and scandal.

On Monday, the Aggies fell 34-21 to Washington State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

But it was the bowl game that represented a big step in the right direction in one season under Mendenhall.

“When I was recruited, I was told some pretty harsh things about the state of the program and the state of the institution … including that there was no way we were going to be able to make a bowl,” Mendenhall said over the weekend. “There would be a bowl ban because the academics weren’t strong enough. That’s been said multiple times. We won’t have a chance to play in the postseason. Yet here we are, academically, with the highest GPA in school history.”

Mendenhall arrived from New Mexico in December, transformed Utah State’s roster with 69 new players and handed the keys to the offense to quarterback Bryson Barnes. It was enough to make Utah State bowl again after last season.

“I like when they tell me what we’re not going to be able to do. Those things have just been checked and checked along the way,” Mendenhall said. “That doesn’t mean we’re satisfied, that doesn’t mean we’ve reached our full potential. I think there’s been significant progress in every part of the program and more to come.”

On Monday afternoon, Barnes rushed for one touchdown, his 28th for the Aggies this season, before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with an injury. Backup quarterback Jacob Conover led the rally but was unable to complete the comeback.

Ending the year with a loss — and a 6-7 overall record — was not the ending Mendenhall and his Aggies had hoped for entering the bowl game. But the coach believes it’s just the beginning of what he’s building in Cache Valley.

“I love Logan. He’s a perfect fit for my wife, me and my family,” Mendenhall said. “This stage of my career, this time at Utah State, in terms of transitioning to the Pac-12, the dedication to football, the nature of the valley and the team that’s there, the legacy. All of those things are coming together that seem to align really well.”

Next season, the Aggies will join Washington State in the rebuilt Pac-12 Conference, and Monday’s performance showed there is work to be done.

“That’s what it looked like. Washington State was the better team today,” Mendenhall said.

But the coach added, “Our program is going to continue to improve. We’re going to continue to add players that fit into our program and follow in the footsteps of these guys. And we’re going to continue to coach them in a way where there’s more precision, execution and consistency.”

Notes for readers: This story has been updated to correct the Utah State bowl history.