Utah State: 2026 Mountain West Men's Basketball Champions

 

LAS VEGAS – Behind 20 points from Tournament MVP MJ Collins Jr., top seeded Utah State won the 2026 Mountain West Postseason Championship with a 73-62 victory over second-seeded San Diego State. It is the Aggies third MW postseason title in the last eight years and the 11th in program history.

Utah State: 2021 LA Bowl Champions

 

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Since last offseason, the mindset for the 2021 Utah State Aggies has been “get one degree better” every day.

That’s head coach Blake Anderson’s philosophy, and to say the players bought into that philosophy this season would be an understatement.

They never talked about winning championships or winning bowl games in NFL stadiums, they just set their vision to one day, one degree at a time.

After so many days and so many degrees, the end of the season approached, and the Aggies reached a temperature that can only be described as white-hot.

The philosophy scored the program its first Mountain West Conference championship, and on Saturday evening, under the bright lights of SoFi Stadium, scored the team a 24-13 victory over the Oregon State Beavers in the inaugural Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl, giving the Aggies their 11th win of the season and capping off what has been the best season in school history.

Utah State hadn’t beaten a Power Five opponent in over 10 years before the season began but picked up its second Power Five victory this year on Saturday, something that’s never been done at Utah State before.

“This journey started over a year ago in less than ideal circumstances,” Anderson said after the bowl win.

“We traveled into the season with most the football community across the country not expecting much of us, but the group never bought into that, worked hard…and learned how to overcome the odds in almost every situation.”

When quarterback Logan Bonner, who set the Utah State single season passing yardage record early in the game, came up with a knee injury toward the end of the first quarter, the Aggies once again were presented with an interesting challenge to overcome.

With normal backup Andrew Peasley out with a shoulder injury, it was redshirt sophomore Cooper Legas’ turn to contribute not only for the first time this season, but the first time in his career.

Legas was thrust into action on a stage that will house the Super Bowl in February, with his team trailing by seven points. Not exactly the most secure of circumstances for a young signal-caller to see his first game action but, just like his team had done all year, Legas stepped in and exceeded everyone’s expectations.

On his first snap from scrimmage, Legas tossed a bomb downfield to Deven Thompkins who caught it and ran 62 yards for the game’s first touchdown.

The sophomore then went on to lead yet another touchdown drive on Utah State’s next possession to give the Aggies a 14-10 lead over the Beavers with 4:24 left in the first half.

The Aggies never gave up that lead.

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The young quarterback finished the night 11-for-20 for 171 yards and two touchdowns, and even added a 34-yard catch on double pass play that Anderson said was in the gameplan for Bonner, but turned out much better since it ended up being drawn up for the much quicker Legas.

None of the Aggies were surprised by Legas’ perfomance. In fact, it’s what they expected.

“On the sideline when I found out that Logan went down, I went over and grabbed Coop and just told him, ‘It’s time to step up,’” Thompkins said. “Honestly, he didn’t even need (the pep talk). He was ready to go, and that just showed the future he’s going to have here as an Aggie. I’m definitely proud of him.”

Thompkins certainly did his part to help the young quarterback make plays. The senior wide receiver — who has the option to return next season if he chooses to do so — ended up being named offensive MVP after his six catch, 115-yard (his ninth 100-yard game of the year) and one touchdown performance.

As pleasantly surprising as Legas’ game was, the true story of the game was a Utah State defense that found new life over the final two games of the season.

Utah State found itself a 6.5-point underdog heading into the game, supposedly because Oregon State and its star running back, BJ Baylor, seemed like a bad matchup for an Aggie squad that had severely struggled to contain opposing lead backs throughout the season.

It appeared that the oddsmakers might be onto something early, as the Beavers marched down the field in three plays (two run plays) and 58 seconds to score the first touchdown on the game’s opening possession.

Maybe the defensive magic had worn off?

Nope, it didn’t.

The opening touchdown would end up being the only time the Beavers found their way into the end zone the whole night.

The Utah State front held Baylor to just 80 yards on 18 carries for a 4.3 average — well below his season average of 5.9 — and held the Beavers to 4.2 yards per carry overall.

One of the head-turning statistics of the night was how former Oregon State-turned-Utah State running back Calvin Tyler Jr. outgained Baylor on the ground.

Tyler, whom Anderson said played with a chip on his shoulder, finished with 26 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown.

The lack of chunk run plays for the Beavers allowed the Utah State pass rush to get after quarterback Chance Nolan. Suddenly, an Oregon State offensive line that had only given up 10 sacks all season allowed four on Saturday.

Three of the four sacks were notched by senior Nick Heninger, who was named defensive MVP of the game. The three-sack performance was a career best for the defensive end, who also finished with a career-high five tackles for loss.

Heninger was understandably emotional after the game knowing that this would be his final time taking the field as a collegiate football player, but he was also incredibly happy with the way he was able to make his way out the door.

“We’ve got a relentless, aggressive defensive front,” Heninger said when asked what allowed the defense to exploit an Oregon State offensive line that had been non-exploitable for most of the season.

“We as a defense were able to capitalize on those opportunities, and it was 100% a team effort. I’m super proud of the defense.”

Up 24-13 with 2:31 left in the game, Tyler fumbled what could’ve been a game-icing touchdown run into the end zone, which was recovered for a touchback by the Beavers.

Heninger admitted after the game —much to Anderson’s disdain — that he was somewhat happy when that fumble occurred because it meant the defense could get the chance to seal the win.

The unit did just that when Hunter Reynolds picked off Nolan four plays later.

A few victory formations later, and the Aggies found themselves as the first ever LA Bowl champions and looked on as Anderson hoisted the wrestling-style championship belt (the bowl game’s unique trophy) over his head like a true WWE superstar.

“It has been an unbelievable ride,” Anderson said. “Start with a Power Five win, finish with a Power Five win, conference title, 11-3. The best season in Utah State history, and I could not be more proud of the guys that get to leave that legacy behind.”

Utah State: 2019-20 Mountain West Men's Basketball Champions

LAS VEGAS -- Sam Merrill once again lifted Utah State to a Mountain West tournament title.

Merrill hit a contested 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds to play to give the Aggies a 59-56 victory over No. 5 San Diego State and clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament for the second straight season Saturday.

The Aztecs (30-2), who led by as many 16 points in the first half, had a chance to force overtime, but Malachi Flynn's 3-point shot from just beyond half court rattled in and out at the buzzer.

The loss was San Diego State's second in its past six games after starting the season 26-0. Meanwhile, Utah State, which entered Saturday on the NCAA tournament bubble, improved to 9-1 in its past 10 games. The Aggies (26-8) are back in the Big Dance in consecutive seasons for the first time since a three-year run from 2009 to 2011.

"I know that's easy for me to say being on the victorious side, but that was a whale of a basketball game between two highly competitive, very, very talented teams," said Utah State coach Craig Smith. "It felt like one of those games where whoever is going to have the ball last is going to find a way to win, and then they almost throw in a half-courter. It was a heavyweight fight, and we knew it was going to go 15 rounds. Fortunately for us, we were the last man standing."

Merrill has been shouldering the load for Utah State for most of the past two seasons, so it was hardly a surprise that Smith made sure the ball was in the hands of his senior guard in the waning moments.

After Flynn barely missed a 3-pointer from the wing with 25 seconds left that would have given San Diego State a 59-56 lead, Merrill secured the rebound and calmly dribbled up court. With Aztecs guard KJ Feagin playing tight defense, everyone inside the Thomas & Mack Center knew who would be launching the last-second shot.

With the clock ticking down and Feagin's hand in his face, Merrill left his feet and hit the shot.

"I was just trying to get a good look," Merrill said. "I barely slept last night, partially because the schedule is rough when you play that late-night game Friday night and it's a quick turnaround. I only got a few hours of sleep, but I was just hoping that I'd get that opportunity. And I had a vision that I was going to. I just threw it up there -- well, I mean, I shot it -- and it went in."

Feagin said he did all he could do defensively.

"I felt like up until the release of the shot, I was right there on every move," he said. "But props to him for making a good shot."

Unlike in last year's Mountain West tournament title game, when San Diego State trailed most of the way and lost 64-57, the Aztecs were in total control throughout the first half Saturday. After falling behind 7-2 to start the game, they went on a pair of 11-0 spurts in building a 27-11 lead.

At one point, Utah State went nearly 13 minutes without a field goal, missing 10 straight shots and scoring just four points, all on free throws. Merrill finally snapped the drought when he made three consecutive baskets (including a 3-pointer) in a little over a minute to cut San Diego State's lead to 27-18.

Flynn paced the Aztecs with 16 points, while Yanni Wetzell (12 points, 13 rebounds) recorded a double-double. Neemias Queta (15 points, 8 rebounds) was the only player besides Merrill to score in double figures for the Aggies.

"This league has such a rich tradition in men's basketball, and to be able to repeat back to back, that's a difficult, difficult thing to do," Smith said. "And I couldn't be more proud of these young men."

THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM

Utah State dropped both regular-season meetings to San Diego State, losing 77-68 at home and 80-68 on the road.

Flynn and junior forward Matt Mitchell were dominant for the Aztecs in both games, combining for 84 points on 26-of-47 shooting (55.3%). However, this time around, both players struggled. Flynn missed 11 of his first 12 shots and finished 6-for-20, while Mitchell made just 1 of 7 field goals, scoring just four points.

SAM I AM

Not only did Utah State claim its second straight conference tournament title, but Merrill won tournament MVP honors for the second year in a row. Merrill finished the three games with 83 points (29-for-52 shooting), 13 rebounds and eight assists. He scored 29 points in the Aggies' quarterfinal victory over New Mexico and 27 in the semifinals against Wyoming before tallying 27 against San Diego State.

Flynn and Feagin joined Merrill on the All-Tournament Team, along with Queta and Wyoming's Kwane Marble II.

Utah State: 2018-19 Mountain West Men's Basketball Champions

LAS VEGAS -- Sam Merrill scored 24 points, Neemias Queta had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Utah State won its first Mountain West Conference championship with a 64-57 victory over San Diego State on Saturday.

Utah State (28-6) scored the first 13 points of the second half to pull away after leading 34-32 at halftime. The Aggies, who joined the conference in 2013-14, were the No. 2 seeds after sharing the regular-season title with No. 14 Nevada.

Merrill, who went 11 of 12 from the free throw line, was the tournament's MVP. Abel Porter had 10 points for the Aggies, who have won 10 straight and 17 of their last 18 games.

Fourth-seeded San Diego State got no closer than five points on two occasions after Utah State's run, cutting it to 60-55 in the final minute. But Merrill responded by hitting two free throws with 43 seconds left to seal it.

Devin Watson scored 18 points in a game the Aztecs (21-13) in all likelihood needed to win to make the NCAA Tournament.

Even though the Aggies led for 12 minutes, 15 seconds of the first half, there were 10 lead changes and seven ties in the session. Neither team could build more than Utah State's five-point advantage.

BIG PICTURE

Utah State: This was the Aggies' first conference championship game appearance since winning the Western Athletic Conference title in 2011 with a 77-69 victory over Boise State. Merrill became the seventh Aggie to reach 700 points in a season and moved into fifth on the team's career scoring list with his 21st point Saturday.

San Diego State: The Aztecs won the MWC tournament in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2018. This also was their ninth finals appearance in 11 years, all at the Thomas & Mack Center. They have appeared in 11, a conference record.

UP NEXT

Utah State: Awaits word for a seeding in the NCAA Tournament

San Diego State: Awaits word on a postseason tournament berth.

Utah State: 2018 New Mexico Bowl Champions

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Utah State walked into the New Mexico Bowl with one of its best records in school history but uncertainty. Its head coach, Matt Wells, left to take the Texas Tech job. Interim coach Frank Maile had to prepare the Aggies with an army of graduate assistants and an announcement a new coach was coming next month.

North Texas, meanwhile, was coming into Albuquerque with experienced coach Seth Littrell and highly touted quarterback Mason Fine.

The Aggies pushed those distractions aside Saturday.

Jordan Love threw for 359 yards and four touchdowns and Jalen Greene had six catches for 151 yards and a score to help Utah State rout North Texas 52-13.

Maile directed the Aggies (11-2) even after Utah State announced former head coach Gary Andersen would return. However, Andersen opted not to attend the bowl game and let Maile finish what he started.

Love completed 21 of 43 passes with one interception. D.J. William had two interceptions, helping Utah State ground high-flying North Texas (9-4).

Aaren Vaughns caught two passes for 109 yards and two scores for the Aggies, Gerold Bright ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, and Darwin Thompson added 93 yards on 21 carries.

Maile said he did his best to get the offense ready. The rest was up the players, he said.

"The guys have lot of efforts to doing their jobs," Maile said. The defense is set up for everybody to make plays."

Love said receivers were able to get open, find space and get yards after the catch. "We've been doing that all season," he said.

Fine was injured in the first quarter, and the Mean Green ended up using four quarterbacks. Jalen Guyton had four catches for 103 yards a score.

Littrell said Utah State was the best team the Mean Green faced all season. "We didn't have enough in us today to make more plays to have success," Littrell said.

When Fine came up limping following a nine-yard run in the first quarter, the whole complexion of game changed. "I don't ever want to put him in harm's way and he is so tough," Littrell said. "He wants to do everything he can for his teammates. But as the head coach, sometimes enough is enough."

After the game, North Texas officials announced that Fine had a severe left strained hamstring. This is the second time in three years that Fine most of or all of the Mean Green's bowl game after a shoulder injury kept him out of the 2016 Heart of Dallas Bowl.

Littrell said Fine left with a "pretty bad" hamstring injury but couldn't give more details.

Cornerback Kemon Hall said it was painful to see his teammates injured but players are trained to always be on standby. "You've always got to stay ready," he said. "You hate to see guys do bad or people get hurt."

THE TAKEAWAY

UTAH STATE: Maile was tasked with preparing the Aggies with a staff of graduate assistants in coordinator spots. Players had to handle the distractions and constant questions over the future leadership of the Aggies and how it would affect their chances in the bowl game.

NORTH TEXAS: Coach Seth Littrell announced this week he would stay with the Mean Green to build on what he started when he took over a team that was 1-11 in 2015. Since then, he has a 23-17 but has yet to win a bowl game in three straight appearances.

UP NEXT

UTAH STATE: Andersen returns as head coach and takes over a program that is rising. Sophomore quarterback Love and junior running back Bright are returning to build on an offense that broke a school record in touchdowns.

NORTH TEXAS: Fine is expected to return next season as quarterback for his senior year. Many of his favorite receiving targets also are expected to return and they won't have to adjust to a new head coach after all.

Utah State: 2014 New Mexico Bowl Champions

The New Mexico Bowl may have seen some crazy endings the past few years, but this year’s game went against that script. Instead, Utah State (10-4, 6-2 Mountain West Conference) recorded just the second 10-win season in program history with its third straight bowl victory with a 21-6 victory over UTEP (7-6, 5-3 Conference USA).

UTEP opened the scoring in the first quarter with a field goal on the game’s opening possession, but Utah State later scored a touchdown in the first quarter when quarterback Kent Myers broke off a 48-yard touchdown run down the left sideline for the lead. The Aggies punched in a second touchdown in the third quarter withNick Vigil pushing one in from three yards out to cap a 75-yard drive. UTEP would add a late field goal.

UTEP’s chances to get the ball back for one last chance to tie things up took a critical blow when a kickoff following the second field goal by Jay Mattox went out-of-bounds, setting Utah State up in good field position. UTEP burned a timeout before the field goal try, which meant the decision not to go for the onside kick was a little extra confusing with under three minutes to play remaining. Utah State simply let running back Joe Hill carry the team the rest of the way with some big runs to run clock, including a touchdown run with 1:33 to play for the knockout blow.

Heading into 2015 the first big question for Utah State will be how does quarterbackChuckie Keeton look? Keeton’s return to the field in 2014 did not go according to plan, as he never seemed to be playing at full speed after a knee injury ended the 2013 season for him. The knee acted up again early in 2014, but he has one more year of eligibility to play. It would be wise to have Utah State proceed with extreme caution with Keeton in order to make sure he is ready for the rigors of the 2015 season.

Enough cannot be said about the coaching job Utah State head coach Matt Wellsdid this season. The Aggies won 10 games using four different starting quarterbacks along the way. That included a bowl game victory that even saw Myers receive some brief medical attention.

UTEP will look to find a way to build on the momentum the second half of the season saw on the field. The Miners win five of their final seven games of the regular season, although they fell a couple of games shy of the division title. The start to the 2015 season could be rough with three consecutive road games against Arkansas, Texas Tech and New Mexico State. UTEP will look to replace some key position players like quarterback Jameil Showers and receivers Jarred Shaw and Ian Hamilton, but the bulk of the offense should be in place. The defensive secondary will be hit hard as well, but the front of the defense should largely in good shape.

Utah State: 2013 Poinsettia Bowl Champions

Utah State scored two second half touchdowns and shut down Jordan Lynch and Northern Illinois to score a victory in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego Thursday night. Darrell Garretson had his moments to forget in the victory but tossed a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter and a two-point conversion attempt to followJoey DeMartino‘s fourth quarter touchdown run to send Utah State to the 21-7 victory. DeMartino rushed for 143 yards to power the Aggies to the win, the second straight bowl victory for the program.

The NIU defense was actually pretty strong in the first half, holding the Aggies to a pair of field goals and fewer than 130 yards of offense, but the halftime adjustments made by Utah State proved to be too much for the Huskies. Utah State’s offense turned the table sin the second half by holding down the Huskies offense and not allowing Lynch to hurt them. Utah State succeeded in forcing Lynch to beat them through the air, and that has generally been a successful strategy for those who have defeated Northern Illinois, including Bowling Green in the MAC Championship Game. Lynch did drive the Huskies down the field in the final minutes of the game, just after Utah State took a 21-7 lead with a little over four minutes to play, and he completed a touchdown throw to Juwan Brescacin, but an onside kick attempt by NIU was recovered by Utah State to allow the Aggies to run the clock out.

Lynch ended his collegiate career with just 39 rushing yards and a touchdown and 216 passing yards and a touchdown. It was not exactly the type of performance Lynch had been accustomed to this season, but it should be a credit to Utah State’s defense to hold him to 39 rushing yards on 18 attempts. What back-to-back losses will do to his draft stock will be best left to break down by the NFL Draft scouts, but his last two performances do leave some room for criticism when discussing where he fits at the next level.

The MAC is now 0-4 in the postseason after seeing both conference championship participants, Northern Illinois and Bowling Green, suffer losses on Thursday. The conference’s last chance to win a bowl game will be placed in the hands of Ball State, a program that has never won a bowl game.

The Mountain West Conference is now 3-2 this postseason. Both losses have come against the Pac 12. 

Utah State: 2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Champions

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Utah State running back Kerwynn Williams was having a quiet day when things took a turn for the worse in the fourth quarter when he fumbled deep in his own territory.

As it has all season, the Aggies' defense did its job, holding Toledo to a field goal that cut the lead to 13-9 with 7:28 to go. Then Williams atoned for his mistake — in a big way.

On the next possession, Williams broke through the defense and raced 63 yards for a touchdown. On the next two possessions, the senior was unstoppable, ripping off a 56-yard run and scoring TDs on runs of 5 and 25 yards, all within a span of less than 4 minutes to lift No. 20 Utah State to a 41-15 victory over Toledo in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Saturday.

"When stuff like that happens you have to have a short memory," Williams said about the fumble. "You can't change it. I just knew the next opportunity for me, I needed to make a big play."

Williams' fourth-quarter spree fueled a 28-point Aggies scoring burst that turned a close game into a blowout. Williams finished with a career-best 235 yards rushing on 18 carries, with 182 of those yards coming on six carries in the fourth quarter, and was voted MVP.

Williams' heroics also capped the most successful season in the history of Utah State football. The Aggies finished 11-2, won the Western Athletic Conference title outright and won a bowl game for the first time since 1993. Utah State also will likely finish ranked for the first time since 1961.

"You play in bowls to win championships, and they did that today," said Aggies coach Gary Andersen, who in four years has turned a Western Athletic Conference doormat into the top team of a conference soon to be obsolete. "They (team) reached every single goal they set last January. That doesn't happen often in life or often in football. I'm very, very proud of them."

The Aggies, bolstered all year by one of the best defenses in FBS, rolled up 582 yards total yards on offense.

Quarterback Chuckie Keeton was 21-of-31 passing for 229 yards and 92 yards rushing, including a 62-yard dash that put Utah State up 7-3 in the first quarter.

The defense also turned in another impressive performance. Toledo (9-4) was able to move the ball at times and made five trips inside the red zone. But penalties, miscues and an inability to execute on critical plays forced the Rockets to settle for three Jeremiah Detmer field goals. Detmer hit a pair from 37 yards out and another from 29, closing his season by making 17 straight.

Toledo's only touchdown came when Bernard Reedy returned a fourth-quarter kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown. Reedy was the only big producer on a Toledo offense held to 315 total yards. Reedy had 51 yards rushing and caught six passes for 62 yards.

"When they got down in the red zone, they scored touchdowns. When we got down into the red zone we kicked field goals," first-year Toledo coach Matt Campbell said. "In big football games you have to win details."

Toledo quarterback Austin Dantin, who started in place of the injured Terrence Owens, was 12 of 21 passing for 132 yards. Dantin threw an interception in the third quarter to end a promising scoring drive and was replaced by Owens in the fourth quarter.

Owens moved the Rockets on his first possession, but another red-zone opportunity was squelched when the Aggies snuffed Owens for no gain on a fourth-and-1 play from the 9.

Toledo also was forced to adjust early without two of its best players. Linebacker Dan Molls, the nation's leading tackler, had a concussion on the opening kickoff and didn't return. Minutes later, running back David Fluellen, the nation's eighth-leading rusher, went down with an ankle injury. He finished with 38 yards on seven carries.

Campbell refused to use the injuries to Moll and Fluellen as an excuse and pointed out the game was close until the final 7 1/2 minutes.

"Injuries happen, they occur, you have to have the ability to adapt and you have to have the ability to move on," he said. "We were still in the game in the fourth quarter. I'm really proud of our football team from that standpoint."