Utah State (3-5, 2-2) vs. Fresno State (5-3, 3-1) Kickoff: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. MSTVenue: Maverik StadiumTV: USA SportsRadio: Aggie Sports Network (KZNS 1280 The Zone)Series: Utah State and Fresno State have played 34 times since their first meeting in 1952. Fresno State leads all-time 19-14. Utah State has lost two of its last three games to the Bulldogs but won last year’s matchup, 28-17.The trends

For Utah State: The Aggies are riding high after their performance against Colorado State last week. Utah State’s struggling offense has been the headliner all year, and it had a breakthrough with a season-high 31 points in a convincing 31-14 win.

Quarterback McCae Hillstead made his first start since the season opener, and he looked great. Hillstead threw for 173 yards while completing 77% of his passes. He also ran for 79 yards on 11 carries and pulled in a 44-yard reception on a trick play from Anthony Garcia. Most importantly, Hillstead didn’t have any turnovers.

The biggest caveat to all of this is that Colorado State is one of the worst defenses in the country. Still, it was the first time all year the offense was consistent on drives and moving the ball.

For Fresno State: The Bulldogs are also coming off a confidence-boosting win over Oregon State, especially with how the previous few weeks went.

Fresno State was rolling until it hosted Boise State in early October. The Bulldogs battled, but Boise State eked out a 38-31 win. Then the following week, Fresno State gave up 10 in the fourth quarter to San Diego State and lost 26-23.

After a bye week, the Bulldogs were back in action and got a big 38-22 win over Oregon State. The Beavers were previously undefeated in Pac-12 play.

What to watch for

Is this a turning point for the offense? Utah State had its best offensive performance last week, and Hillstead looked the part of a starting quarterback. However, it’s difficult to determine if that result was because of natural offensive growth or because the Aggies played the statistically worst defense in the country.

There’s probably truth somewhere in the middle, and Utah State will face a much tougher test against Fresno State. On average, the Bulldogs hold opponents to 21 points per game. That ranks 40th in the country. Meanwhile, Utah State averages just 17 points per game.

Saturday will show if the offense has improved, if a healthy Hillstead is what it needed, or if the offense regresses to where it was before the Colorado State win.

Protect the football and the quarterback: Utah State played some close games early in the season, and turnovers especially burned it against Idaho State and Washington.

However, Hillstead and Grady Brosterhous have now gone three straight games without an interception. The last interception was one Hillstead threw against Boise State.

Meanwhile, forcing turnovers has been a real strength of Fresno State’s defense. It has picked off opposing quarterbacks seven times this year and recovered seven fumbles, so protecting the football is at the top of the priority list for the offense on Saturday.

Not only that, but the Bulldogs’ defensive front can really get to the quarterback. Fresno State leads the Pac-12 with 20 sacks this season. Utah State quarterbacks have been sacked 23 times.

Quotable

“Really looking forward to our game against Fresno. Great matchup. And Fresno is — man, they’re tough and they’re physical and they’re well coached and coming off of a really nice win versus Oregon State. I like our team. I like the resilience. I can feel momentum. I see improvement. I think everyone that follows us can sense that. Looking forward to this month and this game.” — Utah State coach Bronco Mendenhall

“Big, big challenge this week. Bronco does a great job. Well coached. Defensively, the No. 1 defense in the league. We’re going to have our work cut out for us. They’ve done a really good job keeping points off the board, being physical. They do what they do. They’re really sound. Good tackling football team and very physical football team. Offensively, run first. Some designer run game. A little bit of a quarterback issue. They’ve had a couple different guys during the course of the year. As the week unfolds, we’ll have to kind of look and see what the major differences are. They do have some skilled kids, love to throw isolation plays on the perimeter. … We’re excited about another opportunity. We’re coming off a win now. Now let’s find out how mature we are.” — Fresno State coach Matt Entz

Next upUtah State: at San Diego State, Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m.Fresno State: at Texas State, Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m.Utah State schedule/resultsUtah State defensive tackle Carson Tujague (28) sacks Colorado State quarterback Hauss Hejny (8) on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Logan. | Eli Lucero/Herald Journal