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Utah State

2026 season

Pac-12
2026 preseason report

Historical preseason snapshot from 2026-07-29, including roster context and illustrative season projections. This is not a live injury feed.

What every system says

Utah State's rank in each system (1 = best). Middle rank 94.5 across 8 systems; best 66, worst 109, so they disagree by 43 places.

Lab EPA
#76
Through week 82026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Through week 8. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings take separate places, ordered by team name.
Lab SRS
#109
up 42026 · 138 FBS roster teams, including prior-only teams · Through week 8 · built 2026-10-30T11:17:06.745613+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings take separate places, ordered by team name.
SP+
#105
up 32026 · 138 published SP+ teams · Provider week 9 · captured 2026-10-25T21:28:39.844929+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Published provider ranks; tie handling is not documented in this snapshot.
Elo
#96
no change2026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Through week 8 · captured 2026-10-30T11:02:01.130624+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings share the best tied rank; the next rank skips places.
FPI
#93
up 32026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Event cutoff not supplied · captured 2026-10-30T11:02:01.130624+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings share the best tied rank; the next rank skips places.
CORE
#66
up 13 · Through week 8 · captured 2026-10-30T11:02:01.130624+00:002026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Through week 8 · captured 2026-10-30T11:02:01.130624+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings share the best tied rank; the next rank skips places.
CFBD SRS
#103
up 52026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Event cutoff not supplied · captured 2026-10-30T11:02:01.130624+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings share the best tied rank; the next rank skips places.
WEPA
#76
up 142026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Event cutoff not supplied · captured 2026-10-30T11:02:01.130624+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings share the best tied rank; the next rank skips places.
Compare every team

FPI context

ESPN FPI via CFBD · 2026

Résumé and schedule

Results earned and schedule difficulty

Strength of record
#111 of 138
Schedule strength
#49 of 138
Remaining schedule strength
#72 of 138
Game control
#104 of 138

Unit efficiency

Performance by unit

Overall
#102 of 138
Offense
#127 of 138
Defense
#50 of 138
Special teams
#122 of 138

Ranks calculated among rated FBS teams; ties share rank. #1 means strongest résumé, hardest schedule, best game control or highest efficiency. These are separate measures, not a combined forecast. Captured Oct 30, 2026, 06:02:01 CDT. FPI supplies no results-through week; capture time records when we received it.

Why the ratings disagree

Utah State · 2026. Each system answers a different question. The cards show each source's rank (published or computed here) and coverage, so a rank gap can also reflect which teams have data.

Record

2-5 wins–losses

No rank assigned

Results earned. Wins and losses do not account for opponent strength or victory margin.

2026, provider Week 9; captured 2026-10-25T21:28:39.844929+00:00

SP+ workbook record

Descriptive EPA

-0.018 net EPA/play

#76

2026 · 138 rated FBS teams · Through week 8. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings take separate places, ordered by team name.

Observed per-play efficiency after opponent adjustment. FBS-vs-FBS plays; no preseason strength prior. Sparse schedules can produce sharp early movement.

2026, through CFBD Week 8; opponent adjusted ridge

Lab EPA from CFBD plays

Local predictive SRS

-7.32 points

#109 · Up 4 places since the previous CFBD cutoff

2026 · 138 FBS roster teams, including prior-only teams · Through week 8 · built 2026-10-30T11:17:06.745613+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings take separate places, ordered by team name.

This season's 7 games, with recent games counting a bit more: average margin -7.45 (with blowouts capped at 35 points and overtime games counted as a 1-point result, then 2.5 points of home field removed) against opponents averaging -1.97, schedule #61 of 138 (#1 = toughest); 1 FCS opponent counts at −25; FBS opponents alone average +1.35. That is worth -9.42 on its own; the preseason prior of -0.96 still carries 25% of the weight, giving -7.32.

How each game enters this SRS rating

Utah State · 2026, through CFBD Week 8. Margins are team minus opponent. The fit caps margins and treats overtime as a one-point result before adjusting for venue. Recent games carry more weight; the fit share includes the preseason prior in its denominator.

GameRaw margin → transformedVenue adjustmentRecency weightFit shareOpponent ratingMargin termOpponent termTotal term
Week 1 · Idaho State
home · 2026-09-05 · ID 401860880
-12.00 → -12.00-2.500.76379.48%-25.00 (fixed lower division)-1.375-2.370-3.745
Week 2 · Washington
away · 2026-09-12 · ID 401858446
-2.00 → -2.00+2.500.79379.85%+2.070.0490.2040.253
Week 3 · Utah
away · 2026-09-19 · ID 401856801
-33.00 → -33.00+2.500.824910.24%+13.12-3.1231.344-1.779
Week 4 · Troy
home · 2026-09-26 · ID 401860894
+11.00 → +11.00-2.500.857210.64%-9.910.904-1.055-0.150
Week 5 · Boise State
away · 2026-10-03 · ID 401860898
-19.00 → -19.00+2.500.890911.06%+8.47-1.8250.936-0.888
Week 6 · Washington State
home · 2026-10-10 · ID 401860922
+1.00 → +1.00-2.500.925911.49%-7.02-0.172-0.806-0.979
Week 8 · Texas State
away · 2026-10-24 · ID 401860906
-3.00 → -3.00+2.501.000012.41%+2.15-0.0620.2670.205

Game terms -7.08 points; prior term -0.24 points. Their unrounded sum is the fitted rating -7.32 points. The preseason prior is -0.96 with 24.83% of the fit weight. Displayed values are rounded; the producer checks the unrounded identity within 0.00000001 points.

These are additive terms of the current fit, not the effect of removing a game. Opponent ratings already reflect the connected schedule. Lower-division opponents use the fixed anchor, not an individually fitted rating. The rating's model-based 95% band is ±9.2 points; this decomposition does not reduce uncertainty or assign causal effects.

Download fitted terms and source hashes

Estimated strength from schedule-adjusted scoring margins, margin caps, home-field adjustment and recency weighting. Half of prior-season strength, including postseason, carries forward with two games of weight. SRS includes FCS opponents under a fixed strength assumption. 7 current games; prior available.

2026, through CFBD Week 8; generated 2026-10-30T11:17:06.745613+00:00

Lab SRS from CFBD scores

External SP+

-9.2 SP+ points

#105 · Up 3 places

2026 · 138 published SP+ teams · Provider week 9 · captured 2026-10-25T21:28:39.844929+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Published provider ranks; tie handling is not documented in this snapshot.

Bill Connelly's published predictive strength estimate. Its method and scale differ from local SRS.

2026, provider Week 9; captured 2026-10-25T21:28:39.844929+00:00

Bill Connelly SP+ workbook

External CORE

0.88 net points per 100 offensive + 100 defensive plays

#66 of 138 by overall (ranked here; CORE publishes no rank)

2026 · 138 rated FBS teams in this CORE board · 2026, through regular Week 8; model core-v1; captured 2026-10-30T11:02:06.855798+00:00. Rank 1 is best; lower rank numbers are better. Higher rating values are better. Equal ratings share the best tied rank; the next rank skips places.

CFBD's context- and opponent-relative efficiency. Offense is higher-better; defense is points allowed above average, so lower is better; overall is offense minus defense. It counts only pass and rush plays from FBS-vs-FBS games, with no special teams, overtime or garbage time; early-week values are pulled toward average but are still uncertain, and it is not a résumé ranking. Its scale is not comparable to EPA, SRS or SP+. Offense -10.23 on 333 plays; defense -11.12 on 406 plays.

2026, through regular Week 8; model core-v1; captured 2026-10-30T11:02:06.855798+00:00

CFBD CORE ratingCORE board: offense vs defense

EPA ranks Utah State 33 places higher than local SRS at the matched cutoff. This identifies a disagreement; it does not isolate its cause. SP+ movement compares provider weeks 8 and 9. Provider weeks may differ from CFBD weeks, so no cross-provider rank gap is calculated. CORE reports its own inclusive cutoff and is shown beside these systems for comparison only; it is an external research rating and is never blended into the lab's opponent-adjusted EPA, local SRS or any pick.

Team ratings and rank gaps are not matchup spreads or win probabilities. Matchup context and a calibrated forecast mapping are required. Do not average EPA, SRS, SP+ and CORE values across their different scales.

Read local SRS assumptions and forecast evidence

Program context

2026 · CFBD records, polls, recruiting, coaches
Record
2-5 · conf 1-2 · home 2-1 · away 0-4 · expected wins 3.0
Polls (Week 9)
unranked
CFP latest
not published
CFP final
not published
Against the spread
2026: 4-3 ATS (+1.4 avg) · 2025: 10-3 ATS (+4.5 avg)
Head coach
Bronco Mendenhall · hired 2024-12-06 · 6-7 over 2 captured seasons
Recruiting classes
2024 #121 (126 pts) · 2025 #87 (159 pts) · 2026 #97 (178 pts)
Returning
65% of production · 71% of usage
Passing, receiving and rushing detail
CategoryProductionUsage
Passing87%99%
Receiving49%42%
Rushing74%66%

Shares of prior-season PPA and usage returning in each category. Missing values are unavailable.

Provider values from CFBD captures dated 2026-09-22, 2026-10-30. head coach for the season; tenure counts cover only the captured seasons, hire date is the provider's. Returning usage carries no signal beyond returning production in this repo's research; neither is a model input.

Recruiting by position group

2023–2026 classes · High school · CFBD · captured 2026-10-30 UTC

Position groupCommitsAvg. starsAvg. ratingTotal rating
Defensive Back113.000.83559.19
Defensive Line63.000.83465.01
Linebacker62.830.83455.01
Offensive Line142.930.830211.62
Quarterback33.000.84962.55
Receiver153.000.838912.58
Running Back62.830.82734.96
Special Teams13.000.82000.82

Recruiting class aggregates, not current roster strength. Commits count recruits across the window; total rating also reflects class size. JUCO, prep-school and transfer ratings are excluded. These values do not enter the prediction model.

Player efficiency and usage

2026 · observed 2026-10-30 UTC

Passing and rushing WEPA adjust efficiency for opponents. Kicker PAAR measures points added above replacement. Higher is better within each metric. Metric rows are ordered by sample size, followed by usage-only players. Usage is the share of team plays involving the player within each category; categories overlap and should not be added. CFBD definitions

Player / historyMetricValuePlays / attemptsOverall usageUsage detailRecruiting
Grady Brosterhous · QB

CFBD athlete 5081197. Virginia (2022–2025); Utah State (2026–2026)

Passing WEPA0.21318760.5%
Pass 81.9% · Rush 38.7%

1st 58.9% · 2nd 58.6% · 3rd 66.3%

Standard downs 57.2% · Passing downs 66.1%

Not linked
Grady Brosterhous · QB

CFBD athlete 5081197. Virginia (2022–2025); Utah State (2026–2026)

Rushing WEPA0.1207060.5%
Pass 81.9% · Rush 38.7%

1st 58.9% · 2nd 58.6% · 3rd 66.3%

Standard downs 57.2% · Passing downs 66.1%

Not linked
Javen Jacobs · RB

CFBD athlete 4816099. Arizona State (2022–2023); New Mexico (2024–2024); Utah State (2025–2026)

Rushing WEPA0.1216524.1%
Pass 10.5% · Rush 41.2%

1st 25.9% · 2nd 24.8% · 3rd 20.4%

Standard downs 28.8% · Passing downs 16.1%

2022: 3★ · 0.8317
Kian Afrookhteh · PK

CFBD athlete 5219602. Coastal Carolina (2025–2025); Utah State (2026–2026); Nevada (2024–2024)

Kicker PAAR-3.46010—
Pass — · Rush —

1st — · 2nd — · 3rd —

Standard downs — · Passing downs —

2024: stars unavailable
Anthony Garcia · WR

CFBD athlete 5151339. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——6.4%
Pass 11.0% · Rush 1.5%

1st 7.0% · 2nd 5.1% · 3rd 6.1%

Standard downs 6.7% · Passing downs 6.0%

Not linked
Demick Starling · WR

CFBD athlete 4613165. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——5.4%
Pass 9.6% · Rush 0.7%

1st 6.7% · 2nd 5.1% · 3rd 4.2%

Standard downs 7.2% · Passing downs 2.4%

Not linked
Eli Wood · WR

CFBD athlete 5081209. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——13.9%
Pass 26.6% · Rush 0.0%

1st 9.7% · 2nd 14.6% · 3rd 18.4%

Standard downs 10.5% · Passing downs 19.6%

Not linked
Javon Robinson · WR

CFBD athlete 5158829. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——8.4%
Pass 15.2% · Rush 1.0%

1st 9.7% · 2nd 7.6% · 3rd 8.2%

Standard downs 9.1% · Passing downs 7.1%

Not linked
Kache Kaio · TE

CFBD athlete 5297067. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——2.8%
Pass 5.4% · Rush 0.0%

1st 4.9% · 2nd 1.2% · 3rd 1.9%

Standard downs 3.8% · Passing downs 1.1%

Not linked
Kaina Watson · WR

CFBD athlete 5222789. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——2.4%
Pass 4.2% · Rush 0.0%

1st 2.0% · 2nd 4.5% · 3rd 0.0%

Standard downs 1.3% · Passing downs 4.3%

Not linked
McCae Hillstead · QB

CFBD athlete 4923285. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——34.2%
Pass 50.0% · Rush 18.8%

1st 31.1% · 2nd 37.3% · 3rd 37.9%

Standard downs 31.6% · Passing downs 38.9%

Not linked
Nehemiah Washington · RB

CFBD athlete 5265504. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——2.3%
Pass 0.0% · Rush 5.1%

1st 4.4% · 2nd 0.0% · 3rd 2.3%

Standard downs 2.8% · Passing downs 1.3%

Not linked
Nikko Boncore · WR

CFBD athlete 5243087. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——5.4%
Pass 9.4% · Rush 1.1%

1st 5.8% · 2nd 5.6% · 3rd 2.4%

Standard downs 5.3% · Passing downs 5.6%

Not linked
Noah White · RB

CFBD athlete 5297079. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——4.4%
Pass 3.8% · Rush 5.4%

1st 6.5% · 2nd 3.8% · 3rd 2.0%

Standard downs 4.9% · Passing downs 3.6%

Not linked
Rex Haynes · WR

CFBD athlete 5086629. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——2.7%
Pass 5.3% · Rush 0.0%

1st 4.9% · 2nd 2.0% · 3rd 0.0%

Standard downs 4.2% · Passing downs 0.0%

Not linked
Sesi Vailahi · RB

CFBD athlete 5125366. Team attribution from the captured season usage record.

Not available——3.4%
Pass 0.0% · Rush 7.7%

1st 4.2% · 2nd 5.0% · 3rd 0.0%

Standard downs 5.7% · Passing downs 0.0%

Not linked

Transfers

Incoming · 29 reported
PlayerFromDateStars / ratingEligibility
Adonis Jackson · EDGEMississippi Valley State2026-01-103★ / 0.8200Immediate
Antonio Bluiett · CBNorth Dakota2026-02-043★ / 0.8600Immediate
Asher Cunningham · LBElon2026-01-233★ / 0.8300Immediate
BJ Diakite · EDGENorth Alabama2026-02-043★ / 0.8300Immediate
Chapman Lewis · STexas Tech2026-01-193★ / 0.8300Immediate
Collin Remenowsky · TENot reported2026-01-203★ / 0.8200Immediate
David Kabongo · SOklahoma State2026-01-083★ / 0.8500Immediate
Eli Wood · WRVirginia2026-01-213★ / 0.8500Immediate
Grady Brosterhous · QBVirginia2026-01-203★ / 0.8200Immediate
Harrison Taggart · LBCalifornia2026-01-193★ / 0.8600Immediate
James Jennette · EDGEVirginia Tech2026-01-213★ / 0.8600Immediate
Javon Robinson · WRGeorgia State2026-01-203★ / 0.8500Immediate
Jeremiah Holmes · EDGEThe Citadel2026-01-163★ / 0.8500Immediate
John Randle Jr. · OTPurdue2026-01-113★ / 0.8400Immediate
Kadin Lynch · IOLWilliam & Mary2026-01-113★ / 0.8300Immediate
Kasen Long · DLTexas Tech2026-01-273★ / 0.8500Immediate
Kian Afrookhteh · KCoastal Carolina2026-01-12— / —Immediate
Kye Stokes · SCincinnati2026-02-043★ / 0.8300Immediate
L.J. Johnson Jr. · WRTexas State2026-02-043★ / 0.8400Immediate
Marcus McKenzie · CBBYU2026-01-093★ / —Immediate
Markie Grant · CBWyoming2026-01-083★ / 0.8400Immediate
McCae Hillstead · QBBYU2026-01-093★ / —Immediate
Quincy Wright · DLArkansas State2026-01-133★ / 0.8200Immediate
Rex Haynes · WRArizona2026-01-113★ / 0.8200Immediate
Ronnie Mageo · DLBaylor2026-02-043★ / 0.8300Immediate
Sesi Vailahi · RBOklahoma State2026-01-203★ / 0.8500Immediate
Seth Wilfred · IOLAuburn2026-02-043★ / 0.8400Immediate
Steven Sannieniola · SVanderbilt2026-01-313★ / 0.8200Immediate
Tyler Masdea · DLShippensburg2026-01-263★ / 0.8400Immediate
Outgoing · 19 reported
PlayerToDateStars / ratingEligibility
Abe Jager · CBUtah Tech2026-01-123★ / 0.8400Immediate
Braden Pegan · WRUtah2026-01-074★ / 0.9200Immediate
CJ Tiller · QBNot reported2026-01-073★ / —Immediate
Carl Nesmith · EDGENot reported2025-12-013★ / —Immediate
Carlos Orr-Gillespie · WRTennessee State2026-01-163★ / 0.8400Immediate
Carter Brown · KTennessee Tech2026-01-152★ / —Immediate
Corey Thompson Jr. · WRBall State2026-02-043★ / 0.8400Immediate
Courage Ugochukwu · CBUAB2026-01-253★ / 0.8200Immediate
Derrick Jameson · RBUL Monroe2026-01-223★ / 0.8400Immediate
Enoka Migao · EDGENot reported2026-01-083★ / —Immediate
Gio Kafentzis · SPortland State2026-01-073★ / —Immediate
Jr Sia · OTBYU2026-01-123★ / 0.8500Immediate
Kaleb Mitchell · WRNot reported2026-01-153★ / —Immediate
Kone Aumua-Uiagalelei · DLNot reported2026-01-052★ / —Immediate
Lawrence Falatea · EDGENot reported2026-01-033★ / —Immediate
Titan Saxton · SIdaho State2026-01-14— / —Immediate
Tymere Burton · LBSoutheast Missouri State2026-01-153★ / —Immediate
William Holmes · EDGEIllinois2026-01-083★ / 0.8600Immediate
Zachary Robbins · PMinnesota2026-01-07— / —Immediate

Transfer observations can include unresolved destinations. CFBD supplies no timezone for transfer dates and no athlete ID linking these records to the efficiency table. These observations do not establish current roster membership or game availability.

Descriptive context only; no player or transfer value enters the prediction model. Adjusted metrics require unambiguous season/team history. Usage-only rows use the captured athlete ID and team; conflicting usage identities are omitted. Missing values are unavailable, not zero. Provider coverage is incomplete.

Coaching eras

Continuous appointments at Utah State. Records are CFBD-attributed results; active tenures and the current season may be incomplete.

Bronco Mendenhall · career 146–95 across 20 seasons and 4 schools

Tenure timeline · 26 appointments
  1. 2025–present · Bronco Mendenhall · active at capture

    6–7 · 13 attributed games · 2 seasons

    Hired 2024-12-06. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  2. 2024–2024 · Nate Dreiling · interim

    4–8 · 12 attributed games · 1 seasons · incomplete attribution

    Hired 2024-07-02. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  3. 2021–2024 · Blake Anderson

    23–17 · 40 attributed games · 4 seasons · incomplete attribution

    Hired 2020-12-12. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  4. 2020–2020 · Frank Maile

    1–2 · 3 attributed games · 1 seasons · incomplete attribution

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  5. 2019–2020 · Gary Andersen

    7–9 · 16 attributed games · 2 seasons · incomplete attribution

    Hired 2018-12-09. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  6. 2018–2018 · Frank Maile

    1–0 · 1 attributed games · 1 seasons · incomplete attribution

    Hired 2018-11-30. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  7. 2013–2018 · Matt Wells

    44–34 · 78 attributed games · 6 seasons · incomplete attribution

    Hired 2012-12-20. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  8. 2009–2012 · Gary Andersen

    26–24 · 50 attributed games · 4 seasons

    Hired 2008-12-04. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  9. 2005–2008 · Brent Guy

    9–38 · 47 attributed games · 4 seasons

    Hired 2004-12-10. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  10. 2000–2004 · Mick Dennehy

    19–37 · 56 attributed games · 5 seasons

    Hired 1999-12-03. Exact effective dates unavailable.

  11. 1998–1999 · Dave Arslanian

    7–15 · 22 attributed games · 2 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  12. 1995–1997 · John Smith

    16–18 · 34 attributed games · 3 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  13. 1992–1994 · Charlie Weatherbie

    15–19 · 34 attributed games · 3 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  14. 1986–1991 · Chuck Shelton

    26–39–1 · 66 attributed games · 6 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  15. 1983–1985 · Chris Pella

    9–24 · 33 attributed games · 3 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  16. 1976–1982 · Bruce Snyder

    37–38–2 · 77 attributed games · 7 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  17. 1973–1975 · Phil Krueger

    21–12 · 33 attributed games · 3 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  18. 1967–1972 · Chuck Mills

    38–23–1 · 62 attributed games · 6 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  19. 1963–1966 · Tony Knap

    25–14–1 · 40 attributed games · 4 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  20. 1959–1962 · John Ralston

    31–11–1 · 43 attributed games · 4 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  21. 1955–1958 · Everett Faunce

    15–24–1 · 40 attributed games · 4 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  22. 1951–1954 · John Roning

    18–21–2 · 41 attributed games · 4 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  23. 1949–1950 · George Melinkovich

    5–16 · 21 attributed games · 2 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  24. 1944–1948 · E. Lowell Romney

    25–19–1 · 45 attributed games · 5 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  25. 1938–1942 · E. Lowell Romney

    15–24–3 · 42 attributed games · 5 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

  26. 1916–1917 · Jack Watson

    8–5–2 · 15 attributed games · 2 seasons

    Exact effective dates unavailable.

Season résumé · 2015–2026

Coach-attributed records appear beside team-season ratings, recruiting and poll context. Shared seasons appear once per coach; rows are not assigned to individual stints. Ratings describe team performance, not a causal coaching effect.

Season / coachRecordConferencePostseasonSP+SRSRecruiting rankFinal poll
2026 · Bronco Mendenhall · incomplete attribution0–0——-9-8.597—
2025 · Bronco Mendenhall6–74–40–1-3.1-1.987—
2024 · Blake Anderson · incomplete attribution0–0——-10.4-11.7121—
2024 · Nate Dreiling · incomplete attribution4–8——-10.4-11.7121—
2023 · Blake Anderson6–74–40–1-10.9-4.6100—
2022 · Blake Anderson6–75–30–1-13.3-12.180—
2021 · Blake Anderson11–37–21–00.10.413524
2020 · Gary Andersen · incomplete attribution0–3——-16.7-19.2117—
2020 · Frank Maile · incomplete attribution1–2——-16.7-19.2117—
2019 · Gary Andersen7–66–20–1-4.3-5.390—
2018 · Matt Wells · incomplete attribution10–2——14.213.9109—
2018 · Frank Maile · incomplete attribution1–0——14.213.9109—
2017 · Matt Wells6–74–40–1-3.3-5.2104—
2016 · Matt Wells3–91–70–0-4.4-9.392—
2015 · Matt Wells6–75–30–1-0.1-0.296—
Download coaching history JSON

Source: CFBD · captured 2026-10-26T02:02:59.394463+00:00 UTC. Season résumé covers 2015–2026; timeline spans all returned tenures. — means unavailable. Career summaries cover active coaches at capture. This snapshot is descriptive and is not a pregame cutoff.

CFBD season overview

2026 stored season snapshot, including postseason and garbage time. Raw CFBD PPA is not opponent-adjusted EPA or player WEPA. No week cutoff; these values do not enter our forecasts.

Captured 2026-10-26 04:10:14.047809 UTC · Source data

Stat rankings

CFBD FBS ranks · source updated 2026-10-25 13:09:19 UTC · calculated 2026-10-26 04:10:14 UTC · provider cache expiry 2026-10-26 04:20:14 UTC. Rank 1 is best; percentiles use CFBD’s 0–100 scale.

StatisticOffense rank / populationPercentileDefense rank / populationPercentile
PPA / play132 / 1384.447 / 13866.4
Success rate133 / 1383.662 / 13855.5
Explosiveness17 / 13888.318 / 13887.6
Standard-down success137 / 1380.777 / 13844.5
Passing-down success74 / 13846.743 / 13869.3
Pass PPA132 / 1384.437 / 13873.7
Rush PPA126 / 1388.843 / 13869.3
Pass explosiveness34 / 13875.94 / 13897.8
Rush explosiveness65 / 13853.395 / 13831.4
Line yards95 / 13831.441 / 13870.8
Second-level yards97 / 13829.926 / 13881.8
Open-field yards69 / 13850.483 / 13840.1
Stuff rate125 / 1389.544 / 13868.6
Power success137 / 1380.7105 / 13824.1
HavocT128 / 1386.9T100 / 13827.0
Front-seven havocT93 / 13832.1T92 / 13832.8
DB havocT133 / 1383.3T84 / 13838.3
Points / opportunity136 / 1381.548 / 13865.7
Average field positionT28 / 13879.95 / 13897.1
Field-position expected pointsT35 / 13874.819 / 13886.9

Player PPA and usage

Ordered by overall usage. Open a player for pass, rush, down and situation splits. Usage is the provider’s share of team plays in each situation; PPA is the provider’s average or total for that player. Missing values stay blank (—); play counts are not supplied here. Standard downs are 1st down, 2nd-and-7 or shorter, and 3rd/4th-and-4 or shorter; other situations are passing downs.

Grady Brosterhous · QBUsage 60.5% · Avg PPA -0.030 · Total -8.133
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall-0.030-8.13360.5%
Pass-0.002-0.37581.9%
Rush-0.049-3.90638.7%
1st down-0.053-5.80758.9%
2nd down-0.145-13.35558.6%
3rd down0.30319.68366.3%
Standard downs-0.110-17.90957.2%
Passing downs0.0889.77666.1%
McCae Hillstead · QBUsage 34.2% · Avg PPA -0.056 · Total -2.835
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall-0.056-2.83534.2%
Pass-0.176-6.67250.0%
Rush0.2953.83718.8%
1st down-0.474-9.00731.1%
2nd down-0.265-5.02837.3%
3rd down0.97210.69737.9%
Standard downs-0.335-10.03731.6%
Passing downs0.3437.20138.9%
Javen Jacobs · RBUsage 24.1% · Avg PPA 0.031 · Total 3.369
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.0313.36924.1%
Pass0.0741.86210.5%
Rush0.0181.50741.2%
1st down-0.305-14.66025.9%
2nd down0.35113.69024.8%
3rd down0.63812.75120.4%
Standard downs-0.096-7.89128.8%
Passing downs0.41711.26016.1%
Eli Wood · WRUsage 13.9% · Avg PPA 0.440 · Total 27.735
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.44027.73513.9%
Pass0.44027.73526.6%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down0.0490.8809.7%
2nd down0.3357.70314.6%
3rd down1.13320.39418.4%
Standard downs-0.058-1.72710.5%
Passing downs0.89329.46219.6%
Javon Robinson · WRUsage 8.4% · Avg PPA 0.164 · Total 6.213
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.1646.2138.4%
Pass0.1595.73915.2%
Rush0.2370.4751.0%
1st down0.2594.6689.7%
2nd down0.0220.2637.6%
3rd down0.1601.2838.2%
Standard downs0.1483.8569.1%
Passing downs0.1962.3587.1%
Anthony Garcia · WRUsage 6.4% · Avg PPA 0.133 · Total 3.843
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.1333.8436.4%
Pass0.1644.26511.0%
Rush-0.141-0.4221.5%
1st down0.1992.5867.0%
2nd down0.4823.8545.1%
3rd down-0.552-3.3156.1%
Standard downs0.2885.4736.7%
Passing downs-0.163-1.6296.0%
Demick Starling · WRUsage 5.4% · Avg PPA 0.449 · Total 8.090
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.4498.0905.4%
Pass0.4718.0159.6%
Rush0.0750.0750.7%
1st down0.1341.2086.7%
2nd down0.6063.6375.1%
3rd down1.0823.2454.2%
Standard downs0.3054.5727.2%
Passing downs1.1733.5182.4%
Nikko Boncore · WRUsage 5.4% · Avg PPA 0.318 · Total 3.495
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.3183.4955.4%
Pass0.4234.2329.4%
Rush-0.737-0.7371.1%
1st down-0.292-1.4625.8%
2nd down-0.249-0.9975.6%
3rd down1.9881.9882.4%
Standard downs-0.315-2.2065.3%
Passing downs1.4255.7015.6%
Noah White · RBUsage 4.4% · Avg PPA -0.266 · Total -5.316
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall-0.266-5.3164.4%
Pass0.1601.4393.8%
Rush-0.614-6.7545.4%
1st down-0.088-1.0606.5%
2nd down-0.325-1.9533.8%
3rd down-1.152-2.3032.0%
Standard downs-0.251-3.5084.9%
Passing downs-0.301-1.8083.6%
Sesi Vailahi · RBUsage 3.4% · Avg PPA -1.251 · Total -2.502
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall-1.251-2.5023.4%
Pass—0.0000.0%
Rush-1.251-2.5027.7%
1st down-0.418-0.4184.2%
2nd down-2.083-2.0835.0%
3rd down—0.0000.0%
Standard downs-1.251-2.5025.7%
Passing downs—0.0000.0%
Kache Kaio · TEUsage 2.8% · Avg PPA 0.111 · Total 0.780
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall0.1110.7802.8%
Pass0.1110.7805.4%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down0.0900.4484.9%
2nd down-0.408-0.4081.2%
3rd down0.7410.7411.9%
Standard downs0.1981.1893.8%
Passing downs-0.408-0.4081.1%
Rex Haynes · WRUsage 2.7% · Avg PPA -0.213 · Total -0.850
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall-0.213-0.8502.7%
Pass-0.213-0.8505.3%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down0.0480.1444.9%
2nd down-0.994-0.9942.0%
3rd down—0.0000.0%
Standard downs-0.213-0.8504.2%
Passing downs—0.0000.0%
Kaina Watson · WRUsage 2.4% · Avg PPA 1.606 · Total 4.819
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall1.6064.8192.4%
Pass1.6064.8194.2%
Rush—0.0000.0%
1st down2.0522.0522.0%
2nd down1.3832.7674.5%
3rd down—0.0000.0%
Standard downs2.0522.0521.3%
Passing downs1.3832.7674.3%
Nehemiah Washington · RBUsage 2.3% · Avg PPA -0.535 · Total -2.674
SplitAverage PPATotal PPAUsage
Overall-0.535-2.6742.3%
Pass—0.0000.0%
Rush-0.535-2.6745.1%
1st down-0.665-2.6614.4%
2nd down—0.0000.0%
3rd down-0.013-0.0132.3%
Standard downs-0.665-2.6612.8%
Passing downs-0.013-0.0131.3%
Where Utah State sits · 2026 FBS distributions138 teams · raw PPA

2026 · Through provider Week 8. Each metric uses only published FBS teams with a numeric value. Higher percentile is better; tied values receive the midpoint of their positions, rounded to a whole percentile. Missing values are unranked.

Offense PPA/playOffense PPA/play: -0.053 (4th percentile; 138 teams)4thOffense success rateOffense success rate: 0.353 (4th percentile; 138 teams)4thOffense explosivenessOffense explosiveness: 1.335 (88th percentile; 138 teams)88thOffense pass PPA/playOffense pass PPA/play: -0.042 (4th percentile; 138 teams)4thOffense rush PPA/playOffense rush PPA/play: -0.058 (9th percentile; 138 teams)9thDefense PPA/playDefense PPA/play: 0.030 (66th percentile; 138 teams)66thDefense success rateDefense success rate: 0.400 (56th percentile; 138 teams)56thDefense explosivenessDefense explosiveness: 1.122 (88th percentile; 138 teams)88thDefense havoc createdDefense havoc created: 0.141 (27th percentile; 138 teams)27th
Values and percentiles
Utah State metric values with FBS percentiles, 2026
MetricValuePercentileBetter
Offense PPA/play-0.0534th138 teamshigher
Offense success rate0.3534th138 teamshigher
Offense explosiveness1.33588th138 teamshigher
Offense pass PPA/play-0.0424th138 teamshigher
Offense rush PPA/play-0.0589th138 teamshigher
Defense PPA/play0.03066th138 teamslower
Defense success rate0.40056th138 teamslower
Defense explosiveness1.12288th138 teamslower
Defense havoc created0.14127th138 teamshigher

Passing profile

2026 · CFBD passing family · raw PPA

Captured 2026-10-30. Offense: 98% of 220 attempts charted. Average depth of target 9.8 yards (79th percentile of FBS). Yards after catch 4.7 per completion. Completion 53.6%, 6.1 yards per attempt, pass PPA 0.06.

Completion percentage over expected (CPOE)
SideActualExpectedCPOE (pp)Qualifying / all attempts
Offense55.7%60.0%-4.3174 / 220
Defense allowed64.4%62.9%+1.5222 / 256

Actual and expected use the same qualifying attempts, which can be fewer than all passes. CPOE is their difference in percentage points (pp); higher is better on offense, lower allowed is better on defense. CFBD models FBS-vs-FBS passes, excluding spikes, throwaways, intentional grounding and attempts without air yards. — means unavailable; small samples have fewer than 40 qualifying attempts.

Depth of target vs yards after catch, FBS offenses
Air Force: ADOT 13.1, YAC 3.9Akron: ADOT 8.2, YAC 4.5Alabama: ADOT 9.9, YAC 5.3App State: ADOT 8.2, YAC 5.5Arizona: ADOT 8.3, YAC 5.6Arizona State: ADOT 8.1, YAC 6.4Arkansas: ADOT 7.4, YAC 5.7Arkansas State: ADOT 9.0, YAC 5.3Army: ADOT 12.7, YAC 3.7Auburn: ADOT 8.2, YAC 4.9BYU: ADOT 8.6, YAC 6.4Ball State: ADOT 7.5, YAC 5.0Baylor: ADOT 10.1, YAC 4.8Boise State: ADOT 7.4, YAC 5.3Boston College: ADOT 8.5, YAC 6.0Bowling Green: ADOT 6.5, YAC 5.9Buffalo: ADOT 9.5, YAC 2.0California: ADOT 6.1, YAC 5.9Central Michigan: ADOT 8.9, YAC 5.6Charlotte: ADOT 6.9, YAC 5.6Cincinnati: ADOT 7.1, YAC 6.5Clemson: ADOT 6.7, YAC 5.7Coastal Carolina: ADOT 11.2, YAC 5.6Colorado: ADOT 8.3, YAC 7.1Colorado State: ADOT 5.1, YAC 8.8Delaware: ADOT 9.4, YAC 6.3Duke: ADOT 8.3, YAC 6.4East Carolina: ADOT 8.4, YAC 6.2Eastern Michigan: ADOT 7.4, YAC 5.4Florida: ADOT 7.2, YAC 6.9Florida Atlantic: ADOT 8.4, YAC 4.7Florida International: ADOT 8.5, YAC 5.3Florida State: ADOT 10.0, YAC 8.5Fresno State: ADOT 8.0, YAC 5.6Georgia: ADOT 8.3, YAC 7.6Georgia Southern: ADOT 7.1, YAC 5.1Georgia State: ADOT 8.2, YAC 6.5Georgia Tech: ADOT 7.3, YAC 5.0Hawai'i: ADOT 8.4, YAC 4.2Houston: ADOT 8.3, YAC 6.7Illinois: ADOT 9.7, YAC 4.0Indiana: ADOT 11.4, YAC 5.2Iowa: ADOT 7.7, YAC 6.2Iowa State: ADOT 8.7, YAC 5.4Jacksonville State: ADOT 8.4, YAC 5.8James Madison: ADOT 8.6, YAC 4.8Kansas: ADOT 12.6, YAC 5.3Kansas State: ADOT 7.8, YAC 5.3Kennesaw State: ADOT 6.8, YAC 4.9Kent State: ADOT 9.1, YAC 4.9Kentucky: ADOT 6.7, YAC 7.0LSU: ADOT 8.0, YAC 6.9Liberty: ADOT 11.3, YAC 6.2Louisiana: ADOT 8.5, YAC 5.1Louisiana Tech: ADOT 6.6, YAC 5.6Louisville: ADOT 9.0, YAC 7.7Marshall: ADOT 8.7, YAC 5.5Maryland: ADOT 7.0, YAC 6.2Massachusetts: ADOT 10.1, YAC 4.2Memphis: ADOT 10.4, YAC 5.7Miami: ADOT 7.3, YAC 7.2Miami (OH): ADOT 10.5, YAC 6.6Michigan: ADOT 10.3, YAC 4.6Michigan State: ADOT 7.6, YAC 4.1Middle Tennessee: ADOT 8.0, YAC 5.5Minnesota: ADOT 6.4, YAC 6.3Mississippi State: ADOT 9.2, YAC 5.8Missouri: ADOT 10.4, YAC 5.2Missouri State: ADOT 8.6, YAC 5.7NC State: ADOT 8.7, YAC 5.4Navy: ADOT 14.2, YAC 8.6Nebraska: ADOT 7.9, YAC 5.8Nevada: ADOT 7.9, YAC 6.3New Mexico: ADOT 10.4, YAC 6.0New Mexico State: ADOT 9.6, YAC 4.3North Carolina: ADOT 7.8, YAC 6.3North Dakota State: ADOT 10.6, YAC 4.6North Texas: ADOT 9.2, YAC 6.0Northern Illinois: ADOT 8.8, YAC 4.3Northwestern: ADOT 9.1, YAC 5.5Notre Dame: ADOT 9.6, YAC 5.0Ohio: ADOT 9.4, YAC 5.6Ohio State: ADOT 11.0, YAC 4.9Oklahoma: ADOT 8.4, YAC 5.5Oklahoma State: ADOT 8.6, YAC 6.2Old Dominion: ADOT 10.8, YAC 4.1Ole Miss: ADOT 8.8, YAC 4.3Oregon: ADOT 7.5, YAC 6.4Oregon State: ADOT 9.1, YAC 8.3Penn State: ADOT 9.7, YAC 5.0Pittsburgh: ADOT 9.1, YAC 5.6Purdue: ADOT 8.0, YAC 6.9Rice: ADOT 10.8, YAC 4.9Rutgers: ADOT 10.9, YAC 5.2SMU: ADOT 8.4, YAC 5.9Sacramento State: ADOT 8.4, YAC 4.3Sam Houston: ADOT 7.8, YAC 5.5San Diego State: ADOT 9.5, YAC 5.3San José State: ADOT 10.0, YAC 3.8South Alabama: ADOT 10.1, YAC 5.2South Carolina: ADOT 8.5, YAC 5.9South Florida: ADOT 8.2, YAC 6.1Southern Miss: ADOT 8.0, YAC 5.0Stanford: ADOT 8.9, YAC 4.6Syracuse: ADOT 9.3, YAC 5.7TCU: ADOT 9.0, YAC 4.7Temple: ADOT 8.7, YAC 7.1Tennessee: ADOT 6.9, YAC 6.8Texas: ADOT 8.5, YAC 6.2Texas A&M: ADOT 8.8, YAC 5.3Texas State: ADOT 8.6, YAC 6.5Texas Tech: ADOT 8.8, YAC 4.7Toledo: ADOT 8.8, YAC 6.2Troy: ADOT 8.9, YAC 6.5Tulane: ADOT 9.5, YAC 5.0Tulsa: ADOT 8.7, YAC 4.7UAB: ADOT 10.0, YAC 4.3UCF: ADOT 7.1, YAC 5.5UCLA: ADOT 9.0, YAC 6.0UConn: ADOT 10.8, YAC 6.5UL Monroe: ADOT 7.9, YAC 5.7UNLV: ADOT 10.3, YAC 4.0USC: ADOT 8.3, YAC 6.0UTEP: ADOT 8.5, YAC 5.2UTSA: ADOT 6.6, YAC 5.8Utah: ADOT 10.0, YAC 5.6Vanderbilt: ADOT 9.2, YAC 5.1Virginia: ADOT 8.8, YAC 5.9Virginia Tech: ADOT 6.5, YAC 7.0Wake Forest: ADOT 8.3, YAC 6.0Washington: ADOT 8.1, YAC 6.4Washington State: ADOT 7.4, YAC 3.7West Virginia: ADOT 13.8, YAC 8.5Western Kentucky: ADOT 6.9, YAC 5.4Western Michigan: ADOT 8.1, YAC 5.3Wisconsin: ADOT 6.9, YAC 7.4Wyoming: ADOT 8.4, YAC 5.6Utah State: ADOT 9.8, YAC 4.7Average depth of target (yards) →Yards after catch per completion →

138 teams with at least 40 charted attempts. The highlighted point is Utah State.

Target mix by zone, Utah State offense
Short left33% · 68Short middle9% · 19Short right45% · 93Deep left6% · 12Deep middle1% · 3Deep right6% · 12

Highlighted bars are deep zones. Shares are of located attempts only.

Defense and rushing detail
Utah State passing defense and rushing profile, 2026
SideAttemptsChartedADOTYACComp %PPACPOECPOE att
Passing offense22098%9.84.753.6%0.06-4.3 pp174
Passing defense256100%8.34.763.3%0.13+1.5 pp222

Rushing production

SideAttemptsYards / carrySuccessPPALine yards / rushSecond-level yards / rushOpen-field yards / rushStuff ratePower success
Offense2253.835.0%-0.062.900.901.0020.7%42.9%
Defense allowed2373.941.2%0.042.700.801.2019.9%77.4%

Second-level yards are gained 5–10 yards past the line; open-field yards are beyond 10. These are provider per-rush averages, not totals. Power success measures success with two or fewer yards needed. Exact line-metric and power-success denominators are not supplied in this feed.

Rushing sample and attribution

SideYards recordedIndividualUnattributedSacksKneelsTeam rushesMultiple carriersDirection located / eligible
Offense219 / 225217820220203 / 203 · 100.0%
Defense allowed235 / 237231613330219 / 221 · 99.1%

Counts are attempts. Team totals include sacks, kneels, team-only rushes and unresolved attribution; these categories can overlap and must not be summed. Direction coverage uses ordinary direction-eligible rushes, not all attempts. Missing fields in older captures remain unavailable.

Raw provider values, no opponent adjustment; not model inputs. CFBD metric definitions.

Game-by-game passing and rushing

2026 · Passing CPOE · percentage points. Dashed line: season -4.3 pp. 6 of 7 captured games have this metric. Missing observations break the line.

-14.1-5.53.0W1W2W2 vs Washington: +1.2 ppW3W3 vs Utah: -12.3 ppW4W4 vs Troy: +3.0 ppW5W5 vs Boise State: -2.6 ppW6W6 vs Washington State: -14.1 ppW8W8 vs Texas State: -1.5 pp

CPOE is completion percentage over expected on qualifying FBS-vs-FBS attempts; positive means more completions than expected. PPA is raw provider PPA. These are game observations, not opponent-adjusted forecasts. P labels postseason weeks.

Game log and attempt coverage
WeekOpponentPass attCPOE attComp %*Expected %*CPOEADOTPass PPARush attRush yds/carryRush PPA
W1Idaho State440———10.00.00454.4-0.06
W2Washington292860.7%59.6%+1.2 pp10.50.03292.3-0.33
W3Utah292951.7%64.1%-12.3 pp7.00.13252.8-0.36
W4Troy292864.3%61.3%+3.0 pp9.00.15315.50.27
W5Boise State252556.0%58.6%-2.6 pp10.4-0.14335.00.36
W6Washington State272740.7%54.8%-14.1 pp13.6-0.11313.1-0.21
W8Texas State373759.5%61.0%-1.5 pp8.90.30312.9-0.14

*Completion and expected rates use the same CPOE-eligible attempts. ADOT uses available air-yard attempts; a game needs at least one. No missing family is filled with the other family’s data.

Punting and returns

2026 season to date · CFBD · captured 2026-10-30T11:16:37.416814+00:00. Descriptive totals, including postseason when present.

Our punts

37 punts · 40.9 gross yards/punt · 41.2 net yards/punt

10 inside the 20 · 2 touchbacks · 1 blocked

Known gross yards: 37/37 punts. Known net yards: 28/37 punts.

Our punt returns

13 returns · 5.5 yards/return · 0 touchdowns

1 muffs · 0 opponent punts blocked

Known return yards: 13/13 returns. Return totals include team-only and unattributed plays.

Recent games
GamePuntsGross yd/puntNet yd/puntKnown net yards
Week 8 · Texas State541.653.02/5
Week 6 · Washington State744.138.76/7
Week 5 · Boise State438.038.04/4
Week 4 · Troy632.242.33/6
Week 3 · Utah841.837.67/8
Team style
Rating history