Utah State 17-16 Washington State (Oct 9, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Washington State · Utah State

Washington State1-516

Utah State2-417Final

Fri, Oct 9 · Maverik Stadium, Logan, Utah · Crowd 20,806

Utah State beat Washington State 17-16.

We had Utah State favored. It won.

Next: Washington State lost to Oregon State 48-30, Sat Oct 17

Next: Utah State at Texas State, Sat Oct 24 · 7:30 PM ET · Utah State underdog by 13.5

Top comment in the game thread

Ref: "Get off the field, coach" Bronco: "What are you going to do? Flag me?"

Q4 10:22 · r/CFB game thread · Fri, Oct 9

How it swung

The turning point: Jacobs 2-yd TD run, Utah State goes ahead 17-16 (Q4, 6:22). Utah State went from 38% to 65% to win. Fans right then: “Kirby you absolutely have to bench Pinnick. He’s not in it, and it’s not fair to him but he has to sit” r/CFB game thread

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Utah State a 66% chance, and the closing betting line (Utah State was a 4-point favorite) put it at 63%.

Utah State came back from 13 down, at one point just a 15% chance in the second quarter.

Washington State led by 13, was as high as 85% in the second quarter, and still lost.

FinalUtah State 17-16 Washington StateUtah State wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

The two plays that swung it

1Q2 5:494th and 3Brosterhous 2-yd run, turnover on downsUtah State 51% → 33% (−18)
2Q4 6:22Jacobs 2-yd TD run, Utah State goes ahead 17-16Utah State 38% → 65% (+27)

The two plays that swung it

1Q2 5:494th and 3Brosterhous 2-yd run, turnover on downsWashington State 49% → 67% (+18)
2Q4 6:22Jacobs 2-yd TD run, Utah State goes ahead 17-16Washington State 62% → 35% (−27)

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q2 3:32Pulalasi runs for a touchdown as fans celebrate the rare offensive scoreA TOUCHDOWN? IN THIS ECONOMY?r/CFB game thread
Q4 10:22Utah State coach Bronco Mendenhall argues with officials after an unsportsmanlike conduct penaltyQuoted at the top of the page.How is there a PAC 12 coach named Bronco and he’s *not* the coach at Boise?r/CFB game thread
Q4 5:53Washington State fans demand benching Pinnick after his incomplete passKirby you absolutely have to bench Pinnick. He’s not in it, and it’s not fair to him but he has to sitr/CFB game threadIf our defense gets a stop, we are 1000% trotting Pinnick back out there to throw 3 horrible incompletionsr/CFB game thread
Q4 2:40Washington State fans demand Pinnick be benched after sack and holding penaltyOkay, yeah i'm done with pinnick now too. I've been his biggest defender but enough is enough. Full week to work Esh into the offense to try to maybe win another game this yearr/CFB game threadAt this point, I don't care if the other QBs suck during practice. We are not winning with Pinnick as the starterr/CFB game thread
Q4 1:33Utah State fans celebrate a first down as Washington State fans blame the refsGood game Utah State you guys wanted the game more! Good luck the rest the season!r/CFB game threadGg Washington st, sucks the refs had to spoil a solid game.r/CFB game thread

Utah State’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (Utah State -4), at 59% for Utah State (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a Utah State or Washington State flair (75 and 778); both sides share one scale, regulation only. A gold diamond marks a play fans were reacting to.

Every drive

Utah State scored on 3 of its 13 drives; Washington State on 4 of its 14.

Utah State’s drives are teal, Washington State’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

From Washington State’s side

Washington State’s best moment: Brosterhous 2-yd run, turnover on downs (Q2 5:49). It lifted Washington State’s win chance by 18 points.

How Washington State fans took it: “1-11 is a gift for this team genuinely thank you for your sacrifice Duquesne” r/CFB game thread

“Do not take the XP for granted”

A Utah State fan

How fans reacted

Steady

The biggest reaction came in the second quarter.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was steady; the crowd was steady.

Too close to call on 50% of plays. The winner fell to 15%.

What it cost

Washington State’s chance to win the conference fell from 2% to 1%.

Win the conference

Washington State · lost2% → ▼1%

Utah State · won1% → ▲2%

Before the game (October 9, 2026) → after this result, in our model.

Utah State plays at Texas State on Sat Oct 24 with a 2% chance to win the conference.

Box score

Utah State 17, Washington State 16

Washington State covered +4 by 3. The total, 33, stayed under 44.5.

Team totals	Washington State	Utah State
Total yards	257	236
Passing	23 of 36, 156 yds	11 of 26, 150 yds
Rushing	32 for 101 yds	30 for 86 yds
First downs	15	11
Third down	5 of 19	3 of 14
Fourth down	1 of 1	0 of 1
Turnovers	2	1
Penalties	13 for 113 yds	8 for 87 yds
Time of possession	35:40	24:20

Washington State leaders

Passing Caden Pinnick 23 of 36, 156 yds
Rushing Leo Pulalasi 8 for 60 yds, 1 TD; Kirby Vorhees 6 for 16 yds
Receiving Trey Leckner 4 for 34 yds; Darrius Clemons 3 for 28 yds

Utah State leaders

Passing Grady Brosterhous 11 of 26, 150 yds, 1 TD
Rushing Javen Jacobs 15 for 62 yds, 1 TD; Grady Brosterhous 12 for 11 yds
Receiving Eli Wood 6 for 84 yds, 1 TD; Demick Starling 2 for 52 yds

No rain, gusts to 30 mph

74° at kickoff · no rain recorded · wind 9 mph from the south, mostly along the field, gusts to 30

A 30 mph gust is stronger than the peak gust in 94% of games since 2018.

Each gray tick is one game. The black line is the typical game.

The usual here around this date is 53°, with about 7 in 10 games between 42° and 64°.

October game-day temperatures at Maverik Stadium

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

Fourth quarter, 6:22 left10:19 p.m.

Washington State 16, Utah State 17 · Utah State 65% to win

no rain · wind 3 mph from the west-northwest · 70°

Jacobs 2-yd TD run, Utah State goes ahead 17-16

Measured at Logan-cache Airport, 3.4 miles away. Wind and rain are airport readings near the stadium, not on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last three games

Washington State · 1-4

Rated 43rd in our preseason ratings, 63rd now.

1-2 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

L 6-26 vs Fresno State #49 of 668

lost by 20 as a 2.5-point favorite

L 24-34 vs ArizonaTop 25 #26 of 668

lost by 10 as an 11.5-point underdog

W 48-7 vs Duquesne #212 of 668

won by 41 as a 38.5-point favorite

L 7-34 @ Kansas State #25 of 668

lost by 27 as a 17.5-point underdog

L 10-24 @ WashingtonTop 25 #25 of 668

lost by 14 as a 23.5-point underdog

Last three games

Utah State · 1-4

Rated 52nd in our preseason ratings, 64th now.

1-2 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

L 18-37 @ Boise StateTop 25 #13 of 668

lost by 19 as a 19.5-point underdog

W 21-10 vs Troy #112 of 668

won by 11 as a 3-point favorite

L 0-33 @ UtahTop 25 #25 of 668

lost by 33 as a 26.5-point underdog

L 14-16 @ WashingtonTop 25 #28 of 668

lost by 2 as a 28.5-point underdog

L 17-29 vs Idaho State #141 of 668

lost by 12 as a 15.5-point favorite

Week by week

Utah State

Wk 1Lvs Idaho State17-29
Wk 2Lat Washington14-16
Wk 3Lat Utah0-33
Wk 4Wvs Troy21-10
Wk 5Lat Boise State18-37

Washington State

Wk 1Lat Washington10-24
Wk 2Lat Kansas State7-34
Wk 3Wvs Duquesne48-7
Wk 4Lvs Arizona24-34
Wk 5Lvs Fresno State6-26

Power rating by week

Washington State is rated 0.1 points ahead as of week 5. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: Utah State’s explosive plays against Washington State, 69 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

Utah State’s explosive plays against Washington State’s defense
Utah State offense, 95th percentile · Washington State defense, 26th
Utah State’s passing EPA against Washington State’s defense
Utah State offense, 4th percentile · Washington State defense, 66th
Utah State’s EPA/play against Washington State’s defense
Utah State offense, 5th percentile · Washington State defense, 61st

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

Washington StateUtah State

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

The series

Washington State leads the series 4-2

6 meetings since 1949 · Washington State has won the last 2

2025 · neutral siteWashington State 34-21
2024Washington State 49-28
2021Utah State 26-23
1961Utah State 34-14
1950Washington State 46-6

Each line is Utah State’s chance to win through that meeting. Older meetings have no play by play, so no line.

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Utah State fans are feeling it more than most fanbases this week (89th among FBS fanbases), in line with the numbers.

Utah State favored by 4 · Total 44.5

How games like this usually go

Utah State by 4, and it went to form

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 377 games since 2025 with a favorite of 3.5 to 7.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 1.5 points toward Washington State.

The total rose 1 point.

The books’ cut: 4.3%, the margin built into the odds

Home field

Utah State is worth +5.0 points (±4.4) more at home than on the road since 2018 — middle of FBS, 65th percentile.

61% at home, 44% on the road against FBS opponents (25-16 home, 21-27 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +0.8 at home vs. away over 95 games — inside the ±6.6 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. 4,685 ft of altitude — real, and smaller than the folklore: high venues run a point or two better against the number, noisily. The visitors travel about 434 miles to get here.

Last meeting in our History pages

Utah State 26, Washington State 23Sep 4, 2021

Where next

Conference standings

Place in the conference, then conference record.

Utah State5th0-1
Washington State6th0-1

Full Pac-12 standings

Utah State beats Washington State 17-16