LOGAN, Utah – Utah State’s 2017 Mountain West football schedule was announced Thursday by the conference office as the Aggies will play all eight of their league games during a 10-week stretch from Sept. 23 through Nov. 25.
After starting the season with three of its first four games on the road, Utah State will have four home games during a five-week period from Sept. 29 to Oct. 28, which includes three-straight home games for the first time since 1997. USU will then conclude the season by playing two of its final three games on the road as the Aggies have just one home game during November.
“As is the case every year in the Mountain West, we have a very challenging task with six bowl teams from our conference on our schedule for the third year in a row,†said fifth-year head coach Matt Wells. “Once again, our fans will have the opportunity to see some high-caliber football in Maverik Stadium as we host five bowl teams from last season and play a total of nine bowl teams overall.â€
Utah State’s non-conference schedule takes up the first three weeks of the season, as the Aggies open the 2017 campaign at Wisconsin on Friday, Sept. 1, followed by a home game against Idaho State on Thursday, Sept. 7, and a road game at Wake Forest on Saturday, Sept. 16. USU’s other non-conference game is on Friday, Sept. 29, as it hosts in-state rival BYU, which is the second-oldest rivalry in school history with 86 previous meetings.
As for its Mountain West slate, Utah State will host Colorado State (10/7), Wyoming (10/14), Boise State (10/28) and Hawai’i (11/28) in its fifth season in the league, and will play at San José State (9/23), at UNLV (10/21), at New Mexico (11/4) and at Air Force (11/25). USU’s bye week will occur during the second Saturday in November, prior to its final two games of the regular season.
Kickoff times and television coverage for all 12 games will be announced at a later date.
Overall, Utah State will face nine teams who played in bowl games in 2017 as five of USU’s 2017 opponents recorded at least nine wins a year ago, while nine of its opponents had at least seven victories.
Utah State will begin Mountain West play on the road for the first time since its first year in the conference as it visits San José State on Saturday, Sept. 23, in the 38th meeting between the two programs. In all, the Aggies and Spartans are the seventh-most played rivalry in school history.
Following its non-conference home game against BYU, Utah State will play back-to-back Mountain West home games against Colorado State and Wyoming on Saturday, Oct. 7 and Saturday, Oct. 14, respectively. The Rams are USU’s third-oldest rivalry with 73 previous meetings, while the Aggies and Cowboys will play for the 68th time this fall in what is the fourth-oldest rivalry in school history.
Utah State will play its only road game during the month of October at UNLV, its 13th-most played rivalry in school history with 22 previous meetings, on Saturday, Oct. 21, before concluding the month back at home against Boise State on Saturday, Oct. 28. The Aggies and Broncos have met 21 times previously in what is the 16th-oldest rivalry in school history.
November begins with a road game at New Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 4, followed by its only bye of the season on Saturday, Nov. 11. The Lobos are USU’s 15th-oldest rivalry with 23 previous meetings.
Utah State then hosts Hawai’i in its home finale on Saturday, Nov. 18, before concluding the regular season at Air Force the following weekend on Saturday, Nov. 25. The Aggies and Rainbow Warriors will be meeting for the 15th time, while USU and AFA will play for just the sixth time in series history.
The 2017 schedule will play out over 14 weeks, concluding on Saturday, Dec. 2, with the Mountain West Football Championship Game to be played at the home stadium of the highest-ranked of the two divisional champions.
Today’s release represents the first phase in the 2017 football schedule process. Mountain West national television partners CBS Sports Network and ESPN will now initiate a selection procedure, which will include the shifting of particular games to Thursdays and Fridays. That will be followed by the identification of network outlets and kick times, along with the picks for regional partner ROOT SPORTS and the Mountain West Network powered by Campus Insiders.
The 2017 Mountain West football membership includes Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico, Utah State and Wyoming in the Mountain Division and Fresno State, Hawai’i, Nevada, San Diego State, San José State and UNLV in the West Division.
For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the “Buy Tickets” tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
