Utah State is officially At the Peak of the Mountain West.
Grad junior quarterback Logan Bonner passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns as the Aggies throttled No. 19 San Diego State 46-13 on Saturday in the Mountain West Championship Game at Dignity Health Sports Park.
It is Utah State's 13th conference title overall and first since winning the Western Athletic Conference championship in 2012.
Utah State earned a berth in the inaugural Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 18, at SoFi Stadium, the Los Angeles Rams' multibillion-dollar arena located about 12 miles northwest of the site of the Aggies' at San Diego State's temporary home. USU is likely to face Oregon State.
The Aggies improved to 10-3 on the season, including 7-0 on the road, becoming just the fourth team in school history to record a 10-win season. Furthermore, this was Utah State's first over a team ranked in the top 25 since 2015. In its last 14 games against top-25 competition, USU is 5-9.
Named the game's offensive MVP, Bonner set the MW championship game record with touchdown passes of 5, 58, 18 and 9 yards, respectively. He was 29-of-42 on the day, both of which are season highs. The native of Rowlett, Texas, now has a school-record 36 single-season touchdown passes, which is also tied for seventh in a career.
Utah State's high-powered offense decisively won its matchup with San Diego State's elite defense, which had allowed a conference-low 17.3 points per game this season before getting shredded by the Aggies.
Grad senior wide receiver Brandon Bowling caught eight passes for a career-high 154 yards and two touchdowns, including a 58-yarder to open the third quarter that gave the Aggies a 21-3 lead.
Junior defensive end Byron Vaughns was named the defensive MVP as he had six tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks, to go along with one of a season-high seven quarterback hurries by Utah State.
Grad senior inside linebacker Justin Rice and grad junior safety Hunter Reynolds each had a game-high 10 tackles. Rice also had 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks, and a quarterback hurry. Reynolds had 0.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup, helping USU record a season-high six PBUs on the day.
Utah State limited San Diego State (11-2) to just 315 yards of total offense – 167 through the air and 148 on the ground. The Aggies recovered two fumbles, one by grad senior defensive tackle Marcus Moore and another by sophomore cornerback Jaden Smith, that led to nine points.
San Diego State punter/placekicker Matt Araiza, named the MW Special Teams Player of the Year, had two of his punts blocked, a single-game school record for Utah State. Sophomore wide receiver Reece Jarvis blocked the first one, while sophomore inside linebacker Kina Maile blocked the second, which resulted in a safety and a 23-3 third-quarter lead for the Aggies.
Senior wide receiver Deven Thompkins led Utah State with nine receptions for 46 yards. Fellow senior wide receiver Derek Wright caught six passes for 57 yards and a touchdown, and junior wide receiver had three receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Grad junior running back Calvin Tyler Jr. led Utah State's ground attack with 17 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown.
Bonner threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Wright and Tyler ran for a 1-yard touchdown as the Aggies opened a 14-0 lead with 4:57 remaining in the second quarter.
Utah State led 14-3 at the half after Araiza, who also missed a field goal wide right, kicked a 23-yard field goal with 1:01 left in the second.
The Aggies had close to 200 yards of offense at the half, while limiting the Aztecs to just 158, including 47 on the ground. On top of that, SDSU was 0-for-8 on third down and finished the game just 1-for-14.
Jordon Brookshire passed for 117 yards before getting replaced by Jalen Mayden for San Diego State, which had its four-game winning streak snapped in the school's most lopsided loss since a 35-point defeat at Ohio State in September 2013.
Utah State's 46 points were the most allowed in head coach Brady Hoke's two stints and four seasons at SDSU.
