Utah State was officially eliminated from bowl contention with a 49-21 loss to No. 21 Washington State

PULLMAN, Wash. – Any good feelings the Utah State Aggies had after beating Wyoming may have worn off after Saturday night.

The Aggies lost 49-21 on the road to the Washington State Cougars. Utah State has now lost seven of its last eight games and has three games remaining in a difficult regular season.

And with that, Utah State (2-7, 1-3 MWC) is officially out of contention for a bowl game.

“We’re not looking for results, we’re looking to get better,” Aggies interim coach Nate Dreiling said. “We are looking for the process. It is what it is. Would it be great to attend a bowl game? Hell yeah. Do these children deserve to attend one? Yes. But that won’t change our approach tomorrow.”

Utah State quarterback Spencer Petras threw for 208 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. Grant Page caught seven passes for 54 yards, while Kyrese White had 50 receiving yards on six catches.

The Aggies had seven players with at least one reception after their leading receiver, Jaylen Royals, was recently sidelined for the season with a foot injury.

Herschel Turner led the way in rushing yards for Utah State with 85 yards on 16 carries. Rahsul Faison, the team’s leading rusher, had just two runs for 3 yards.

Dreiling said Faison has been dealing with a knee injury since the Wyoming game; and although the team hoped its star running back could play more, “he just couldn’t push off.” Turner said Faison helped from the sidelines.

“When he was on the bench, he was a great leader,” Turner said. “It was definitely a blessing to have him out there.”

It didn’t take long for the Cougars to score as John Mateer threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams, who broke a tackle on fourth-and-1 and ran easily into the end zone.

Utah State answered later in the quarter with a long drive that ended with Petras throwing a 3-yard pass to Jack Hestera.

Wayshawn Parker scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown early in the second quarter to give Washington a 14-7 lead. Midway through the second quarter, the Cougars extended their lead on Mateer’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Willams, giving them a 21-7 lead.

Utah State was well on its way and had a chance to score late in the first half, but White intercepted a pass from Petras.

On the first play of the second half, Parker ran 75 yards to give the Cougars a 28-7 lead, and Mateer’s 1-yard touchdown extended Washington State’s lead to 35-7.

Backup quarterback Bryson Barnes came into the game for the Aggies to complete a 2-yard run for a touchdown, increasing their deficit to 35-14. But Mateer later threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Williams, giving the Cougars a 42-14 lead.

Utah State senior safety Jordan Vincent, who had 11 tackles on the night, believes the “process” Dreiling mentioned is working, even though the team didn’t get many results.

“The part of the process that I think works best for us is that we have a resilient group,” Vincent said. “Although there are no wins, there is no point in the game where I can look aside and I feel like the guys are giving up or slacking off.”