The second Mountain West bowl game of the season featured two teams that will be in the PAC 12 next season with Utah State and Washington State meeting on Boise State’s blue turf for the Famous Idaho Potato
Bowl. The game was a bit messy at times, but also featured some spectacular plays by both teams. With that being said, let’s take a look at the good, bad, and ugly moments from the Potato Bowl.
The Good
A Look Into the Future
You never want to take too much away from bowl games, but this one intrigued me because it will be a conference game in 2026 with Utah State joining Washington State in the PAC 12 next fall. Both teams will look different next season, but it was pretty clear that one team was prepared for this game and one was not. Washington State dominated this game statistically, more than doubling Utah State’s total yards. The Cougars moved the ball at will for the majority of the game and had it not been for turnovers, this would have been a bigger blowout than the final score of 34-21.
The Bad
Bryson Barnes’ Final Game
After a great senior season, I was excited to see how Barnes would finish up his career. Unfortunately for Barnes, he took a beating for the majority of the game and eventually had to leave with an injury. Before the injury, it was a rough outing for Barnes who completed only 9 of his 21 passing attempts for 116 yards and a touchdown. The Aggies had also relied on Barnes’ legs all season and the Cougars schemed up an excellent game plan to slow him down. Washington State held Barnes to seven yards rushing on 13 attempts. They completely took the Aggies out of their game plan and Utah State could never recover.
The Ugly
All the Interceptions
The quarterback play in this game was messy to say the least. The quarterbacks for both teams combined for five interceptions, a product of two rusty teams that had not played in more than three weeks. Despite all of the interceptions, it was still a solid game for Washington State quarterback Zevi Eckhaus who completed 26 of 44 passing attempts for 334 yards and three touchdowns. Both of these teams will have different quarterbacks next fall. It will be interesting to see who they bring in, it seems likely that both teams will look at the transfer portal for their quarterback.
Did you watch the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl? If so, what were your thoughts on the game? Let us know in the comments below.
