Colorado State University Athletics
Memorable Moments: A Century of Meeting
10/5/2023 2:00:00 PM | Football
Utah State Rivalry is More than 120 Years in the Making
On Oct. 11, 1902, coach Clarence Griffith and his Colorado Aggies team traveled to Logan, Utah to take on the Utah Aggies in the first game CSU football ever played in the state of Utah. The Colorado Aggies beat the Utah Aggies 24-5 as a long rivalry began that day and remains in today's Mountain West. The rivalry's all-time record stands at 39-37-2 in favor of the Rams, one of the most balanced records against any longtime foe at CSU.
That first game in 1902 was the first conference game of the Utah Aggies when they and the University of Utah entered the Colorado Athletic Association, an athletic conference that pre-dated the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The two schools, despite the conference affiliation, did not meet up again until first-year head coach Harry Hughes' 24th birthday on Monday, Oct. 9, 1911. It would be the first Monday football game played in CSU history. Hughes' team traveled to Utah to play both the University of Utah and "Utags", as they have been known. Hughes wanted to save expenses, so the Colorado Aggies played the University of Utah on Saturday, October 7th and Utah State on Monday, October 9th, both were losses for CAC.
Over the course of the Hughes era, many close games were played both in Logan and in Fort Collins. On several occasions, one of the Aggies teams beat out the other for either a championship or share of the championship. Utah State also had a Hughes-like coach in E. L. "Dick" Romney, who coached the Utags from 1919 to 1948 and later served as the commissioner of the Skyline Conference. Ironically, both schools opened new stadiums in 1968, each stadium named after these two legendary coaches.
While the Utags and Colorado Aggies didn't have a rivalry like CSU fans know between CU or Wyoming, their rivalry was built on close scores. From 1924 to 1940, 11 games were decided by less than a touchdown, with one of them a tied game. The two teams always came out to play their best football during the Hughes/Romney years and in many cases the games meant something big in the conference standings.
Following WWII, the rivalry between Colorado A&M and Utah State cooled off and saw fewer close games. However, what did become somewhat of a tradition is that the Rams hosted the Utags for the annual homecoming game on a frequent basis. To this day, CSU has played Utah State 18 times for their homecoming game. No other school has faced CSU for homecoming with the most recent game being a 17-13 loss just last season. The all-time record on homecoming against the Utags is 8-9-1.
When the Skyline Conference folded after the 1961 season, both CSU and USU were not invited to play in the newly formed Western Athletic Conference. However, both schools played one another annually until 1979, 10 years after CSU entered the WAC. The records remained even throughout the 1960s and 1970s, but by 1980 the rivalry took a sabbatical.
Skip forward 15 years and the Utags came to Hughes stadium to take on the red hot Rams in a 41-16 blowout for the home opener. The Rams traveled to Logan in 1995, beating the Aggies 59-17 and again in 1997 beating them 35-24. The rivalry had not been rekindled and with no conference affiliation between them, the games had little meaning.
That all changed in 2011, when Utah State joined the Mountain West and the two schools once again were playing for a position in the schedule. It took two overtimes in a thrilling game for the Rams to beat the Aggies in Logan on Sept. 24, 2011, after the Aggies missed a two-point conversion. From that point forward, the Rams and Aggies started trading wins and losses each year.
One of the most memorable victories for CSU was in the 2014 tilt on homecoming day at a sold out Hughes Stadium. CSU mounted an amazing comeback with little time left on the clock. With just 1:50 remaining and the score tied at 13, CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson connected with Rashard Higgins on a 46-yard pass to set up a field-goal attempt. Rams kicker Jared Roberts kicked a 46-yard game-winning field goal with no time left on the clock. Fans rushed the field as CSU improved their record to 6-1.
The rivalry with Utah State is the third oldest in school history among teams CSU plays regularly. Only CU (1893) and Wyoming (1899) are older. The 2023 game will be the 79th meeting in 122 seasons of football between the two schools and will be sure to be another battle of the state institutions.
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That first game in 1902 was the first conference game of the Utah Aggies when they and the University of Utah entered the Colorado Athletic Association, an athletic conference that pre-dated the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The two schools, despite the conference affiliation, did not meet up again until first-year head coach Harry Hughes' 24th birthday on Monday, Oct. 9, 1911. It would be the first Monday football game played in CSU history. Hughes' team traveled to Utah to play both the University of Utah and "Utags", as they have been known. Hughes wanted to save expenses, so the Colorado Aggies played the University of Utah on Saturday, October 7th and Utah State on Monday, October 9th, both were losses for CAC.
Over the course of the Hughes era, many close games were played both in Logan and in Fort Collins. On several occasions, one of the Aggies teams beat out the other for either a championship or share of the championship. Utah State also had a Hughes-like coach in E. L. "Dick" Romney, who coached the Utags from 1919 to 1948 and later served as the commissioner of the Skyline Conference. Ironically, both schools opened new stadiums in 1968, each stadium named after these two legendary coaches.
While the Utags and Colorado Aggies didn't have a rivalry like CSU fans know between CU or Wyoming, their rivalry was built on close scores. From 1924 to 1940, 11 games were decided by less than a touchdown, with one of them a tied game. The two teams always came out to play their best football during the Hughes/Romney years and in many cases the games meant something big in the conference standings.
Following WWII, the rivalry between Colorado A&M and Utah State cooled off and saw fewer close games. However, what did become somewhat of a tradition is that the Rams hosted the Utags for the annual homecoming game on a frequent basis. To this day, CSU has played Utah State 18 times for their homecoming game. No other school has faced CSU for homecoming with the most recent game being a 17-13 loss just last season. The all-time record on homecoming against the Utags is 8-9-1.
When the Skyline Conference folded after the 1961 season, both CSU and USU were not invited to play in the newly formed Western Athletic Conference. However, both schools played one another annually until 1979, 10 years after CSU entered the WAC. The records remained even throughout the 1960s and 1970s, but by 1980 the rivalry took a sabbatical.
Skip forward 15 years and the Utags came to Hughes stadium to take on the red hot Rams in a 41-16 blowout for the home opener. The Rams traveled to Logan in 1995, beating the Aggies 59-17 and again in 1997 beating them 35-24. The rivalry had not been rekindled and with no conference affiliation between them, the games had little meaning.
That all changed in 2011, when Utah State joined the Mountain West and the two schools once again were playing for a position in the schedule. It took two overtimes in a thrilling game for the Rams to beat the Aggies in Logan on Sept. 24, 2011, after the Aggies missed a two-point conversion. From that point forward, the Rams and Aggies started trading wins and losses each year.
One of the most memorable victories for CSU was in the 2014 tilt on homecoming day at a sold out Hughes Stadium. CSU mounted an amazing comeback with little time left on the clock. With just 1:50 remaining and the score tied at 13, CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson connected with Rashard Higgins on a 46-yard pass to set up a field-goal attempt. Rams kicker Jared Roberts kicked a 46-yard game-winning field goal with no time left on the clock. Fans rushed the field as CSU improved their record to 6-1.
The rivalry with Utah State is the third oldest in school history among teams CSU plays regularly. Only CU (1893) and Wyoming (1899) are older. The 2023 game will be the 79th meeting in 122 seasons of football between the two schools and will be sure to be another battle of the state institutions.
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