PULLMAN, Wash. – Any good feelings the Utah State Aggies were able to maintain after beating Wyoming may be gone after Saturday night.

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

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

“We’re not looking for results, we want to get better,” Aggies interim coach Nate Dreiling said. “We’re looking at the process. It is what it is. Would it be great to go to a bowl game? Oh well. Do these kids deserve to go to one? Yes. But that will be our approach tomorrow don’t change.”

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

The Aggies had seven players with at least one reception after their leading receiver, Jaylen Royals, was recently ruled out for the season due to 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 carries for 3 yards.

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

“He was a great leader when he was on the bench,” Turner said. “It was definitely a blessing to have him 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 easily ran into the end zone.

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

Wayshawn Parker scored on a 1-yard rushing touchdown to start the second quarter, giving Washington a 14–7 lead. The Cougars increased their lead midway through the second quarter on Mateer’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Willams for a 21-7 lead.

Utah State was on a good drive with 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 the Mateer’s 1-yard rushing touchdown extended Washington State’s lead to 35–7.

Backup quarterback Bryson Barnes entered the game for the Aggies to complete a 2-yard run for a touchdown, bringing 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, thinks the “process” Dreiling mentioned is working, despite the team not getting many results.

“The part of the process that I think works the most for us is that we have a resilient group,” Vincent said. “Even though there aren’t any wins coming, there isn’t a single point in the game where I can look to the side and feel like guys are quitting or giving up.”