Utah State Is on MAJOR Upset Alert vs Idaho State

Utah State Is on MAJOR Upset Alert vs Idaho State

September 4, 2026 · 18 min · Episode 112

About this episode

Zach McKinnell discusses the potential upset of Utah State by Idaho State in college football.

Utah State is officially on UPSET ALERT. And this isn't just me trying to make an FCS matchup sound interesting. FCS expert Zach McKinnell from FCS Football Central and Sports Illustrated joins Locked On Pac-12 — and he's predicting Idaho State to BEAT Utah State. Yes. Outright. Idaho State entered this matchup as a 14.5-point underdog, but Zach believes this is one of the most likely FCS-over-FBS upsets on the entire Week 1 schedule. And when you actually look at the matchup, you can understand why. Idaho State has been knocking on the door against FBS competition. Now the Bengals bring an explosive offense into a matchup against a Utah State defense that allowed more than 400 yards per game last season. Jordan Cook can throw the football. Idaho State has weapons around him. And if Utah State hasn't significantly improved defensively, this could turn into a shootout. Then the question becomes: Can Utah State win that kind of game? McKinnell also explains why we need to stop automatically dismissing FCS teams against Group of 6 competition — and why the gap between the top of the FCS and conferences like the Pac-12 and Mountain West might be much smaller than people realize. Then…

People in this episode

Host: Christian Rauh

Guest: Zach McKinnell

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FCS Football Central, Sports Illustrated

Places: Idaho State, Utah State, San Diego State, Portland State, Pac-12, Mountain West

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