Utah State becomes latest Mountain West team in Pac-12. Kickoff time set at Boise State

Out with the old, in with the … old?

The new-look Pac-12 earned another member Tuesday evening when Utah State announced it had accepted an invitation to join the conference. The Aggies became the seventh team in the revived Pac-12, which has simply raided the Mountain West. It includes leftover members Washington State and Oregon State, plus Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State and now Utah State.

Adding the Logan, Utah, school means the Pac-12 still must get at least one more program to join to meet the eight-school minimum required by the NCAA for an FBS conference.

The move came after four schools expected to be Pac-12 targets — Memphis, Tulane, UTSA and South Florida — committed Monday to remain with the American Athletic Conference.

The move also came on the same day that the kickoff time was announced for what is still a Mountain West showdown: Utah State at Boise State. That game is Saturday, Oct. 5, at Albertsons Stadium, with kickoff at 5 p.m. It will be televised on FS2.

As for the new Pac-12, some options are still available — primarily, continuing to look to the Mountain West, which has potential future members such as UNLV and Air Force.

UNLV signed and sent a memorandum of understanding to the Mountain West on Monday, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, which outlined the school’s intent to remain with its current conference. ESPN reported that the MOU was sent with the idea that all eight remaining Mountain West teams would stay with the league, something that won’t happen with Utah State’s departure.

That school’s commitment to the Pac-12 has UNLV considering its options again, ESPN reported. If UNLV were to join Utah State, the Pac-12 would hit the magic number of eight members — and leave the depleted Mountain West with six schools.

Meanwhile, Gonzaga plans to join the Pac-12 for basketball, according to Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, but that would do nothing for football. Gonzaga’s athletic director, Chris Standiford, said that Gonzaga joining the Pac-12 was “not accurate,” The Spokesman-Review reported. Action Network later said it stood by its reporting.

Gonzaga has not had a football team since 1941.