Well THAT was a thing, wasn’t it? The Broncos were cruising in the first half (lack of TDs notwithstanding) only to make us sweat out the ending. That was a tough Air Force squad and the Broncos needed every bit of defensive effort to get it done. And they did! You’ll notice this is going to be a defense and special teams-heavy edition of Game Balls. With good reason.
So, with that, lets dole out some Game Balls, shall we?
Game Ball One:
Ezekiel Noa
Mr. Noa was included on that weird two numbers on the punt return play that almost cost the Broncos. BUT that was definitely a coaching issue, not him. Mr. Noa, however, did have himself quite the game with seven total tackles (four solo) and one pass break up. The most important one to help get the Broncos back on offense.
Congrats Mr. Noa!
Game Ball Two:
Jonah Dalmas
Mans was PERFECT on the field on Saturday. 4-4 on FG with a long of 51-yards and a PAT. His points were crucial given the Broncos’ inability to cash in on more of the opportunities in the first half. Curious if he is going to get the Mountain West Special Teams of the week nod? This one is more important anyway.
Congrats Mr. Dalmas!
Game Ball Three:
Scott Matlock
The Big Red Machine from Homedale, Idaho also had himself quite the night. He also netted seven total tackles (three solo), but he also got a pretty decent QB hurry. The trenches came in huge for both squads and Mr. Matlock showed out in a great way.
Congrats Mr. Matlock!
Game Ball Four:
Taylen Green
Being honest, I was kind of conflicted on this one. Mr. Green had himself an ok night, 16-24 passing for 207 yards and an INT (that totally wasn’t his fault). He had some good balls but weird stuff kept happening too. He did have that great first down at the end of the game to seal the game for the Broncos. Curious when the coaching staff is going to wheel back to him keeping it and intentionally running more, he only had five attempts and 16 yards. Not quite what I (and many others in Bronco Nation) were expecting. Oh well.
Congrats Mr. Green!
Your Turn
What do you think? Did I miss anyone? Let me know in the comments.
“When was the decision made not to play Holani?”
“Next question.”
Why didn’t anyone ask where was Jeanty in the second half?
Likely the answere would have been, “Next question.”
Who’s at those press conferences, a bunch of gutless wonders?
Ask the tough questions. Do your job. Andy doesn’t want to be your friend and journalists are not in the room to make friends. Just asking questions don’t make you a bad guy.
A lot of players on defense played lights out in the first half. Some really excellent play against the option. Interior guys played their guts out all night. Great overall effort.
I hated them diving under center trying to get the ball at the end. That hurt Calhoun’s integrity in my book. One of our guys got a personal foul on that play. I’ll take that any day. People want to play stupid games? Make them pay for it.
Honorary Mentioning to Tyreque Jones, who single-handedly wrecked the Air Force triple option in those first crucial drives. The announcers mentioned multiple times how Air Force had one of the best scoring offenses in those early possessions and Jones slapped their entire team and set the tone for the Bronco defense for the night.
Luke H
Amen.
BSU has one of the best Ds in the nation.
Koetter has taken the offense up a couple of notches. It looks as if they are building a head of steam.
I have the meaning of life all figured out but this Holani/Jeanty thing has me baffled.
I thought that the RB Noa did a good job when he and Jeanty were sharing the effort but the Air Force defense got him figured out after Jeanty didn’t make an appearance. With Holani out, it felt like a great opportunity for Green to get the wheels out but him barely running was a head scratcher….
Always glad when this game is behind us…
Anyone see the headline saying that Hank’s dad told him he needed to get the hell out of BSU?
If that was the advice given by hanks dad, it was good advice. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Hank was done a huge disservice by this program. I don’t take back any of my criticism of him as a player, but it’s obvious now that the scheme was terrible under Plough and he suffered the most. Think he could have been an all time great like Moore Or Dinwiddie. It’s unfortunate but glad it’s behind us for his sake. Hope he finds success.
Can anyone else not figure out the comments situation? It makes me enter my email and name every time even after I login. It won’t allow me to respond to other comments either. Is there an instructional guide for this?
Hey Boise. Hank’s dad gave good advice but the advice was to Hank not the world–it should have remained personal. However, I sure don’t fault him, he’s a dad and it is his call. Dads do what dads do. I agree with you about Hank, he could have been one of the best but his problems didn’t suddenly appear with Plough. It’s just Hank. The problem goes far beyond just his ability. Maybe Boise and Hank weren’t good fits to begin with. As to the issues with this site on “reply,” I think everyone is experiencing something. I use Grammerly… Read more »
“That was a tough Air Force squad and the Broncos needed every BIG of defensive effort to get it done.” Excellent play on words. It was a big defensive effort and they needed every big of it. 🙂 Avalos gave a little bit of accountability to Green regarding that interception. According to Avalos, the throw was late which allowed the db to make the play. That being said, the top receivers bring in passes no matter what. Overall the offense is getting better. Can you imagine that game if we had Holani and Jeanty the whole game? A game ball… Read more »