Alas the final game (as of right now) in the somewhat longish series between Boise State and BYU. This series has always been such a weird rivalry in that the teams always have had not so fun matchups and weird wins/defeats. From one of the most painful games in history, the 2012 7-6 Boise State win to the surprising 26-17 Broncos win in 2021 (the game was inexplicably canceled in 2020, so sad!).
So with that being said, the hope is Boise State is able to end the series on a positive note.
The very first play of the game had two Broncos injured: Demitri Washington and Zeke Noa. Noa did make a brief appearance a little later on, Washington did not come back at all for the Broncos. Not a fun time for the Broncos.
BYU marched down the field, almost quite effortlessly, on the first series to score. Jaren Hall opened the game 7-7 passing before eventually missing. The secondary was playing somewhat soft allowing underneath passes. Unfortunately for Boise State’s first series, not much to comment on as the Broncos went three-and-out.
Second BYU series ended with a turnover on downs for the Cougars. Boise State had a pretty incredible stop to ensure the Cougars couldn’t score again.
On the series that the Broncos offense somewhat came to life, Caples really came through for Green catching all three passes that were thrown his way. Which did include a beautiful pass play (that included a pick) to Caples for the Broncos’ sole touchdown of the half.
BYU was marching down the field, but Skinner picks off Hall for the game’s first turnover (of which there were quite a few). Broncos weren’t able to do much with it though. Refs did miss a PI call. The Broncos punted away.
BYU did an effective job of moving down the field. But stalled out close-ish to midfield. Jaren Hall did take a deep shot into double-coverage. Thankfully, for the Broncos, the ball fell to the ground. Boise State couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity with the possession and ended with another three-and-out and had to punt away.
BYU started in Boise State territory and proceeded to move the ball. Rodney Robinson intercepts it.
BYU gets a strip sack and manages to get to the one before the half. There is a bit of controversy to end the half as the Broncos get the stop, and the refs upheld, but it was super-close. Had the call gone the other way, it wouldn’t have gotten overturned. Luckily it did go the Broncos’ way and the refs upheld.
The Broncos would go into the half with some sort of momentum despite the score being knotted up at seven apiece.
The Broncos opened the second half with a masterful scoring drive that ended with Taylen Green hitting Eric McAlister for a beautiful TD pass. It was a pretty decent throw with McAlister able to get his foot in just in time. This was the first time all game the Broncos led, 14-7.
This is where things proceeded to get nuts.
BYU moved the ball pretty effectively down the field and made it all the way down the Boise State one yard line (again). On fourth and one BYU had all intentions of going for it on fourth down. BUT Bronco Nation came through and caused an offsides penalty that pushed the Cougars beyond Sitaki’s comfort zone so the Cougars settled for the three to close the score gap, 14-10.
Broncos couldn’t do anything on the subsequent drive so they punted away. Which, of course, led to BYU drive down the field and Hall throws a 24-yard pass to Nacua to put BYU up 17-14.
And, of course, not to be outdone, Taylen Green led the Broncos back down the field and got Holani another rushing TD to add to his awesome total, Boise State up 21-17.
The Broncos and the Cougars trading shots throughout the entire second half with the lead changing several times.
BYU gets a final touchdown on a fourth down shot that looks sketchy on review and puts the Cougars up 31-28, but the refs confirm the call.
Luckily for the Broncos this loss doesn’t do anything outside of hand bragging rights back to the Cougars for the foreseeable future. The Mountain West Conference title is still within reach and the Broncos have the ability to sustain some momentum heading into the post season.
Broncos drop to 6-3 and are down in Reno on November 12.
Am I the only one that wants to see Green run the ball JUST A BIT more?
That sucked😒. Looking forward to putting this one behind us and looking to snort stomp Reno next week. Btw, has anyone mentioned how much they hate BYU?
I think this is why Boise lost.
BYU in every practice this week: “Alright guys, our season is on the line. This week is a MUST win if we want any chance of making a bowl game. And who better to beat than the team who derailed our season last year by beating us in our house? We got nothing to lose so let’s do this!!!!!!”
Boise in every practice this week: “Why are we playing a non conference game this late in the season?”
In response to Kennedy. Idk could of been keep the NY6 bowl game alive.
There’s no reason to have a replay official if they are gutless or blind.
Anyone notice that FS2 kept posting BSU’s w/l record as 6-3 and then 6-2 alternanitively all game?
Final TD could have gone either way. My opinion, he was out. The D wasn’t up to it. Stuff happens. Five more games. Let’s win out. 11 – 3 is better than 7 – 5. Still can end up in top 25–just barely. I like the BSU receivers but it would be nice to get a couple of big timers for Green to throw to. Once he starts tossing the homerun accurately he might even be mentioned in the Heisman conversation in a couple of years. Although the O-line has improved by leaps and bounds, they still seem to have… Read more »
Even though I think Nacua was out of bounds, we had no business winning that game with the way we played. Thoroughly whipped on the stat sheet. Dline was manhandled start to finish…seeing Hall stand there forever waiting for Nacua to break free all night was frustrating beyond words. It may have been a different game if Green had started the game pulling the ball on the option. He didn’t keep it once in the first half by my count, and it looked like Koetter was trying to prove we can beat them from the pocket. The play all at… Read more »
In response to the comment above this. Yeah it definitely seems like we saw less of Green pulling it down and taking off. Idk if he’s trying to prove he can throw? Which we know he can in situations.
I heard that Avalos is calling the defensive plays if so he needs to tighten up the D..and letting one man beat us all night was not good..should of doubled teamed #12..
I have a policy against complaining about refs. In my mind if you’re complaining about refs it means the team fell short and you’re pathetically trying to hang this on the officials.
That being said…
These refs sucked hard. I’ve never screamed at refs so much in my life. Taking forever to make a call on the field and then being too cowardly to reverse the call when irrefutable evidence is presented. It was shameful. I wanted to junk punch that “call on the field stands” ref so much.
Thanks for allowing me to get that off my chest, nuggies.
It was amazing we actually had a good chance to win this game. BYU outplayed us most of the night. Our defense stepped up big, especially the interceptions and goal line stand. We know Karlis is out, but I didn’t see #38 Washington at all last night? Our defense seems to be banged up a lot. Wish we had an injury report. Yes I would’ve liked to seen Green pull the ball down and run a bit more. His passing % is great but his legs are his biggest weapon! OLine #63 R-Fr Randolph is playing great, subbing for #66… Read more »
Such a heartbreak. A punch in the… I don’t like losing to anyone, but I really hate losing to these guys. Taking team photos on the field at the end is a classless move. This game could have been different if we could have found a way to get to their qb. Almost every time we put some pressure on him, he made a mistake. We don’t have elite db’s but they are pretty good. But even elite db’s can’t cover forever. Eventually someone gets open. It felt like the defensive coaches told the db’s to keep everything in front… Read more »
I had a whole diatribe to lay out here, but considering where we were at the start of the season, I don’t have much to complain about!!
Definitely agree with the comments about green running the ball more. An option only works if there is a threat of the QB keeping it.
Also, as someone else pointed out, their QB was hot garbage under pressure. So the answer is to….. rush 3?!?! No no no…