Final Score Notre Dame 28, Boise State 7
Obviously, not the happiest game recap. I wish I could say that Boise State went to South Bend, fought the good fight, and won. I wish I could tell you that. Unfortunately, that was not at all the case. As you can see from the team stats below, an absolutely comical number of penalties, combined with four interceptions (it would have been five, but Madsen got bailed out by a penalty) sunk any hope the Broncos had of playing spoiler.
The game actually started pretty well. Boise State forced a turnover on downs right at the beginning, and even though Notre Dame drove down and scored on their next possession, Braxton Fely blocked the PAT. After that, Boise State scored on a very sneaky Madsen keeper and hit the XP, so the Broncos actually had the lead, 7-6, almost until the end of the first half. With about a minute to play before halftime, ND drove down and scored. To respond, Boise State actually put together some fast chunk plays and it looked like they were at least going to get a field goal before going into the locker room, but that got snuffed out by the first of Maddux’s interceptions.
After the half, the defense did their best. They at least kept Notre Dame under the speed limit, but ND just slowly chipped away. Meanwhile, it seemed like every other positive offensive play for BSU got called back on a penalty. Finally, after a BSU turnover on downs at midfield, Notre Dame’s other very impressive running back, Jadarian Price, took the very next snap 49 yards to the house. A comeback had stretched to a longshot before, but that run was the definitive dagger.
The Boise State offensive line paved the way for only 2.9 yards per carry and struggled all day to protect Madsen. It didn’t help that some guys were playing out of their usual positions to cover for injuries. There were a few mishandled snaps and they gave up four sacks. It would have been more, but Madsen was able to scramble out of danger a few times.
Overall, this was a disheartening result in a game where Boise State–despite a low margin for error–definitely had a shot. Unfortunately, most “shots” went straight into their own feet and this game will be remembered for more penalties than they’ve had in a game since 2004.
On the bright side, this game has zero impact on the conference race, and the Broncos will be home next weekend. They even have a pretty friendly matchup vs New Mexico, so hopefully they can do that thing where they have way more points than the other team at the end of the game, so we can feel better about ourselves.
Safe travels to all those that made it out to the midwest, and we hope to see you all in Albertson’s Stadium next weekend!
Oline is not as good as advertised.
I still saw some defenders jogging toward the ball. Like USF.
They were really picking on Banks. Considering, he didn’t play too bad.
The pass rush is not so good.
Still having trouble talking.
Matt Lauter was missed.
Somebody on the defence has to get people fired up. Leadership needed.
Hey, AFFan1982, I’m eating my hat. Disappointing QB play.
No need to eat your hat. Have you ever had those times where you really want to be proven wrong?
Now ya tell me. I knew you wanted to be wrong.
Almost forgot, hats off to the defense in the first half.
I did want to be wrong-I knew I wouldn’t, but I wanted to. I would have gladly come here and posted my factual ignorance.
To your point, I wanted to be wrong about TG10 and Hurricane Hank. I wanted Nick Patti to be the heir apparent to Kellen Moore. I wanted a 44-inch vertical.
I thought we might have had something in TG10, then I watched him play. He could really turn plays with his legs but, his passing….not so much. The other two were about the same, in different respects, of course.
I always wondered how taylen would have turned out if he had stayed. You could definitely tell he was making progress under Dirk. Wondered how much progress he would have made having another year with him?
Having watched him play a couple games this year (and last), I don’t think he would have gone much farther. He’s still doing the same things he did when at BSU.
Everyone can relax now. Pressure is off as far as the cfp.are concerned. The team needs to concentrate on the mwc now and win it IF they can? For sure they need to sit Madsen for a half and see what the backup can do?
Notre Dame had averaged 44 points a game. The Broncos held them to 28. However, they averaged giving up about 27, and the Broncos could only manage 7.
My first reaction was “could have been worse”, but in retrospect, that was a winnable game. So not happy from that standpoint.
There are all kinds of things that need to improve, but if you take care of tackling and some semblance of a passing game, we have ourselves a really solid team. A lot of season left! Looking forward to traveling to Boise next week to see our Broncos play.
My question is this: Why in the world can’t we get a decent quarterback to play at Boise State? We haven’t had a good quarterback since Rypien. We haven’t had a close-to-great quarterback since Kellen. I mean, even UNM has had Dampier in the last decade. Utah State had Jordan Love, then a few other serviceable ones. Heck, Fresno had Haener. I’m not saying these were world-beaters (except Jordan Love, who is pretty talented!). BUT, we have been one of standard-bearers in the G5/6 for years, and we cannot get a quarterback??? Madsen is getting worse and he just doesn’t… Read more »
Jittery and I had this conversation in another FKWG thread, wherein I asked the same question….This is truly an enigma.