Final: Virginia 42, Boise State 23; third-quarter onslaught dooms Broncos

The Boise State football team was a 12.5-point favorite over Virginia going into Friday’s nonconference game at Albertsons Stadium.

But Virginia flipped the script in a big way, dominating the Broncos 42-23.

In their only previous meeting, Boise State won 56-14 at Virginia on Sept. 25, 2015. Quarterback Brett Rypien made his first-ever start for the Broncos in that matchup.

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SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

BSU — Ryan Wolpin 5 run (Haden Hoggarth kick), 12:02. Key plays: After missing last week’s game against New Mexico, QB Brett Rypien started and was sharp, completing 4 of 5 passes for 62 yards. He hit tight end Jake Roh for 7 yards on a third-and-7 on the drive’s third play to keep it going. Wolpin’s plunge up the middle was his first career TD. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 2:58. Boise State 7, Virginia 0

UVA — Jordan Ellis 2 run (A.J. Mejia kick), 3:07. Key plays: A 17-yard punt return by Daniel Hamm set up the Cavaliers nicely. QB Kurt Benkert’s scramble for 5 yards on a third-and-2 kept the drive going and got Virginia to the BSU 40. Ellis had 29 yards on the drive. Drive: 9 plays, 53 yards, 4:24. Boise State 7, Virginia 7

Second quarter

UVA — Andre Levrone 30 pass from Benkert (Mejia kick), 4:11. Key plays: Benkert and Levrone combined for an 8-yard pass on third-and-8 on the drive’s third play, and two plays later, Ellis had a 25-yard run to get into Boise State territory. Drive: 7 plays, 88 yards, 2:59. Virginia 14, Boise State 7

UVA — Doni Dowling 27 pass from Benkert (Mejia kick), 1:07. Key plays: Virginia was gifted excellent field position when Boise State tight end Alec Dhaenens dropped the snap on an attempted fake punt. Benkert hit Olamide Zaccheaus for 8 yards, then found Dowling for the score. Drive: 2 plays, 35 yards, 0:31. Virginia 21, Boise State 7

BSU — Jake Roh 2 run (Hoggarth kick), 0:21. Key plays: Virginia’s kickoff went out of bounds, giving Boise State decent field position. Rypien hit A.J. Richardson for gains of 13 and 20 on the first two plays to get into Virginia territory and found Cedrick Wilson for 20 yards to get to the 12. Roh scored on a direct snap for the second straight week. Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, 0:49. Virginia 21, Boise State 14

Third quarter

UVA — Levrone 64 pass from Benkert (A.J. Mejia kick), 13:31. Key plays: Ellis had two carries for 11 yards the first two plays, then Benkert heaved a beauty of a deep ball past the Broncos’ safeties to Levrone for the touchdown. Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:29. Virginia 28, Boise State 14

UVA — Zaccheaus 56 run (A.J. Mejia kick), 6:51. Key plays: After the Virginia defense forced a three-and-out with Boise State deep in its own territory, the Cavaliers got strong field position. Zaccheaus took a handoff on an end around and went untouched for the score. Drive: 1 play, 56 yards, 0:06. Virginia 35, Boise State 14

Fourth quarter

UVA — Ellis 1 run (A.J. Mejia kick), 14:14. Key plays: Benkert found a wide-open Levrone for 31 yards on the drive’s third play on a wheel route to get into Boise State territory, then connected with tight end Evan Butts for 17 yards two plays later to get into the red zone. Drive: 9 plays, 70 yards, 3:42. Virginia 42, Boise State 14

BSU — Safety, 2:07. Key plays: Virginia had the ball at its own 20, but the snap went over backup QB Devante Cross’s head, and Virginia recovered the ball in the end zone. Virginia 42, Boise State 16

BSU — Cedrick Wilson 40 pass from Montell Cozart, 1:03. Key plays: The Broncos got the ball in solid field position after the safety on a 26-yard return by Avery Williams. Cozart and Alexander Mattison had runs of 8 and 7 yards before Cozart’s sharp deep pass to Wilson for the score. Drive: 4 plays, 55 yards, 1:04. Virginia 42, Boise State 23.

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NEWS AND NOTES

Rypien leads opening TD drive

After sitting out last week against New Mexico with an undisclosed injury, quarterback Brett Rypien reaffirmed why he’s the Broncos’ starter. Rypien led a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive on BSU’s first possession, completing 4 of 5 passes for 62 yards.

Senior Ryan Wolpin finished off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run up the middle. It was his first career TD for the Broncos.

The drive marked the third straight game that Boise State scored a TD on the opening drive, and the second-longest TD drive of the season.

Moa sits out first quarter

Defensive tackle David Moa was arrested last weekend on a misdemeanor disturbing the peace charge, and Boise State coach Bryan Harsin chose to bench the junior in the first quarter against Virginia.

Senior Daniel Auelua started in Moa’s place, but Moa returned to the field at the start of the second quarter with the game tied 7-7. Moa was an All-Mountain West first-teamer last season.

A Boise police spokeswoman said officers were alerted to a disturbance outside of a nightclub on the 100 block of South 6th Street. Two men were seen shoving, yelling and “challenging to fight,” police said. The two men, identified as Moa, 21, and Trevor Buffi, 25, were taken into custody and charged.

“Obviously, just disappointed, bottom line. We’ll handle it internally,” Harsin said Monday. “Every single week, we see these things happen across college football. We have a board in (the facility) and we put things up on it and we try to learn from it. You’re always just trying to learn from things other people do.

“As little distractions you have, the better off you’re going to be.”

Moa led Boise State with 8.5 sacks last season and had one through three games in 2017.

Quick hits

Boise State wore orange helmets, blue jerseys and blue pants. Virginia wore all white. … Senior linebacker Gabe Perez was a game captain, joining season-long captains Brett Rypien, Leighton Vander Esch and Cedrick Wilson. … Senior Daniel Auelua started at defensive tackle for Boise State, snapping junior David Moa’s streak of 16 consecutive starts. Moa was arrested early last Saturday morning on a misdemeanor disturbing the peace charge. … Sophomore linebacker Tyson Maeva carried the Hammer before the game. Sophomore safety DeAndre Pierce carried the “Bleed Blue” flag.

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Links to our coverage this week:

Vander Esch’s rise at Boise State has a whole Idaho community cheering — and busing

Who has the edge, players to watch

‘It needs to be fixed.’ Boise State seeks spark in run game

Chadd Cripe’s game prediction, and a look at the former Boise State coaches who are head coaches

BYU East? Virginia coaching staff largely came from Provo

What’s with all those props on college football sidelines this year?

One former player wants to help fill the stands

QB Rypien returns to practice; Moa’s status unclear

This story was originally published September 22, 2017 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Final: Virginia 42, Boise State 23; third-quarter onslaught dooms Broncos."