Boise State-Wyoming report card: Grading the Broncos’ win in Mountain West opener

Boise State’s 34-14 win at Wyoming exorcised some demons in the Broncos’ return to War Memorial Stadium after having lost there the last visit.

Off a bye week that was preceded by a loss at Oklahoma State, Boise State was going back on the road with a few things to fix, and for the most part, showed improvement in plenty of facets.

“Coming in on the road again, playing a team like Wyoming where we didn’t win the last time we were here, there were a lot of challenges for us going into this game, and to see how our team would come out and execute and how they would come out just mentally ready to play, they did a good job,” Harsin said.

Boise State (3-1 overall, 1-0 Mountain West), which is ranked No. 24 in the USA Today coaches’ poll and the first team out of the Associated Press Top 25, hosts San Diego State (3-1, 0-0) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPNU.

OFFENSE: B

It was another excellent night for senior quarterback Brett Rypien, spreading the ball around to a crew of playmaking receivers and making plays in key situations.

Rypien completed 28-of-42 passes for 342 yards, seven completions going for 20 yards or more. A few passes hit off the hands of Wyoming defenders, which left them a bit frustrated after the loss.

“He’s a very accurate quarterback and very smart with the ball,” Wyoming linebacker Logan Wilson said. “He doesn’t make too many mistakes, and at times today, he did, and we couldn’t take advantage.”

Boise State was 11-of-20 on third downs, converted its lone fourth down attempt and was 4-for-4 on red zone scoring chances. The Broncos are No. 6 nationally in third-down conversion percentage (56.1 percent).

“It’s big, especially on the road. It’s loud. It’s hard for the o-line to communicate calls and different things like that, so for us to be able to move the chains like we did was really good,” Rypien said.

The Broncos’ much-maligned offensive line made some strides, doing a far better job of protecting Rypien (two sacks for minus-3 yards), but still struggled to create much in the run game as the Broncos’ longest rush was 13 yards until the game’s final minute.

DEFENSE: B

After shutting out the Cowboys in the first half, Nico Evans’ 75-yard touchdown run the first play of the third quarter certainly won’t sit well. Neither will James Price’s 72-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. But the Broncos’ defense allowed just 138 yards on 48 other plays.

“Defense was great,” Harsin said.

Wyoming was held to just 2-of-11 on third downs, and was stuffed on both fourth down tries. The Broncos racked up five sacks by five different players.

The Cowboys’ shifty running back, Evans, had 12 carries for 141 yards, scoring on the long run that junior safety DeAndre Pierce said was a miscommunication. Evans took a handoff to the left side, cut back to the middle and raced untouched for the end zone. The Broncos did not allow much of anything outside the tackles all night.

“That was a big emphasis this week, we set the edges and our linebackers filled it, and we made plays everywhere,” sophomore STUD end Curtis Weaver said.

Evans said of Boise State: “Their defense is disciplined and were in the right place at the right time.”

SPECIAL TEAMS: B-minus

All things considered, from a ghastly showing at Oklahoma State, the Broncos were light years ahead of what they had done the last time we saw them. John Hightower’s blocked punt was a highlight, as was Jalen Walker pouncing on a botched punt snap.

Harsin said afterward, “I think (special teams) coach (Kent) Riddle did a hell of a job.” Though kicker Haden Hoggarth missed his first field goal attempt of the game, he made the next two.

Boise State did not have any punting issues as Quinn Skillin averaged 43.2 yards on four punts. A negative, and a trend in September, was drawing flags — the Broncos had four on special teams on Saturday, one an offsides on a kickoff, two holding calls on punt returns and an illegal block in the back on a punt return.

“Special teams, we can keep improving … too many penalties,” Harsin said.