Boise State-BYU report card: Grading the Broncos’ narrow win over the Cougars
It was not pretty, and for a contingent of the blue and orange faithful, a win is not just a win — perhaps the 21-16 win Saturday for Boise State over BYU was far too close for comfort.
There is certainly some truth there, as the Cougars got a handful of uncharacteristic long plays, the Broncos failed to get much offensive momentum in the final three quarters and had seven penalties, most that stunted positive progress.
But Boise State won a close game, and that takes a little bit of moxie, something coach Bryan Harsin was quick to praise following the game, just after a goal-line stand with BYU at the Boise State 2-yard line sealed it.
“Our guys at the end, bottom line, we found a way to win,” Harsin said. “They displayed a lot of guts, and we made one more play than they did to win the game.”
Next up for the Broncos (7-2 overall, 4-1 Mountain West) is a huge conference matchup against No. 16 Fresno State (8-1, 5-0). The Bulldogs, who are tied for the highest-ranked team to ever visit Albertsons Stadium, have allowed just 36 points in conference play and are on a six-game winning streak. Boise State received 15 points in the latest AP Top 25, eight spots out of the rankings.
OFFENSE: C-minus
It looked like the Broncos were going to roll, scoring on their first two drives to take a quick 14-0 lead, but managed to score just once more their final nine drives of the game.
After 110 yards on those two touchdown drives, Boise State had 217 yards the rest of the way. Senior quarterback Brett Rypien was 23-of-35 for 214 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but was mostly ineffective after the first quarter. The Broncos were 8-of-14 on third down, continuing their strong showing in tough situations.
Once again, the run game was mediocre, though Alexander Mattison finished with 89 yards and two touchdowns. The Broncos had 113 yards on 37 carries, and ran 82nd nationally in rushing (154.4 yards per game). Mattison did finish off the 16-play, 79-yard, 8-minute drive late in the third quarter with some solid running.
“We knew we were going to have to run the ball to be successful and I thought we did a pretty good job of that, enough plays to win the game,” Rypien said.
DEFENSE: B
First, the negative, as BYU, which came in with the 120th-ranked offense in terms of yards per game, moved the ball frequently, getting inside the Broncos’ 30-yard line eight times. The Cougars had three long pass completions, including a 59-yarder late that was their first gain of more than 50 yards all season. Wilson, in his first road start, threw for 252 yards.
However, Boise State got tough when it needed to, allowing just three field goals and a touchdown when BYU got within 90 feet of the end zone on those eight drives. The Broncos also got seven sacks, their most since the 2014 Fiesta Bowl, harassing ex-Boise State commit Zach Wilson all night long.
“One of the things coach Harsin talked about (Friday) night was to pressure and confuse the quarterback ... he might give us something, make some bad throws,” STUD end Curtis Weaver said.
Boise State forced a pair of turnovers on defense and held BYU to 3-of-12 on third downs.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C-minus
It is truly amazing how many times the Broncos have been called for penalties just on returns alone this season — nine thus far — and how they have brought back huge plays. Take Saturday, for example, when Sam Whitney’s block in the back on John Hightower’s kickoff return negated a 100-yard touchdown in the second quarter with the Broncos leading 14-6.
Kicker Haden Hoggarth missed his lone field goal attempt, a 41-yarder, early in the second quarter. The Broncos allowed the Cougars to have just 22 yards on two kickoff returns, including a forced fumble by Avery Williams and recovered by Skyler Seibold, but the drive ended with Hoggarth’s miss.