Boise State’s historic season ends in emotional bowl loss. ‘I take it very personal.’
Boise State pass rusher Curtis Weaver has no qualms about showing his emotions.
As his teammates made their way around Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday night for a somber thank you to the fans after the Broncos’ 38-7 loss to Washington in the Las Vegas Bowl, Weaver was seated alone on one of the metal benches that lined Boise State’s sideline, and he couldn’t stop the tears flowing down his cheeks.
“I take it very personal,” Weaver said. “It goes back all the way to when we had our first players meeting before fall camp. The whole defense and the whole offense, those guys every day are going to give you their all, and that’s what it is at Boise State. No one is going to give you 90 percent. Everyone is going to give you 110 percent, and if they can’t, that means they’re injured.”
[Related: Chris Petersen leaves with another big win; Broncos’ big loss was all about coaching; Instant Analysis: Washington exposes Boise State flaws; Boise State extends nation-best streak; Scoring summary]
First it was fellow defensive lineman Sonatane Lui, who was emotional himself when he leaned over Weaver to offer a hug. Then Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin perched next to him with his right arm draped over the shoulder of one of the best pass rushers in Broncos history.
“I love you. Thank you. We had a great 2019 season,” Weaver said, reciting Harsin’s words.
“We wanted to cement it,” Weaver said. “We wanted to finish the legacy for this year.”
It was a special season for the No. 18 Broncos (12-2). They completed their first undefeated run through Mountain West play and claimed their second conference title in three years, but an issue that hovered over Boise State for much of the season proved costly on the biggest stage.
A season’s worth of questions surrounding Boise State’s quarterbacks culminated Saturday in an anemic offensive performance (266 yards) and the Broncos’ first loss in five appearances in the Las Vegas Bowl.
They managed just 78 rushing yards and 188 through the air, went 3-of-11 on third down and finished with three turnovers — two of which Washington turned into 14 points.
After senior quarterback Jaylon Henderson started the Broncos’ past four wins, they went with true freshman Hank Bachmeier on Saturday. He hadn’t played since suffering what appeared to be a shoulder injury on Nov. 2 at San Jose State, and it showed.
Boise State had to burn a timeout on its first drive of the game after confusion in the huddle left the Broncos trying to beat the play clock. A couple plays later, Bachmeier managed to elude a pass rusher, but he delivered a pass that soared well above its intended target and into the hands of Washington safety Myles Bryant. The Huskies quickly converted the turnover into a 7-0 lead on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Eason to Andre Baccellia.
Early in the third quarter, Bachmeier (15-of-26, 119 yards) was picked off again. This time it was on an attempt at a screen pass, and cornerback Elijah Molden returned the interception 31 yards to Boise State’s 24-yard line. Three plays later, Richard Newton bullied his way into the end zone on a 2-yard touchdown run, which gave the Huskies a 24-0 lead with 10:22 left in the third quarter.
Wide receiver John Hightower also lost a fumble late in the fourth quarter.
“They had athletes, they schemed us and they executed their plays,” Weaver said. “That’s what got to us when we made the little mistakes. They exposed it.”
On Friday, Boise State announced Henderson was battling an illness, which kept him out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday. He said after the game, though, that he didn’t think the sickness was why he didn’t start. Harsin confirmed as much.
“It had nothing to do with the sickness. It was getting Hank the opportunity to go out there and play, too,” Harsin said. “I think we forget Hank won seven games earlier in the season. It’s been so long, but he’s also been a part of this and Hank is a good football player.”
Having been on the field for just two plays to that point, Henderson (5-of-10, 48 yards, TD) replaced Bachmeier on the series after his second interception, and the junior college transfer engineered Boise State’s best drive of the day.
He opened the Broncos’ only scoring drive with a 21-yard completion to Khalil Shakir, and he got a hand from a trick play, which included wide receiver CT Thomas completing a 21-yard pass to Octavius Evans to put the ball on Washington’s 17. Henderson capped the drive with a shovel pass, which running back George Holani took for a 10-yard touchdown to cut the Huskies’ lead to 24-7.
By that point, though, the damage had been done. Washington’s offense was operating with confidence, which manifested itself in a halfback-option pass Newton threw to receiver Terrell Bynum for a 13-yard touchdown. Running back Salvon Ahmed capped the game with his second rushing touchdown, which gave the Huskies their 38-7 lead with 2:29 to play.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t get the win, but I’ll shake it off and wake up tomorrow morning,” said Henderson, who added he had about 25 family members from Houston in attendance.
Harsin laid the blame for the loss on himself and his coaching staff.
“Ultimately it falls back on me, and this performance tonight, that’s my fault, so I’ve got a lot of work to do in the offseason,” Harsin said. “We just flat out needed to coach better in this game and prepare our guys better. Our guys played hard. They did a good job in practice and they were ready to play. As coaches, we didn’t do a good enough job to make the adjustments that we needed to and we didn’t call plays at the right time.”
Harsin wouldn’t say who called the plays, though he said leading up to the game that he’s been involved in the playcalling before and would be again. Offensive coordinator Zak Hill was the primary playcaller this season but his departure for Arizona State left the Broncos to fill that role.
“Whatever’s worked up to this point, we really operated a lot in the same way,” Harsin said. “At the end of the day, we didn’t do enough to win the game, and Washington played well. And when you get the turnovers like that and (the Huskies) get it at midfield, you’re able to execute and put points on the board. More than anything, it’s simple that way.”
As simple as the reasoning may be, Harsin said Saturday’s loss is going to stick with the Broncos for a while.
“I’m disappointed for our seniors. I feel for those guys,” he said. “And for the guys coming back, this should sting. This should be something that drives and motivates us as we go into the offseason and prepare because, at the end of the day, you’re only as good as your last game.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2019 at 12:29 AM.
