Boise State’s backup quarterback ‘cuts it loose’ in Broncos’ road win at Air Force
No. 25 Boise State’s first road game of the season turned into a war of attrition Saturday, but a quarterback making his first start in more than two years led the Broncos to a win.
Boise State starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier missed the game for undisclosed reasons, opening the door for graduate transfer Jack Sears to make his first start as a Bronco, and he totaled four touchdowns in a 49-30 win at Air Force.
Sears’ last start was on Nov. 27, 2018, when he stepped in as USC’s No. 3 quarterback against Arizona State, but he began preparing for Saturday’s performance the moment he arrived on campus in June.
“Since I’ve been here, I’ve been preparing like I’m the starter, just being ready,” Sears said. “So once they gave me the green light, I was ready to go.”
Sears put up similar numbers in both starts. Against the Sun Devils, he completed 20-of-28 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns. On Saturday at Air Force, he went 17-for-20 for 280 yards and three touchdowns through the air.
Harsin told the whole team to “cut it loose” before the game, and Sears took that advice to heart. His first pass as the Broncos’ starting quarterback went for a 75-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver CT Thomas, who finished with two catches for 101 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“I think Jack is just a cool customer,” Harsin said. “He handled himself really well, and he’s very focused — not too high, not too low — but he’s got it. He’s got an energy about him and he’s got the focus necessary to go out there and make plays.”
Sears stayed in rhythm after that hot start and completed nine straight passes at one point late in the first half. With 1:22 left in the opening half, he engineered a scoring drive that ended with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Octavius Evans, which sent Boise State (2-0) into halftime with a 28-17 lead.
“It’s always great to have momentum going into halftime,” Sears said. “It just gives a lot of confidence to our defense, to our coaches and to our offense that we’re here to play and we’re firing on all cylinders.”
Sears found Thomas again on a 26-yard touchdown pass to the front corner of the end zone in the final seconds of the third quarter, which Harsin hailed as his best pass of the night.
Sears’ added a rushing touchdown on a 1-yard dive in the fourth quarter, which gave the Broncos a 49-24 lead one play after what looked like freshman quarterback Cade Fennegan’s first career touchdown was overturned on review. He was ruled down 6 inches short of the goal line.
Sears extended a lot of plays with his legs Saturday and finished the game with 36 rushing yards.
“I hope he had fun playing because it certainly looked like he did,” Harsin said. “He’s a really good runner and he’s a smart runner, and he was an absolute weapon.”
Sears got some help from running back Andrew Van Buren, who finished with 70 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns in place of workhorse running back George Holani, who left the game in the first quarter with an apparent knee injury.
Holani and Bachmeier weren’t the only players the Broncos were without on Saturday. Nose tackle Scale Igiehon, who was already dealing with a sprained ankle suffered against Utah State, exited in the second quarter and didn’t return.
Defensive end Demitri Washington also went out in the second quarter with a gruesome-looking leg injury. He went into the locker room on a cart and didn’t return.
Former Rocky Mountain High star Keeghan Freeborn filled in for Igiehon and led the team with nine tackles. Junior college transfer Shane Irwin stepped in for Washington and added eight stops.
There were also several defensive backs playing out of position. Safety Tyreque Jones left the Utah State game with an apparent ankle injury and played sparingly Saturday, and fellow starting safety JL Skinner didn’t make the trip to Colorado for undisclosed reasons.
Cornerback Avery Williams and nickel Kekaula Kaniho started at safety on Saturday, while Markel Reed stepped in for Williams at cornerback.
“It’s an unusual season and you never know the way the week goes and the way things happen,” Harsin said. “We were without several players tonight, and some of the guys, they had to get reps later in the week … and the nice thing is they were able to make adjustments, and that’s always good to see.”
All the attrition looked like it took an early toll on the Broncos, as Air Force (1-2) notched 14 points in the first quarter. The defense clamped down, though, and allowed the Falcons just three points in the second and third quarters combined.
Harsin said the defense had to adjust to the speed of the triple option, and he said the Broncos winning on third down kept the Falcons off the scoreboard. Air Force finished the game 4-of-12 on third down.
“We certainly cannot simulate how fast they play and how good they are at running the triple option,” Harsin said. “We needed to make some adjustments. We did that, and I thought we were able to make some plays tonight.”
Air Force was without its fair share of players. The Falcons’ top two rushers, Kadin Remsberg and Timothy Jackson, missed the game. Remsberg was injured in last weekend’s loss to San Jose State, and Jackson was a late scratch.
The Falcons lost starting quarterback Haaziq Daniels to an injury in the first quarter Saturday, and Air Force is still reeling from losing 40 players to turnbacks when the Mountain West initially suspended the fall season because of COVID-19 in October.
Turnbacks allow players to leave school for up to two semesters without being penalized as a way to make up for service academies not having redshirts.
Despite what they were missing, the Falcons racked up 415 rushing yards, led by Brandon Lewis, who posted 112 yards and a pair of touchdowns in place of Remsberg. Backup quarterback Warren Bryan added 87 yards on the ground and went 3-for-6 for 36 yards through the air.
Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said that players being out and teammates having to pick up the slack comes with the territory, especially this year.
“I don’t think any two seasons are exactly the same. Each year is a little different, and each week is, too,” Calhoun said. “I thought both teams played hard. I thought (Boise State’s) quarterback was really, really good, and when it came down to quality execution, they did a heck of a job.”
The Falcons put up 13 points in the fourth quarter, including a 7-yard touchdown run from Matthew Murla, which cut the Broncos’ lead to 35-24 with 11:24 to play.
But Boise State had an answer in the form of last season’s Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year, Avery Williams, who returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, which put the game out of reach.
“That’s something we emphasize in the game and every day of the week,” Williams said. “We know if we score on special teams, we’ll win the game.”
Boise State returns to Albertsons Stadium on Friday to host No. 11 BYU (7:45 p.m., FS1).
This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 10:34 PM.
