Final: Boise State 40, Hawaii 32; Broncos win their ninth straight vs. Rainbow Warriors
The Boise State football team escaped from Hawaii with a 40-32 win late Saturday night (early Sunday in Boise) — squandering much of a 23-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The Broncos secured the win when quarterback Hank Bachmeier hit wide receiver Khalil Shakir for 32 yards and scrambled for 5 yards to convert a pair of third-and-5s. That allowed the Broncos to run out the clock with three knees.
The Broncos had built a 40-17 lead through three quarters, thanks largely to terrific special teams play by Avery Williams. Williams finished with 120 kickoff-return yards, including a touchdown, and 72 punt-return yards. Bachmeier threw for 278 yards and a touchdown, Andrew Van Buren rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns and Shakir finished with 130 yards and two touchdowns (one on a throw from fellow wide receiver CT Thomas).
The Rainbow Warriors rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns that covered a combined 20 plays and featured sloppy tackling and penalties by the Broncos. On the last drive, the Broncos were flagged for holding that negated an interception, roughing the passer and pass interference in the end zone on fourth-and-11.
Boise State improved to 4-1 overall and 4-0 in the Mountain West. The Broncos are tied for second with San Jose State at 4-0 — and the two teams meet next Saturday in Boise (time TBA). Nevada leads the conference at 5-0. Fresno State (3-1) is the only other team with fewer than two losses.
Holani out again
Boise State running back George Holani will miss his third straight game tonight when the Broncos take the field at Hawaii (9:02 p.m. MT, CBS Sports Network).
Holani left the Broncos’ win over Air Force on Oct. 31 with an apparent leg injury and has not played since. Junior Andrew Van Buren will carry the load in the backfield again. He was held to 28 rushing yards but found the end zone twice on the ground last week against Colorado State.
Boise State will be without seven players because of positive COVID-19 tests, and another five are out because of contact tracing, the university announced about 45 minutes before kickoff. The Broncos were without 14 players (9 positive tests, 5 contact tracing) last week against Colorado State.
Starting right tackle Nick Crabtree is listed among the players who didn’t make the six-hour flight to Honolulu. Neither did reserve offensive lineman Dallas Holliday, who also missed last week’s win over Colorado State.
Quarterbacks Jack Sears and Chase Cord are also listed as inactive. Sears suffered a potential head injury in the Broncos’ loss to BYU, and Cord has yet to play this season as he continues to recover from injuries suffered last fall and offseason ankle surgery.
Linebacker Brock Miller, wide receiver Octavius Evans and safety Evan Tyler are out for the third week in a row, but punter Joel Velazquez is listed as active for the first time in two weeks.
Defensive lineman Keeghan Freeborn and Jackson Cravens are out for the second straight week, but nose tackle Scale Igiehon is active after he was slowed by an ankle injury the past couple of weeks. Freeborn is out for the season with a broken ankle.
Only 74 players can dress for games this season, according to the Mountain West, and Boise State listed 37 as inactive. The Broncos are dressing 66 players tonight — just 13 more than the 53 required to hold a game, according to the conference’s COVID-19 protocols.
The Broncos were without 35 players last week against Colorado State.
GAME DETAILS
Boise State will put a number of streaks on the line when it faces Hawaii in a Mountain West contest in Honolulu.
Kickoff is set for 9:02 p.m. MT on Saturday at Aloha Stadium, and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and on the radio at KBOI 670 AM and KTIK 93.1 FM.
The Broncos (3-1, 3-0 MW) have won eight consecutive games against the Rainbow Warriors (2-2 MW), including two meetings last fall — one in the regular season last October and again in the conference championship game in December. Boise State leads the series 14-3 and has not lost to Hawaii since a 2007 defeat in Honolulu.
Boise State has won 12 straight conference games, which is tied for the second-longest streak in the nation behind Ohio State’s 18 consecutive wins over league foes.
The Broncos are one of 14 schools in the country to score on every trip to the red zone this season (12-for-12) and one of only five teams to score a touchdown on each possession. Finally, Boise State has gone nine straight Mountain West road games with a score in the final minute of the first half.
Follow along with our live scoring summary, news and notes, and breaking news:
SCORING SUMMARY
First quarter
UH — Matthew Shipley 27 field goal, 4:36. Key plays: The Rainbow Warriors converted on third-and-8 twice, including a 33-yard run by QB Chevan Cordeiro. Cordeiro later hit Zion Bowens with an 8-yard pass on third down to get to the Boise State 12-yard line. Drive: 15 plays, 76 yards, 5:38. Hawaii 3, Boise State 0
BSU — Jonah Dalmas 32 field goal, 1:13. Key play: After taking a 6-yard loss on the first play of this drive, CT Thomas redeemed himself with a 55-yard reception from Hank Bachmeier to reach the Hawaii 25. Drive: 9 plays, 60 yards, 3:23. Boise State 3, Hawaii 3
Second quarter
BSU — Dalmas 42 field goal, 10:09. Key plays: Thomas had chance for a 44-yard TD reception but couldn’t quite hang on to the football. The Broncos’ drive stalled on the Hawaii 25 after a pass for no gain, a minus-1 run and an incomplete pass. Drive: 12 plays, 55 yards, 5:06. Boise State 6, Hawaii 3
BSU — Khalil Shakir 38 pass from Hank Bachmeier (kick blocked). Key play: Avery Williams gave the Broncos good field position with a 34-yard punt return to the Hawaii 44. Drive: 2 plays, 44 yards, 0:37. Boise State 12, Hawaii 3
BSU — Shakir 3 pass from CT Thomas (Dalmas kick), :54. Key plays: The Broncos set the tone on this drive by opening with a 21-yard completion from Bachmeier to Riley Smith. The Broncos eventually reached the end zone on a trick play when Thomas faked the sweep and found Shakir in the corner of the end zone for the score. Drive: 10 plays, 60 yards, 2:58. Boise State 19, Hawaii 3
Third quarter
UH — Calvin Turner 1 run (run failed), 11:09. Key plays: The Rainbow Warriors had five plays of 12 or more yards on this drive. The Broncos gave up 10 yards on a holding penalty to put Hawaii on the BSU 16. Drive: 13 plays, 87 yards, 3:51. Boise State 19, Hawaii 9
BSU — Avery Williams 99 kick return (Dalmas kick), 10:54. Key plays: Williams faked a throw across the field and then proceeded to return the kickoff for a TD with the help of a key block from true freshman Kaonohi Kaniho. Boise State 26, Hawaii 9
BSU — Andrew Van Buren 11 run (Dalmas kick), 8:18. Key plays: Williams returned a Hawaii punt 36 yards to the Warriors’ 26-yard line. Van Buren did the rest with runs of 13, 2 and 11 yards. Drive: 3 plays, 26 yards, 1:05. Boise State 33, Hawaii 9
UH — Turner 36 pass from Chevan Cordeiro (Turner run), 5:36. Key play: On third-and-9 from the Hawaii 37, Cordeiro escaped the BSU defense for a 12-yard run. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 2:42. Boise State 33, Hawaii 17
BSU — Van Buren 11 run (Dalmas kick), 3:38. Key plays: Bachmeier moved the sticks quickly with first-down passes of 43 yards (to Stefan Cobbs) and 15 yards (to Shakir) on the first two plays of this drive. Tight end John Bates provided the final block for Van Buren to reach the end zone. Drive: 5 plays, 79 yards, 1:52. Boise State 40, Hawaii 17
Fourth quarter
UH — Turner 15 pass from Cordeiro (Shipley kick), 9:56. Key plays: Hawaii converted on third-and-6, third-and-16 and fourth-and-5 on this drive. The Rainbow Warriors scored despite three penalties for 20 yards on this possession. Drive: 8 plays, 72 yards, 3:31. Boise State 40, Hawaii 24
UH — Jared Smart 4 pass from Cordeiro (Turner run), 4:52. Key plays: Boise State was flagged three times for 39 yards on this drive, including a pass interference call on Avery Williams on fourth-and-11 from the BSU 16. Drive: 12 plays, 64 yards, 3:37. Boise State 40, Hawaii 32
NEWS & NOTES
Williams scores on special teams (again)
Hawaii knew Avery Williams was dangerous, but the Rainbow Warriors still couldn’t stop him.
Williams scored on a 99-yard kick return in the third quarter for his second kick return TD of the season and eighth special-teams TD of his career.
The reigning Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year faked a pass across the field on the return and then ran his way to the end zone with the help of a key final block from true freshman Kaonohi Kaniho.
Quick hits
The Broncos wore white jerseys, white pants and white helmets. ... Senior nickel Kekaula Kaniho served as the Broncos’ honorary fourth game captain. ... Boise State was led onto the field by DJ Schramm with the Dan Paul Hammer, Benton Wickersham with the American flag and Riley Smith with the Bleed Blue flag.. ... Redshirt sophomore Billy Bowens hauled in his first career reception on a 6-yard pass from quarterback Hank Bachmeier on the Broncos’ opening drive. ... Boise State receiver CT Thomas extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 35 with a 55-yard catch in the first quarter.
THIS WEEK’S COVERAGE
For one set of brothers, Boise State’s game at Hawaii was four years in the making
Keys to victory, matchups and predictions for Boise State’s road game vs. Hawaii
Boise State receiver is dangerous on third down. And an even more devoted father
Boise State star-crossed QB Hank Bachmeier missed two games with COVID-19
Broncos could get run game going vs. Hawaii
As Boise State football’s COVID-19 numbers climb, the threat of cancellations looms
This story was originally published November 21, 2020 at 8:34 PM.
