Ask a BYU writer: QB injuries plague Cougars; Boise State to face dynamic running game
When the Boise State football team takes the field at BYU’s LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, it may notice that the Cougars find themselves in a situation similar to the last time the Broncos traveled to Provo, Utah, for a game.
In 2019, Zach Wilson — now the New York Jets’ starting quarterback — was out with an injury, forcing BYU to go with then-freshman Baylor Romney at QB. He led the team to a 28-25 win, snapping a streak of three straight wins by Boise State in the series.
Who will start at quarterback for BYU against the Broncos on Saturday (1:30 p.m., ABC) is once again up in the air.
Sophomore Jaren Hall won a three-way competition for the starting job in fall camp, but he hasn’t played since suffering bruised ribs late in the Cougars’ win over Arizona State on Sept. 18.
Romney, now in his fourth year in the program, led BYU to a win over South Florida and started the Cougars’ win over Utah State on Friday, but he suffered a concussion late in the first half and watched from the sideline as true freshman Jacob Conover finished the game.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake said Monday afternoon that all three quarterbacks were still in contention to start this week, and the coaching staff would have a better idea of who will play after a couple days of practice.
“We’ll see how practice goes and we’ll see who is the most ready to give us a chance to win,” Sitake said. “O-line, quarterback, running back, it doesn’t matter. All positions go through the same protocol, which is practice, and if you can practice, then we’ll gauge what situation we’ll be in come game day.”
Jay Drew, college football writer for the Deseret News, sat down with the Idaho Statesman this week to preview what Boise State (2-3) will face at No. 10 BYU (5-0) on Saturday.
Which of BYU’s quarterbacks do you see starting on Saturday, and what does each of them bring to the team?
I’m kind of predicting it’s going to be Jaren Hall. He’s missed the last two games with bruised ribs. Coach Sitaki has basically said he was close in both games to playing. I’d be stunned if Baylor Romney comes back (in time). Guys just don’t come back from concussions that quickly, and he hit his head really hard on the Maverik Stadium turf. It was a clean hit by Justin Rice, the Aggie linebacker, but Baylor hit his head really hard, so I would say I doubt he’s going to play.
Jacob Conover, the third-stringer and freshman, is a former four-star recruit, so he has the credentials. At first, he was awful (against Utah State), missing throws and everything, and then he settled down and drove (BYU) down for a field goal. I think it will be Hall, and I think Conover will the backup, and I’d be surprised if Romney even dresses.
Hall is a really good athlete. He’s a dual-threat guy who can really run. He’s already run for over 200 yards, if you don’t subtract sacks. He’s a pretty accurate thrower. He doesn’t throw the deep ball as well as Romney, who came in against South Florida and in the first half against Utah State, and was just dynamite with the long ball. Hall isn’t quite the passer the other two guys are, but he’s a really good athlete and he escapes the pocket really well. Conover comes with a lot of accolades from high school in Chandler, Arizona. He was shaky at first against the Aggies, but then he settled down. ... If the Cougars have to go to Conover, that won’t be what anybody in BYU fandom is looking for.
BYU running back Tyler Allgeier is averaging 112.8 rushing yards a game. What makes him so dangerous?
For a big guy, pushing 230 pounds, he’s really nimble, quick and fast. He’s literally run away from defensive backs. He’s got really good vision, and he finds holes. He’s not one of those guys who just goes plowing into the line of scrimmage, thinking he’ll run over a guy and find a hole. He’s patient, he kind of seeks out holes, and then he’s got a great burst.
He is a former walk-on. In fact, he moved over to linebacker because he wasn’t getting many looks at running back. When BYU played Boise State two years ago, he was BYU’s leading tackler, and now he’s playing running back, and playing it really well. He’s a very physical guy, and there are times where he’ll try to run over a guy instead of running around them. That’ s just that defensive mentality he still has, and he’s a tough guy to tackle.
BYU’s defense held Utah State to 22 rushing yards last week. Is the front seven the strength of the defense?
It really is. BYU is interesting this year because it has given up a ton of long, clock-eating drives. Utah State had an 18-play drive against them. USF had a 19-play drive. It’s this bend but don’t break mentality that defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki kind of plays with and has played with for years. A lot of times (BYU) will drop eight and only rush three. They just play to avoid the big play. They’ll give up short stuff, they’ll give up first downs and then they’ll bow up in the red zone. That’s been pretty effective.
They were really good against Utah State’s running game, which was almost an anomaly. Other teams have been able to run the ball a little bit on BYU, but the Aggies had 35 carries for just 22 yards. It was crazy. The linebacking corps is the strength of this defense. Everyone predicted it would be coming into the season, and it has been even with the loss of arguably their best defender, Keenan Pili, the middle linebacker. He’s out for the year with an ACL, and they’ve managed to go on without him and be pretty stout.
(BYU) has a playmaker in Chaz Ah You, a former four-star recruit. He was playing safety until Pili got hurt. Now they’re playing him in this hybrid linebacker role — almost going back and forth between middle linebacker and free safety. He’s probably the biggest playmaker on the team. They’ve got a pass rusher, Tyler Batty, who has been good. He’s a sophomore who had four sacks last year before he was hurt, and he’s picked up where he left off. Those are a few of the playmakers, but BYU doesn’t rely on a lot of pressure.
Does it benefit BYU to continue playing Boise State every year even after the Cougars join the Big 12 in 2023?
I really think it does. BYU will be going into a conference where it has no rivals in the Big 12, so to hold on to those would be big. I think if you were to ask BYU, No. 1, they want to keep the University of Utah rivalry, which they’re not going to play the next two years.
No. 2, they wouldn’t mind almost a rotation deal with Utah State and Boise State, where they play each one every other year. I think if you were to ask (BYU Athletic Director) Tom Holmoe — who doesn’t give a lot of interviews so you don’t know what he’s thinking a lot of times — that’s what most BYU fans would want. Maybe not on a yearly basis, but I think they still want to keep Boise State on the schedule. And I’m here to advocate that they need to come up with some sort of trophy for the BYU-Boise State rivalry.
What is going to decide the game on Saturday, and what is your prediction?
I think it’s going to be decided in the trenches, where I think BYU is a little better and a little healthier. I think BYU will struggle to contain (Boise State wide receiver Khalil) Shakir. He’s phenomenal. He was really, really good last year. Toward the end of the game, BYU couldn’t stop him. I think it’s going to be a high-scoring game. The oddsmakers have BYU as a slight favorite. Some BYU fans have been questioning that, thinking the spread should be higher. I’ve never thought that in a Boise State-BYU game. A three-point spread is just about right, so I’m going to go BYU 35, Boise State 31.
BOISE STATE AT NO. 10 BYU
When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, Utah
TV: ABC (Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Tom Luginbill). That’s channel 6 on Sparklight and DirecTV and channel 6 or 5250 on Dish Network.
Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State 2-3; BYU 5-0
Series: Boise State is 7-4 all-time against BYU, but the Broncos have lost two in a row in the series.
Vegas line: BYU by 5.5
Weather: High of 55 degrees, 58% chance of rain, 8 mph winds
This story was originally published October 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
