Final: Boise State 26, No. 10 BYU 17; short-handed Broncos force four turnovers in upset
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Boise State 26, BYU 17
Boise State turned two BYU fumbles into 14 points late in the first half and never looked back, beating the No. 10-ranked Cougars on their home field in Provo, Utah. Read all our coverage here.
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The Boise State football team shook off early-season struggles and a rash of injuries to deliver a stunning win Saturday afternoon at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
The Broncos recovered three fumbles and grabbed an interception on their way to a 26-17 victory against No. 10 BYU.
It was the Broncos’ first road win against a Top 10 opponent since the 2001 game at No. 8 Fresno State — the first season of Dan Hawkins’ tenure as Boise State’s coach. Current first-year coach Andy Avalos played on that team.
The Broncos improved to 3-3. In two of their three losses, they squandered leads of at least 13 points.
That wasn’t a problem in Provo.
Boise State recovered fumbles on back-to-back BYU plays in the second quarter — a run and a kickoff return — and made a fourth-down stop. They used the ensuing field position to flip a 10-3 deficit into a 20-10 halftime lead.
The defense remained stout throughout the second half.
“It’s taken us going through what we’ve gone through this season to realize what we need to do week in, week out, every single day to be able to come out and play four quarters of our best football,” Avalos said on the ABC telecast. “… It’s a pretty special feeling right now.”
Added Avalos: “There’s certain things we’ve got to get better at — that’s obvious. We’re a growing team, and we’re going to continue to grow and we’re not going to stop here.”
Game coverage
Instant analysis: Resurgent running game, resilient defense lead Boise State past BYU
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Boise State’s much-maligned running game comes to life in rivalry game at BYU
BYU hadn’t made this mistake all season. It did three times in a loss to Boise State
Boise State football beat a Top 10 team for the sixth time. Here are the 6 wins
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SCORING SUMMARY
First quarter
BYU — Jake Oldroyd 30 field goal, 10:24. Key plays: Three of the Cougars’ first four plays went for 10 or more yards. But a false start on third-and-4 from the BSU 8-yard line and an incomplete pass forced BYU to settle for three. Drive: 10 plays, 62 yards, 4:36. BYU 3, Boise State 0
BYU — Samson Nacua 14 pass from Jaren Hall (Oldroyd kick), 6:55. Key plays: After forcing a BSU three-and-out, the Cougars started this drive with a 37-yard reception from Puka Nacua. A pass interference call against Boise State further aided the Cougars’ swift march downfield. Drive: 5 plays, 84 yards, 2:20. BYU 10, Boise State 0
BSU — Jonah Dalmas 41 field goal, 1:25. Key plays: The Broncos jump-started this drive on the ground thanks to an 11-yard run from QB Hank Bachmeier followed by a 12-yard run from RB Cyrus Habibi-Likio. Octavius Evans then made a 13-yard catch on third-and-12 to keep the drive alive. Drive: 14 plays, 59 yards, 5:26. BYU 10, Boise State 3
Second quarter
BSU — Cyrus Habibi-Likio 11 run (Dalmas kick), 6:29. Key play: The Boise State defense set up this scoring drive with a takeaway when edge Isaiah Bagnah popped the football out of the hands of BYU running back Tyler Allgeier and BSU DT Scott Matlock recovered the football at the BYU 24-yard line. Drive: 4 plays, 24 yards, 1:30. Boise State 10, BYU 10
BSU — Andrew Van Buren 1 run (Dalmas kick), 3:34. Key play: BYU’s Lopini Katoa fumbled the kick return, courtesy of a strip from Boise State’s Alexander Teubner, and JL Skinner recovered the football for the Broncos on the BYU 23-yard line. Drive: 5 plays, 23 yards, 2:48. Boise State 17, BYU 10
BSU — Dalmas 20 field goal, 0:00. Key plays: BYU turned it over on downs, giving BSU the ball on the Cougars’ 46-yard line. Hank Bachmeier completed back-to-back passes of 10 and 24 yards to Khalil Shakir and Octavius Evans, respectively, to get to the BYU 1-yard line. Drive: 9 plays, 43 yards, 2:03. Boise State 20, BYU 10
Third quarter
BSU — Dalmas 28 field goal, 8:20. Key plays: Eight of the Broncos’ 13 plays on this drive came on the ground as three running backs got at least one touch and combined for 42 of the drive’s 54 yards. Drive: 13 plays, 54 yards, 6:31. Boise State 23, BYU 10
Fourth quarter
BYU — Tyler Allgeier 1 run (Oldroyd kick), 7:27. Key plays: It took the Cougars just two plays to get to the BSU 1-yard line. BYU started the drive with a 59-yard reception by Gunner Romney, and Allgeier took it to the 1 on a 10-yard catch. Drive: 4 plays, 70 yards, 1:00. Boise State 23, BYU 17
BSU — Dalmas 22 field goal, 3:27. Key plays: BYU was flagged for holding and off side to aid this drive, but it was Khalil Shakir who made perhaps the biggest play of the game. With two defenders in tow, he caught a 35-yard pass while falling backwards to put the Broncos on the BYU 3-yard line. Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 4:00. Boise State 26, BYU 17
NEWS & NOTES
Boise State missing six starters
The Boise State football team will be without six starters for Saturday’s game at No. 10 BYU.
Cornerbacks Markel Reed and Tyric LeBeauf will both miss the game for undisclosed reasons, Boise State announced about 45 minutes before kickoff.
That leaves Bowling Green transfer Caleb Biggers and less experienced cornerbacks Damon Cole and Rodney Robinson to match up with the Cougars’ wide receivers. Cole, a redshirt senior, originally came to Boise State as a receiver but converted to cornerback in 2019. He appeared in six games last year and has five total tackles this season.
Starting running back George Holani is also out for the second time this season. A leg injury kept him out of the season opener at UCF, and he re-aggravated the injury in the first quarter of a loss to Nevada last week.
Oregon transfer Cyrus Habibi-Likio and 240-pound senior Andrew Van Buren will carry the load in the backfield.
Wide receiver CT Thomas is out for the first time this season, and center Kekaniokoa Holomalia-Gonzalez will miss his sixth straight game. Texas Tech transfer Will Farrar will start at center.
Guard Garrett Curran is also out for the second straight game. The Broncos will use the same offensive line combination as last week: LT John Ojukwu, LG Jake Stetz, C Farrar, RG Ben Dooley and RT Uzo Osuji.
BYU confirmed that quarterback Jaren Hall will be back in the starting lineup after missing two games with an injury, according to Jay Drew of the Deseret News.
Broncos lose leading tackler
Boise State starting safety JL Skinner was ejected from the game with 3:27 remaining in the second quarter for targeting.
Skinner, a 6-foot-4, 218-pound junior, has led the Broncos in tackling in four of their first five games. Going into Saturday’s game, Skinner had a team-best 51 total tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and four pass breakups.
Before he left the BYU game, Skinner had a fumble recovery and two tackles.
Quick hits
The Broncos wore white jerseys, black pants and black helmets. ... Team captains Khalil Shakir and Kekaula Kaniho were joined by WR Stefan Cobbs and S Tyreque Jones as game captains. ... Boise State won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. ... Boise State was led onto the field by Shakir, who carried the Dan Paul Hammer. ... Long-snapper Daniel Cantrell carried the American flag and offensive lineman Donte Harrington carried the Bleed Blue flag.
WHERE TO FIND THE TV BROADCAST
Boise State will be on ABC this week. That’s channel 6 on Sparklight and DirecTV and channel 6 or 5250 on Dish Network.
BOISE STATE AT NO. 10 BYU
When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: LaVell Edwards Stadium (63,470, grass), Provo, Utah
TV: ABC (Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Tom Luginbill)
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 against the Cougars.
Vegas line: BYU by 6
Weather: 49 degrees at kickoff, 15% chance of rain, 9 mph winds
THIS WEEK’S COVERAGE
Will Boise State-BYU rivalry survive Cougars’ move to Big 12? Bolt moving to defense?
Idaho ties in the NFL: Kellen Moore praise continues; former Bronco scores another TD
Mountain West’s best are passing by Boise State, which must adjust, regain its swagger
Ask a BYU writer: QB injuries plague Cougars; Boise State to face dynamic running game
‘Fuel to the fire’: BYU’s Kodak moment on The Blue is major motivation for Boise State
Keys to victory, betting line and prediction for Boise State’s road game at rival BYU
‘It’s been bad’: Boise State’s season likely hinges on fixing offensive line problems
This story was originally published October 9, 2021 at 1:06 PM.
