One of Boise State fans’ favorite positions had a breakthrough moment on Saturday night
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Boise State 28, Colorado State 19
Boise State’s offense made key plays and its defense got stingy at the goal line as the Broncos overcame a slow start and outscored the Rams 21-3 in the second half.
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Second-half surge leads Boise State to crucial Mountain West win at Colorado State
One of Boise State fans’ favorite positions had a breakthrough moment on Saturday night
Instant analysis: No second-half lull as Boise State gets back in the win column
Final: Boise State 28, Colorado State 19; Broncos rally in second half for victory
Tyneil Hopper has played in 28 games for the Boise State football team over the last three seasons.
During the majority of those appearances, Hopper hasn’t even touched the football. But the 6-foot-2, 242-pound tight end from Roswell, Georgia, was rewarded for his selflessness in a big way Saturday night.
Hopper caught a 51-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter that helped cement the Broncos’ 28-19 victory over Colorado State at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado.
His 51-yard reception with 9:30 remaining is the longest by a Boise State tight end since Jeb Putzier scored on an 80-yard reception on Nov. 17, 2001, against San Jose State.
The Broncos have had a string of accomplished receiving tight ends since then — turning the position into a fan favorite. Hopper was an unlikely candidate to do what none of them did.
“The majority of the time he goes in and what happens? He blocks,” Boise State coach Andy Avalos said of Hopper. “On top of scoring a touchdown, that’s why everybody is so happy for him. The team not only put points on the board, but who did it and what he does day in and day out?
“That’s what our team needs, guys that are selfless who do the work that it takes to be successful. They get rewarded in that way.”
Hopper nearly doubled his season receiving total in a single catch, as he entered Saturday’s game with five catches for 56 yards. His career total now sits at eight grabs for 127 yards with two touchdowns. Hopper scored his first career TD on a 23-yard pass in the Broncos’ home opener against UTEP.
But his latest catch was his best yet.
“How about Tyneil? How about the ball that Hank (Bachmeier) put on Tyneil and how he finished that?” Avalos said. “That was unbelievable.”
TV broadcast credits wrong player for blocked punt
CBS Sports Network play-by-play announcer Rich Waltz may have gotten the call wrong, but in his defense, he wasn’t the only one.
Waltz said that Boise State tight end Riley Smith blocked a Colorado State punt in the fourth quarter that led to a Boise State touchdown. Credit for the play actually goes to linebacker Brandon Hawkins, who also wears No. 3.
Even some of his teammates, such as safety Tyreque Jones, didn’t realize that Hawkins had made the play.
“I was blocking on that play, so I didn’t see who got it,” Jones said. “I for sure thought Kekaula (Kaniho) blocked it. Wow. I was giving him credit for it and he didn’t say anything. I’m gonna have to talk to him.”
According to Avalos, Kaniho does deserve some of the credit for the play, but not all. The Broncos had two blocked punts against Colorado State last season, and they put that knowledge to work Saturday.
“Their shield saw Kekaula coming off the edge, and he way over-corrected outside, and it opened up for (Hawkins) to be able to block that,” Avalos said. “(Special teams coach Stacy) Collins all week said: ‘Listen, they’re going to overreact.’ He kept telling (Hawkins), expect to come free. And Kekaula just started laughing and shaking his head right away, because it happened.”
Broncos start a new center
Boise State started its third different center this season. It was also the Broncos’ fifth offensive line combination in eight games.
Texas Tech transfer Will Farrar — who started the past three games at center — was one of four Boise State players who missed Saturday’s game for undisclosed reasons. Farrar replaced sixth-year senior Donte Harrington at center in the Broncos’ loss to Nevada.
Sixth-year senior Jake Stetz started at center against the Rams. He opened the season at right guard and had played left guard the past three games.
Redshirt junior Kekaniokoa Holomalia-Gonzalez was expected to start at center this season, but he hasn’t played a single snap.
Boise State was also without cornerbacks Damon Cole and Tyric LeBeauf, and defensive lineman Michael Callahan.
The Broncos did return their top two running backs for Saturday’s game. George Holani missed the past two games after aggravating the same soft tissue leg injury that kept him out of the season opener at UCF.
Oregon transfer Cyrus Habibi-Likio missed Boise State’s loss to Air Force two weeks ago after suffering an injury early in the second half of the Broncos’ win over then-No. 10 BYU.
A Boise State spokesperson said no players missed the game because of COVID-19 protocols.
Skinner ejected for targeting
The Broncos lost their leading tackler to a targeting call during Colorado State’s second drive of the second quarter.
After a video review, safety JL Skinner was flagged for an illegal hit while tackling Colorado State’s Dante Wright.
“It’s hard for him because he is so tall, and in these instances we’ve seen this happen,” Avalos said. “The ball carrier is low, going down and/or lowering his pad level, and when you’re 6-4 and you’re working great leverage to get some knock back on a positive-angle tackle, it is very difficult. He didn’t lower to the crown of his helmet. We’ve been making sure that we’re eyes up and working to strike with our shoulder pads. We’ve got to do a better job of that. He’s an explosive player.
“… We’re not going to take his aggressiveness and his mentality away. There’s no way.”
Skinner, a 6-foot-4, 218-pound junior, had a team-best 62 tackles going into Saturday’s game. He exited the game having made three total tackles against the Rams. Skinner was also called for targeting against BYU.
Redshirt sophomore Alexander Teubner replaced Skinner and contributed a career-high eight tackles.
Broncos honor shooting victims with helmet sticker
Boise State will honor the victims of Monday’s shooting at Boise Towne Square Mall for the rest of the season.
The Broncos debuted a new helmet sticker at Colorado State. The sticker includes a red outline of the state of Idaho with the words “City of Boise” and a heart where Boise is located.
The shooting left three people dead, including the shooter, and four others wounded.
“We always play for our city, but this week it means more,” Boise State said in a tweet earlier in the week.
CSU coach moves to press box
Colorado State head coach Steve Addazio coached the majority of Saturday’s game against the Broncos from the press box at Canvas Stadium.
The Rams said Addazio is dealing with a lower-leg injury that is limiting his mobility.
Senior associate head coach Brian White handled timeout duties on the field, CSU said.
But after coaching from the box the first three quarters, Addazio moved down to the field for the fourth quarter.
Quick hits
The Broncos wore white jerseys, white pants and white helmets. … Team captains Khalil Shakir and Kekaula Kaniho were joined by left tackle John Ojukwu and linebacker Riley Whimpey as game captains. … Colorado State won the coin toss and elected to receive. … Boise State was led onto the field by running back Andrew Van Buren, who carried the Dan Paul Hammer. … Receiver Davis Koetter carried the American flag and linebacker DJ Schramm carried the Bleed Blue flag. … Boise State improved to 11-0 all-time against Colorado State, including four come-from-behind wins in Fort Collins. … The Broncos have now won 13 consecutive conference road games. … Boise State recorded its fifth second half this season without giving up a touchdown, which is tied with Toledo for the most nationally. … Bachmeier moved into ninth place all-time at Boise State with 5,272 yards in total offense. … In addition to Teubner, three other Broncos totaled career bests in tackles: redshirt sophomore Isaiah Bagnah (seven), redshirt senior Tyreque Jones (10) and redshirt junior edge Demitri Washington (seven).
This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 11:40 PM.
