Instant analysis: Stingy defense helps Boise State overcome sluggish offense vs. Wyoming
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Boise State 23, Wyoming 13
Boise State’s defense was stellar (aside from a late 74-yard TD) and running back George Holani again ran for more than 100 yards as the Broncos ended a three-game home losing streak and reached bowl eligibility.
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Instant analysis: Stingy defense helps Boise State overcome sluggish offense vs. Wyoming
Final: Boise State 23, Wyoming 13; Broncos allow late TD in otherwise strong defensive effort
Final score: Boise State 23, Wyoming 13
Records: Boise State 6-4, 4-2. Wyoming 5-5, 1-5.
Why the Broncos won: Boise State’s defense won on third down, limiting Wyoming to 3-of-10, and held Cowboys running back Xazavian Valladay to 37 yards. Boise State held the third-ranked rushing attack in the Mountain West to 132 yards. The Broncos also played a clean game — committing no turnovers and getting called for just four penalties. A crowd of 35,454 fans also did its job and got loud to help coax Wyoming into four false-start penalties.
Main takeaway: A healthy running game and stingy defense can cure a lot of ills. Boise State’s offense was by no means spectacular against Wyoming, but running back George Holani cracked the 100-yard mark for for the second week in a row, finishing with 102, and the Broncos’ defense played lights out until giving up a long TD pass with less than 10 seconds left. The Cowboys managed just 125 yards of offense in the first half and finished with 288 — 74 of them coming on that long TD. If the Broncos keep this up, they’ll be playing for a fifth consecutive berth in the Mountain West championship game in the regular-season finale at San Diego State.
Player of the game: Holani will get the bulk of the credit for powering the Broncos’ offense, but Bachmeier quietly played a really efficient game, going 23-of-32 for 225 yards and a TD.
Stat of the game: Holani outrushed Wyoming by himself in the first half. The redshirt sophomore, who posted his first 100-yard rushing performance of the season at Fresno State last week, racked up 94 yards on the ground by halftime. Wyoming went into the locker room with just 87.
Play of the game: Wyoming was trailing just 13-7 and driving near midfield with 8:31 left when Boise State edge Demitri Washington intercepted a tipped pass at the 50-yard line and returned it to the Cowboys’ 13. Two plays later, running back Andrew Van Buren scored from 12 yards out to give the Broncos a 20-7 lead with 7:39 to play.
What’s next: Boise State returns to Albertsons Stadium to face Mountain West foe New Mexico on Saturday (7 p.m., FS1). The Broncos are 10-1 in their history against the Lobos and have won four straight in the series, which dates to 1999. New Mexico (3-6, 1-4 MW) is on the road this week at Fresno State on Saturday.
This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 10:19 PM.
