Things looked bleak at Utah State, but Boise State’s ‘culture’ saved the season
There were key moments Friday afternoon that just made it seem as if it wasn’t going to be Boise State’s day.
Officiating decisions, including a pass interference call that nullified an 80-yard defensive touchdown, had head coach Spencer Danielson and his staff to charge onto the field at times.
Repeated injuries to the right side of Boise State’s offensive line produced a rotating door on that side.
A heavy mix of snow and rain that arrived in the third quarter brought back memories of the Broncos’ ugly loss to San Diego State in the rain two weeks ago.
The Broncos’ wide receivers had four drops in the first half, and BSU failed twice on fourth down when going for it, something Danielson seldom hesitates to do.
And yet through it all, Boise State (8-4, 6-2) left Logan with a 25-24 victory, closing the regular season with a critical road victory and potentially a spot in the Mountain West title game for the fourth straight year, pending the results of computer rankings that will break up a three- or way tie at the top of the conference.
The Broncos trailed most of the day and got what was the game-winning score with under 3 minutes left, thanks to a 6-yard rushing touchdown from sophomore Dylan Riley. And even then, it required the defense to make more stops to ensure the Aggies couldn’t kick a field goal to walk off the win.
“This is a culture win for our team,” Danielson said after the game.
“Culture is how you act, how you interact, and how you respond, and our guys responded tonight. It was not perfect. We had things not go our way, didn’t execute in certain situations, didn’t play our best in certain situations, but never stayed out of the fight.”
A lot of fight was what the Broncos required, right from the start.
On the first drive of the game, senior cornerback Jeremiah Earby picked off Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes and took off down the sideline. The speedy corner broke a couple of tackles and thought he’d earned an 80-yard touchdown — but all the way back where he made the pick, a yellow flag was on the turf.
Earby was called for pass interference; replays showed he and the receiver Anthony Garcia made minor contact at the top of the route, a questionable penalty at best. The call had Danielson jumping, barking at officials and chewing his gum even more violently than usual.
Two plays later, Barnes scored on a QB keeper to provide what was ultimately a 14-point swing.
In the second quarter, another crucial interception for the Broncos was wiped off the board. This time, junior safety Ty Benefield picked Barnes off in the BSU end zone to apparently thwart a drive, but the play was scratched after the officials flagged junior defensive lineman Max Stege for targeting on Barnes.
The decision was upheld after a review, putting Stege out of the game, and sending Danielson and the other coaches into a frenzy. The Aggies got an automatic first down, and they scored one play later to extend their lead to 21-10 in the second quarter.
“There are probably times in this game that I reacted too much,” Danielson said with a chuckle after the game. “... This is not me talking about our officials. I got a lot of respect for (Mountain West’s head referee) Mike Defee and our officials, but those are monumental plays in the game. But our guys responded, they didn’t react.”
Down 21-13 entering the second half, Boise State allowed only a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter to fall behind 24-13 before rallying for the win. The defense stuffed the 210-pound Barnes twice on fourth-down plays that could have kept alive drives when Utah State was looking to extend its lead.
“There’s no pass, so I’m gonna just fit fast,” Benefield said about the fourth-down stops. “Sure enough, the guys made the ball bounce back and forth, and Derek (Ganter Jr.) came up with a huge tackle on fourth-and-short, really stuck that dude. And then on the other one, everybody just came in on that quarterback.”
Clinging to a one-point lead in the final minutes, the defense first forced the Aggies and Barnes into a fourth-and-28 deep in their own territory, leaving no chance to go for it. Utah State punted with 1:47 left.
The Broncos then picked up a pair of first downs before turning the ball over on downs with 24 seconds left on the USU 29-yard line. Barnes completed a pair of passes for 52 yards after a holding penalty, but the clock ran out on the final play, hitting 0:00 before the QB even threw it.
It set off a big Boise State celebration, with redshirt sophomore quarterback Max Cutforth right in the middle of it. Making his third start since playing more than three quarters in a loss to Fresno State — the game in which starter Maddux Madsen was injured — Cutforth threw for a career-high 325 yards and two touchdowns on 25-of-43 passing.
He had no turnovers.
When asked how he felt when the sleet started coming down, Cutforth cheekily said there was “no place I’d rather be.” He was mainly limited to handing the ball off when the Broncos played in a downpour against San Diego State earlier this month, and lost 17-7.
Things were different Friday. Cutforth had a lot of dropbacks and play-action passes, and he had five completions that went for over 20 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown strike to freshman wide receiver Quinton Brown that started the comeback when the Broncos trailed by 11 late in the third quarter.
His favorite targets were guys not accustomed to being at the top of the stat sheet. Sixth-year running back Malik Sherrod and redshirt senior receiver Chase Penry both ended the game with six receptions for 56 yards, while redshirt sophomore tight end Matt Wagner had a game-high 64 receiving yards on four catches.
Wagner had a 26-yard TD reception in the first half that saw him bully and shed a would-be tackler before stomping through the defense for the score.
“I think we just go one play at a time, one drive at a time,” Cutforth said. “Every time we go out there, we just say, take one play, sustain a drive, and work down (the field). All you can do in that play is your job. And then at the end of that drive, the best you can do is score.”
Riley led the ground campaign, rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. His performance marked his fifth game this season with at least 100 rushing yards, and he surpassed 1,000 yards on the year — sitting at 1,016.
