#17 Boise State Falls To #24 Oklahoma State 21-44
Poor Tackling and Special Teams Derails #17 Boise State Against #24 Oklahoma State
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Boise State had the opportunity to rise far above it’s Group of 5 competition by going into Stillwater and knocking off a ranked Oklahoma State team. Those plans were quickly derailed as mistakes cost the Broncos valuable field position and points against the high powered offense fo the Cowboys. The Broncos started off well keeping the Oklahoma Sate offense off the field but could not hold that strategy through the rest of the game. The More the Cowboys were on the field the more plays they were able to make and the more the weaknesses in the Boise State defense showed through. Boise State shoes some signs of climbing back into the game, but were never able to consistently close out drives with points.
First Quarter:
Both Boise State and Oklahoma State started the game in a manor that they are not accustomed. The Broncos ran 6 plays and punted and Oklahoma State followed with a 3 and out. The resulting Cowboy punt traveled 22 yards giving Boise State great starting field position for their second drive. They worked their way down to the 9 yard line but Haden Hogarth missed his field goal attempt. Boise State dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for all but 3 minute of the 1st quarter. Alex Mattison and the offensive line struggled to get the running game going gaining on 25 yards on 10 carries. While keeping the pressure on Taylor Cornelius, the defense completely shut down the Cowboy offence resulting in an unlikely score at the end of the first quarter.
Boise State 0, Oklahoma State 0
Second Quarter
In 2nd quarter, Boise state got on the board with a 31 yard touchdown reception from Brett Rypien to John Hightower. This would turn out to be the high water mark of the first half for the Broncos. OKlahoma State Responded with their first big play of the game, a 43 yard pass to J.D. King from Cornelius, followed by and 8 yard touchdown run by Justice Hill. The Cowboys kept the pressure on the reminder of the quarter, blocking a punt, sacking Rypien 4 times, and stuffing the running game. The Bronco defense did well holding the Cowboy offense to 165 yards, but were hurt by poor tackling and an inability to stop the quarterback draw.
Boise State 7, Oklahoma State 17
Third Quarter
The 3rd quarter opened up with Oklahoma State receiving the ball. The Cowboys moved the ball well over 8 plays but had to settle for a 48 yard field goal by Matt Ammendola. Boise State responded with an 8 play drive of their own, but a stellar one-handed catch by A.J. Richardson for a 34 yard touchdown capped off the drive, closing the gap to 14-20. It was starting to look like the Broncos were going to start climbing their way back into this game. Hoping to ride the momentum off forcing the field goal and responding with a touchdown, the Bronco defense took the field. Unfortunately the Cowboys were able to put together a long touchdown drive with the help of some more poor tackling by the Bronco defense. That was followed by Bronco 3 and out, capped off by a 2nd blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown. Boise State responded with an 11 play 65 yard drive for a Rypien to Chase Blakey touchdown.
Boise State 21, Oklahoma State 34
Fourth Quarter
Oklahoma State once again opened the scoring with a Field goal pulling out to a 21-37 lead. After a 3 and out by the Broncos, Oklahoma State had an opportunity to start eating up clock and limiting possessions in the game, but responded with their own 3 and out that only took 1:38 off the clock. By forcing the punt the Bronco defense stepped up and left the door open to get back into the game.
That feeling was short lived as Boise State couldn’t muster any type of offense punting the ball back to Oklahoma State. Set up by a 53 yard run by Justice Hill, the Cowboys put the Boise State away as Cornelius capped off his impressive running day with a 6 yard touchdown. The final Bronco drive was cut short by the lone turnover of the day when Rypien was sacked by Oklahoma State’s Devin Harper. With that, Oklahoma State Kneeled on the ball, running the clock out.
Final Score: Boise State 21, Oklahoma State 44
Key Moment:
5:15 left in the 3rd – Oklahoma State’s blocked punt that the Cowboys returned for a touchdown. Oklahoma State had just extended their lead to 13 points on their last drive and were now quickly up by 20.
Player of the Game:
Brett Rypien continued with strong play against the Cowboys. Completing 39 of his 56 of his passing attempts for 380 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions was impressive, even in a loss. Add in the fact there was no running game and most of those throws were under pressure just heightens the accomplishment. Rypien also passed Kellen Moore for most 300+ yard passing games in Boise State history
Injury Update:
Tyler Horton and Avery Williams missed the game with Injuries while David Moa Saw his first action of the season
Final Thoughts:
This was a tough one for Bronco fans. There was a lot of hype behind the team coming into this game and the team fell flat. The plus side of games like this is that Coach Harsin knows what areas need to improve. The offensive line struggled with the Oklahoma State’s speed which carried over into special teams, and the defense’s poor tackling was exposed against the most athletic offense they have faced. Going in to their bye week, Boise state has ample opportunity to get healthy and right the ship heading into Mountain West play.
Statistics from ESPN and College Football Reference.
