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Boise State vs. BYU Recap: What Happened In Broncos Loss To Cougars
The battle of the backup QB’s went BYU’s way.
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Boncos were tricked on a few plays.
Boise State and BYU come into tonight’s game on very different trajectories. Boise State is at 6-0 and ranked 14th in the nation. BYU is coming in at just 2-6 with victories over USC and on the road against Tennessee, but more recently losses at Toledo and USF. These teams do have one glaring thing in common though, both will be without their starting quarterbacks.
BYU looks to get back in the win column in their first game in Provo since at 45-19 loss to Washington. The Cougars will look to walk-on and third-string Baylor Romney to take on the Boise State defense that has been putting pressure on quarterbacks all season. If you add the injury to leading rusher Ty’son Williams, it will definitely be an uphill battle.
Boise State comes into the game holding the 7-2 edge in the series and on a 3 game win streak against the Cougars. They will look to Chase Cord to run the offense with Hank Bachmeier taking a little more time to heal up. The Broncos look to capitalize on the soft BYU run defense that ranks towards the bottom of the county.
First Quarter:
Chase Cord led the Broncos out on their first drive of the game. As expected, Boise State came out trying to establish the run against the Cougars. Six of the nine plays on the drive were on the ground with Robert Mahone getting a majority of the carries, but it was C.T. Thomas who covered the last 12 yards on an end-around to get into the endzone. Chase Cord looked sharp in his first start going 3 for 3 on the drive for 43 yards.
The Broncos looked like they were well on their way to a 3 and out on their first defensive drive of the game. BYU was sitting at 3rd and 12 from the Boise State 20-yard line but gave up a 22-yard pass from Romney to Talon Shumway after being called for offsides. The Cougars were able to steadily move the ball and converted three 3rd downs on the drive. It took the Cougars 17 plays to get in the endzone on a 4-yard Lopini Katoa run to even the score.
Chase Cord continued his hot start by completing an 8-yard pass to George Holani to start the following drive. Mahone got another first down for the Broncos with a 4-yard run right before Cord tried to complete a short pass down the middle of the field that was intercepted BYU linebacker Isaiah Kaufusi.
The Cougars picked up where they left off on their first drive by moving the ball little chunks at a time and converting on 3rd downs. After getting the ball on the 43, the Cougars had moved their way down to the Boise State 6 yard line before being called for holding on a 3rd down play that Baylor Romney appeared to score on.
BYU went conservative and ran the ball on 3rd and goal from the 19-yard line for a loss of 2 yards, setting up a 38-yard field goal attempt by Jake Oldroyd. This seemed like a questionable choice being as Oldroyd had missed three kicks in the last two weeks. It proved costly as the kick was pushed right and the Cougars were not able to produce any points off the turnover.
Boise State 7, BYU 7
Second Quarter:
As hot as the offenses came out in the first quarter, the defenses did the same to start the second quarter. Each team was held to three and outs on their first three possessions before Boise State was finally able to put a drive together. With under 4 minutes left before the half, the Broncos got the ball moving on the legs of Chase Cord and George Holani. Using 10 plays to move the ball 42 yards, the longest being a 14 yard Cord run, the Broncos were able to get on the board with a 38-yard field goal from Eric Sachse.
Boise State 10, BYU 7
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