BOISE STATE BACK ON TRACK AFTER DOMINATING SECOND HALF AGAINST BYU

Posted on October 7, 2017

BY MIKE PRATER
KTIK.COM

Boise State rebounded from a bad start – after an embarrassing home loss to Virginia on Sept. 22 and a bye week – to play some of its best football of the season and beat BYU 24-7 on Friday night in Provo, Utah. The Cougars (1-5) intercepted Brett Rypien on the first series of the game and scored 10 plays later to take a 7-0 lead. Boise State (3-2) had 25 yards in the first quarter, but dominated the rest of the way, outgaining BYU 275-168 over the final three quarters.

Rypien played a safe game, completing 12-of-19 passes for 125 yards and a 24-yard touchdown pass to Sean Modster. It was Rypien’s first TD pass of the season (he has three interceptions) and the first TD catch of Modster’s career.

More importantly, the Broncos may have found their long-lost running game. Robert Mahone started for the first time in his career but fumbled on the Broncos’ second possession, and Alexander Mattison took over the primary duties. He finished with career highs in yards (118), carries (29) and rushing TDs (12 and 2 yards). “He ran violent tonight,” coach Bryan Harsin said on his post-game radio show.

Safety Kekoa Nawahine (Rocky Mountain High) and linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (Salmon River High) led the defense with an interception each, and were the Broncos’ top two tacklers with a combined 15. BYU rushed the ball 23 times for 66 yards. Cougars’ quarterback Tanner Mangum (Eagle High) started after missing nearly a month with an ankle injury. He completed 18-of-33 passes for 164 yards, and the Cougars lost their fifth consecutive game for the first time since 1990-91.

  • NEXT: Boise State at San Diego State, Saturday, Oct. 14, 8:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network, KBOI 670 AM and KTIK 93.1 FM The Ticket.

PRATER’S POST-GAME POINTS

  • Rypien and Mattison played well enough to maintain their status as starters, but offensive consistency remains a curious issue moving forward. Rypien played a safe game against a bad defense, Montell Cozart still needs to be on the field more (he is the team’s most efficient offensive player), and the run game is producing only 3.3 yards a carry.
  • Bottom line: Rypien, as steady as he was Friday night, remains the weak link in this offense. That’s a bizarre thing to say about a Boise State offense, but it’s true. For a brief moment in the first quarter, he seemed to be one mistake away from the bench. He continued and played OK; now it’s time to start playing like a two-time all-conference playmaker.
  • Right now, the biggest issue on offense is the lack of explosive plays. Boise State still hasn’t cranked out a play of 50-plus yards this season, and the longest play Friday night was Rypien’s 24-yard TD to Modster. Rypien is playing over Cozart because he’s supposed to provide a stronger vertical passing game, but that’s not happening (125 passing yards vs. BYU, and only two receptions to Cedrick Wilson, who also caught a 17-yard beauty on Cozart’s only pass attempt). The option of more flash from Cozart should remain on the table – and more than just random wildcat snaps.
  • The offensive line didn’t give up a sack, despite not playing injured center Mason Hampton (Meridian High), after giving up 13 in the previous four games. The Broncos have used five different starting lineups in five games, but the group is getting better every game. The progress is slow, but the group showed more physical surge and better protection against BYU. And freshman left tackle Ezra Cleveland is quietly going about his business.
  • Junior Haden Hoggarth remains perfect this season: 5-of-5 on field goals, including a 20-yarder against BYU, and 18-of-18 on PATs. The Broncos haven’t needed him yet to win a game, but they will. So far, he’s the most dependable player on the roster.
  • Boise State athletic director Curt Apsey told KTIK last week that more BYU games could show up on the schedule when the current contract expires after the 2023 season. The teams are halfway through their current 12-year deal, with Boise State owning an advantage in wins (4-2) and points (158-142). It’s the closest thing the Broncos have to a rivalry, it’s important to both fan bases, and the game should be played for as long as possible …
  • … And maybe BYU should stop its obvious talent drain by giving up independence and joining the Mountain West Conference. Wishful thinking, unless ESPN money dries up.


Mike Prater, editor of The Opinionator, co-hosts Idaho Sports Talk with Caves & Prater weekdays from 3-6 p.m. on KTIK 93.1 FM The Ticket and can be heard on Bronco GameNight after BSU football games on KBOI 670 AM and KTIK 93.1 FM. He can be reached at [email protected], and found @CavesandPrater(Facebook) and @MikeFPrater (Twitter).

POST-GAME NEWS & NOTES FROM BOISE STATE

  • Boise State’s 24-7 victory over BYU improves the Broncos to 6-2 all-time against the Cougars. The win is Boise State’s second at LaVell Edwards Stadium, and the first since Oct. 30, 2003 (50-12).
  • Boise State’s 17-point second quarter is its highest-scoring quarter of the season.
  • Boise State finished the game 8-for-15 (.533) on third downs, it’s top conversion rate this season. The previous high was 47.7 percent (9-for-19) against Troy on Sept. 2.
  • The Broncos committed a season-low one penalty for a season-low five yards (BYU had three penalties).
  • Rypien finished the game 12-for-19 for 125 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The touchdown pass was his first of the season.
  • Mattison topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time this season, and the second time in his career, posting career highs in carries (29), rushing yards (118) and rushing touchdowns (2). His previous highs had been 18 carries and 100 yards against San Jose State last Nov. 4. Mattison’s performance was the first 100-yard rushing game for a Bronco this season, and the first in seven games. The last was Jeremy McNichols going for 206 yards against UNLV last Nov. 18. Mattison’s two touchdowns marked the first multi-TD game of his career.
  • Modster scored the first touchdown of his career, snagging a 24-yard touchdown pass from Rypien just before halftime.
  • Nawahine made his second interception of the season, picking off Mangum and returning it 51 yards in the second quarter. Nawahine also finished the game with a team-high nine tackles (seven solo).
  • Vander Esch made his second interception of the season late in the fourth quarter, returning it 36 yards. Vander Esch finished the game with six tackles (five solo).
  • Mahone led the Broncos onto the field with The Hammer, defensive end Durrant Miles carried the “Bleed Blue” flag and offensive lineman John Molchon carried the United States flag.

Courtesy of Boise State Athletics

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