Boise State at Brigham Young University

 

Boise State University (+5) at #10 Brigham Young University

Date: Saturday, October 9, 2021

Time: 1:30pm MT

Stadium: LaVell Edwards Stadium (63,470) 

TV:ABC

TV Commentators: Dave Pasch and Dusty Dvoracek

Radio: KBOI 670 AM

Commentators: Bob Behler and Pete Cavender

 Know Thy Enemy

It’s a party at LaVell’s house with Cosmo getting ready to let the ‘George Randle’s’ flow and serving up Cougar tails as the ROC sway arm-in-arm with Kanye on the stereo, as they “count the hours” before the Cougars of BYU who “hear the screams of haters” host the Broncos who “ain’t got nothing to lose.”  It’s rivalry week!

 Many say familiarity breeds contempt and there certainly is no love lost between these schools, who have met plenty of times over the years and have an annual date that goes all the way through 2034. 

The Cougars come into Saturday’s matchup with a spotless 5-0 record. It's the seventh time in school history that the Cougars have started the season 5-0 including the coveted 1984 National Championship season. The Cougars have aspirations of crashing the College Football Playoff, but some things stand in their way including this week’s matchup with Boise State. 

BYU has passed every test they’ve had this year and are proud owners of the “Beehive Boot” after beating Utah in the “Holy War” earlier this season and then taking home the “Wagon Wheel” after their win at Utah State last week. However, the Cougs depth will be tested this week, mainly on the offensive side of the ball and more importantly at quarterback. The game one signal caller Jaren Hall has been out for two weeks and back up Baylor Romney exited last week's game against Utah State with a concussion. That meant Freshman Jacob Conover had to come in in relief. This week head coach Kalani Sitake said, “Everyone is available to play,” but who knows for sure which quarterback Boise State will face on Saturday. The rest of the Cougars offense is filled with veteran players that have been around the program for a while, including stud running back Tyler Algeier who has been running over everyone! This version of the offense has played well through the first five games, averaging close to 30 points a game and over 400 yards of total offense. The offense has done a great job of not turning over the football, committing just two turnovers all season. 

On defense you could describe the Cougars with one word: physical. BYU plays a really physical, “grind you up and spit you out” type of defense. They have really big defensive lineman all averaging close to 6’4'' and around 275lbs. They will show you multiple fronts in hopes to confuse where the coverage will be and where the pressure will come from. This defense is also very opportunistic, ranking in the top-12 in turnovers gained. If there is one weakness in the Cougars defense it is the secondary. Missing some key parts due to injury, the secondary has been susceptible to giving up yards, ranking 99th in passing yards allowed. The problem for the Broncos offense however is the Cougs rank 30th in red zone defense, meaning much like the Broncos, the Cougars may let you go down the field, but they aren’t going to let you score. 

BYU is coached by Kalani Sitake. Sitake is in his sixth season as head coach of the Cougars. Sitake is currently 43-26 as a head coach. Last season was his best season as head coach leading the team to an 11-1 record. Sitake has his eyes set on something much bigger this season. Sitake played fullback for BYU in the late 90’s. 

Boise State and BYU started their regional rivalry back in 2003, but it wasn’t until 2012 where the two teams started playing annually. Boise State leads the all-time series 7-4. BYU however, has beaten the Broncos the last two times. The home team usually comes out victorious in this series with the away team coming out triumphant only three times in the 11 meetings. 

What Happened Last Time

Even with a shortened 2020 season, the annual rivalry between BSU and BYU lived on. Coming off of two straight wins, No.21 Boise State hosted No.9 BYU in an early November contest. Jack Sears was making his second straight start and was coming off a masterful performance against Air Force the week prior. All signs pointed towards an upset against a top-10 team and an unforgettable night. Well it was an unforgettable night, but not for BSU. 

On just their second series of the game, midway through the first quarter, Boise State quarterback Jack Sears, converted a 3rd and 1 with a QB sneak, but would then have to leave the game with what appeared to be a concussion which forced the Broncos to go with their third string quarterback, true Freshman Cade Fennegan. It was all Cougars after that, as BYU scored early and often, holding a 45-3 lead before the Broncos reached the endzone on a 52-yard pass to Kahlil Shakir to cut the lead to 45-10 with just over nine minutes left to play in the fourth quarter. The Broncos would add another touchdown, this time on a 46-yard pass to Kahlil Shakir, but it was too little too late for the Broncos. The Cougars would add one more touchdown themselves for good measure, dismantling the Broncos 51-17. It was Boise States worst home loss since 1996 when they were blown out 64-19 by in-state rival Idaho. 

Zach Wilson led the way for the Cougars throwing for 359 yards and two touchdowns.  

Players to Watch 

Brigham Young

SO., TYLER ALLGEIER, RB  #25

#25 will get his number called a lot on Saturday afternoon, especially with the questions looming around who will start at QB for the Cougs. Last week Allgeier ran all over Utah State setting career highs in both yards and touchdowns, rushing for 218 yards and 3 touchdowns including a 67 yard scamper that put the game away in the fourth quarter. Allgeier might just set new career highs this week if the Broncos can’t figure out how to stop the run. 

FR., ISAAC REX, TE #83

Rex is labeled as a Freshman, but is actually in his third year with the BYU program after redshirting in 2019 and getting an extra year of eligibility last year due to COVID. For the second week in a row the Broncos will be faced with the challenge of stopping a receiving tight end. Last year against the Broncos, Rex caught 5 passes for 45 yards and two scores. Last week Boise State had a hard time corralling Nevada’s pass catching tight end as Cole Turner tallied six catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. It will be interesting to see how Boise State defends against another top tight end.  

FR., BEN BYWATER, LB #33

Bywater is in the same situation as Isaac Rex, taking full advantage of the extra year of eligibility. Bywater's emergence as a leader on this BYU defense comes as somewhat of a surprise, being thrusted into the starting line up for injured Keenan Pili who went down at the start of the season with a torn ACL. Last week against Utah State, Bywater led the team in tackles with 9, including three tackles for loss and a sack. Bywater leads the team in tackles through five games with 35. Bywater and the entire BYU defense has gained confidence and a swagger that will be hard to beat on Saturday. 

BOISE STATE 

Rs.SR., WILL FARRAR, OL #75

Will Farrar, the transfer from Texas Tech, is listed as the starter at Left Guard. Last week against Nevada started at center for Boise State. This was his first start at center and he didn’t have a great game, but hopefully things will get better. The Broncos have been searching for consistency out of that position since the injury to starting center Kekaniokoa Holomalia-Gonzalez (kay-kah-nee-uh-KO-uh / ho-lo-muh-LEE-uh) in fall camp. The play of the whole offensive line, especially the center will determine the outcome of this game. 

Rs.SO., ISAIAH BAGNAH, EDGE #30

Last week Bangah had three sacks. In the last fifteen years the only others that have achieved that are Demarcus Lawrence, Curtis Weaver, and Kamalei Correa. All three of those guys are now in the league. Bangah really capitalized on the opportunity to step in last week for injured Shane Irwin. If Irwin can’t go again this week Bangah would be the logical starter. Bangah sure has been a bright spot in the Broncos pass rush and could play a huge part in helping the team win this week. 

Rs.SR., OCTAVIUS EVANS, WR #1

“Dr. Ock '' as Offensive Coordinator Tim Plough calls him, has really come along this season. As the team's real #3 receiver, Evans has put up some good numbers this season. Evans has multiple catches in every game this year and last week against Nevada had season highs in catches (6) and yards (85). He also caught his first touchdown of the season. The passing game for Boise State has been a bright spot for the offense this season and Evans along with the rest of the receiving corps will have to continue their production Saturday. 

Focus Position Group: defensive line

This group has been beaten down all season for the lack of production. Coming into the season they were touted as a deep, reliable unit. Even the offsenvie coaches were saying how much they hated going up against this group. Well, five games into the season they sure have been underwhelming. As a defense the Broncos rank 106 nationally in run defense and is second worst in all of the Mountain West. That all starts with the play of the defensive line. We know they are not playing with a “whole deck” and are missing guys due to injuries and other personal situations. The Broncos are relying on some younger, inexperienced players, but the play of the defensive line has to be good, if not great this week, or Algeier and the Cougars could rush for a ton of yards. 

Rev's Route to a Bronco Win

1. Punch em in the mouth 

Mike Tyson famously said, "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." BYU hasn’t trailed in any game this season, and have only given up 10 first quarter points through 5 games. BUT Boise State’s first quarter this season has been amazing. Through five games the Broncos are averaging 11.6 points and 153 yards in the first quarter. Boise State has had a lead in every game this year including four double-digit leads. If Boise State is going to win this week they will have to be the first to land that punch and make the Cougars play from behind. 

2. Protect the football

Holding onto the football has been a major issue for the Broncos this year. Through five games, Boise State has turned the ball over via fumble four times, including twice last week. Now if you dig deeper into that stat you see that the Broncos have put the ball on the turf 11 times in five games. That's more than two times per game the ball has been on the ground and up for grabs. Some of that is snapping issues, some of that is fighting for extra yards, some of it is being hit so hard that the ball comes out. Coach Avalos has said multiple times that his team knows the ball is the most important part of the game. This week they face a hungry bunch of Cougars that have forced seven fumbles already this season. If the Broncos have any chance this week they have to take care of the football. 

3. Match the Physicality 

 Coach Avalos said Monday that this game is, “Always a physical, physical game. They have an unbelievable physical team year-in and year-out.” Offensive Coordinator Tim Plough said that the Cougars defense is quite the challenge and very “stout.” Defensive Coordinator Spencer Danielson even committed to how big, fast and athletic this team is. The Broncos are going into this game short handed in a lot of areas, but if they want to win they will have to match the Cougars physicality and toughness from start to finish. 

Editorial Note: 

Boise State finds itself in dangerous, uncharted waters going into the halfway point of the season. Right now the Broncos have their worst record through five games since Dan Hawkins first season as head coach in 2001. That year the Broncos started 2-3 and ended up winning 6 of their last 7, including an upset of No.8 ranked Fresno State on the road and finishing the season 8-4. 

This week the Broncos go on the road in a heated rivalry game against a top-10 opponent. Boise State has many issues to improve on, too many to count at times. The biggest thing I see is a lack of consistency from game to game, from both coaches and players. Some games the offense struggles to produce as was the case against Oklahoma State and some games, like last week the defense didn’t hold up their end of the deal.  Then on the other hand sometimes it all comes together. In both of their wins , the Broncos have played a solid game in all three phases. In the three losses they simply haven’t played a complete game. This team is wounded and looking for the next man up, this coaching staff is young and lacks experience, but we’ve seen glimpses of greatness. I just need to see it week in and week out. This week if Boise State wants to win they will have to play a complete game and probably need a little luck. 

As much as I hate to say it, this is one of the few games where I just don’t think Boise State, in its current situation, has the  horses to beat the Cougars. It would be a true upset, but I just don’t think it happens. Boise State keeps it close, but runs out of gas. 

Boise State 27, BYU 34

Let’s just hope a loss this week doesn’t derail the team going forward. There’s still a lot to play for including a conference championship.