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football Edit

Disastrous Second Half Hobbles Broncos

Boise State's Scott Matlock (99) leads the Broncos onto the field carrying the 'Dan Paul Hammer' prior to their game with rival Nevada.
Boise State's Scott Matlock (99) leads the Broncos onto the field carrying the 'Dan Paul Hammer' prior to their game with rival Nevada. (Stanley Brewster / Blue-Turf.com)

  Prelude: What’s in a Name?  

Last night I slugd a cold domestic bottle, pondering the complexities of a free one, as recompense for a beer I gave away earlier, at Boise’s No. 1 Dive Bar (there’s a banner outside and everything). I sometimes buy 2 Coors Lights, in hopes that a friend will ask for the second. A friend did ask, then later bought me one in return. Choice.


This is give and take.


A man next to me took offense to my description of today’s opponent. “Who are we playing?” my friend had asked. “UNR” I replied, “Nevada.” The man is in town for the game and when I called it UNR, he shook his contemptuous head. “It’s just Nevada. Not UNR. Not Nevada-Reno.”


There are 2 state schools in Nevada, and Reno clearly has the better football program. The Wolfpack has a history of breaking BSU’s dynastic dreams. Colin Kaepernick spoiled a perfect season back in the day (one of Kellen Moore’s 3 career losses). Can Carson Strong perform a similar task? Can I call Nevada “UNR” or “NevAHda” or “Nevada-Reno”? I should probably respect their position and call them by their pronouns. We go ape when someone says “boizee”, so I might as well be fair. Particular pronunciations create vernacular divides in the West.


Our names divide us. Our borders delineate. Our accents give us away. But, are we really that far apart? We are both blue.

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Boise State QB, Hank Bachmeier (19) drops back to pass during first half action with Nevada.
Boise State QB, Hank Bachmeier (19) drops back to pass during first half action with Nevada. (Stanley Brewster / Blue-Turf.com)

  Disastrous Second Half Hobbles Broncos

When you buy a ticket to Albertsons Stadium, you typically expect big plays, flashy athleticism, and blowout wins, but if you were in the house Saturday you saw something alien from Boise State football: dysfunction.


The resulting 41-31 loss to Nevada (3-1, 1-0 MW) left the fans who remained scratching their sun-baked heads. Chorus boos rained. A record crowd of 37,426 dwindled to a few thousand spectators. The best second half highlight was a streaker getting tackled. This is not normal.


The Broncos turned the ball over 3 times in the second half and also turned it over on downs twice in the half. They had 8 possessions in the half and scored 10 points. (Fumble, FG, Punt, Downs, Fumble, Interception, TD, Downs). Nevada ran the “Victory” formation on the Blue. Talk about a rarity.


The last time Nevada won in Boise was Nov. 8, 1997, a 56-42 score. That was BSU’s second year in D-I. The Broncos (2-3, 1-1 MW) now have a losing record after 5 games for the first time since 2001. They finished 8-4 (6-2 WAC) that year.

Boise State wide receiver, Stephan Cobbs (5) catches a pass for a TD during first quarter action against nevada.
Boise State wide receiver, Stephan Cobbs (5) catches a pass for a TD during first quarter action against nevada. (Stanley Brewster / Blue-Turf.com)


Nevada played steady on their end. They scored on 8 of their first 10 drives, did not turn the ball over (except on downs in the final minutes), and outscored BSU 21-10 in the second half.


BSU QB Hank Bachmeier was responsible for many of the errors, although the interception was hardly his fault, a tipped ball off the hands of Stefan Cobbs. He was sacked 6 times. On the first play of the second half, Bachmeier was sacked by Tristan Nichols, who stript the QB. Daiyan Henley recovered the fumble and set up the Wolfpack at the BSU 18-yard line.


Bachmeier mixed in majestic throws, timely and smooth, but missed on or threw away 14 throws. His numbers racked up: 34-for-48 and 4 touchdowns (Cobbs (2), Octavius Evans, Khalil Shakir). Cobbs caught 10 passes for 132 yards.


Twice BSU turned the ball over on the first play of a drive. Cobbs also fumbled on the first play after Nevada had taken a 38-24 lead in the fourth.


BSU netted 22 rushing yards in the game (119 rushing yards gained, 97 rushing yards lost). Individual runners ran decent for BSU; Cyrus Habibi-Likio gained 47 yards on 10 carries to lead the team. Taua and Devonte Lee ran better for Nevada, a combined 153 yards and 3 TDs rushing. BSU had more yards, more first downs, were better on third down, but made more mistakes; the Broncos ran 82 plays, but fumbled 5 times (lost 2).


Bachmeier and Carson Strong pushed the issue in the cleaner first half. The teams exchanged the lead 6 times, but Nevada took the lead for good with 12:55 left in the third on a 12-yard run by Toa Taua.

Boise State redshirt sophomore, Isaiah Bagnah (30) drags down Nevada QB, Carson Strong (12) for a sack. One of three sacks Bagnah had on the day.
Boise State redshirt sophomore, Isaiah Bagnah (30) drags down Nevada QB, Carson Strong (12) for a sack. One of three sacks Bagnah had on the day. (Stanley Brewster / Blue-Turf.com)

On the opening drive of the game, the Wolfpack paced down the field on an 11-play scoring drive, with Strong, a junior from Vacaville, Calif., converting long passes of 19, 16, 12, and finally 8 yards on a scoring strike to Cole Turner. On an isolation route, Turner moved to the sideline and boxed out the defender for a safe catch and score. Strong finished the game 25-for-38 for 263 yards and the Turner score. He spread the ball around. Four Nevada receivers caught at least 5 passes.


BSU put decent pressure on Strong. Isaiah Bagnah, a redshirt sophomore from Lethbridge Alberta, Canada, recorded 3 sacks in the first half. Solid work. The Bronco front changes regularly, but has this base 3-1-2-4. Yes, 3 linemen, then this “edge” position that Bagnah plays, 2 linebackers and 4 in the secondary. In a 3-man rush, the edge drops back and shadows the quarterback. If he steps up, bam! Bagnah is there. It’s a sort of delayed blitz, but he also rushes from the actual edge. It looks like he has all this freedom to roam in the box and then strike at an opening, but it’s more likely that his coaches are directing him to fill that space. Instinct rules after the snap, but it’s coaching that lines you up and directs you to the space.


Both Dom Peterson and Nichols had 2 sacks for Nevada.


Even early in the game, BSU had issues. Down 7-0, the Broncos put together a sad 3 and out, but were gifted a first down by an offside call on the punt. That’s like getting 2 cookies in your lunchbox. Bachmeier hit Octavius Evans for 17 yards, Khalil Shakir for 20 (on another one of those ridiculous 1-handed catches on a smooth seam route), and then finished the drive by hitting Cobbs on an open post route from 25 yards out to tie the game 7-7. Cobbs knew he was open and raised his hand to get his quarterback’s attention.

Boise state wide receiver, Khalil Shakir (2) brings down a one-handed touchdown grab in the corner of the endzone for the broncos.
Boise state wide receiver, Khalil Shakir (2) brings down a one-handed touchdown grab in the corner of the endzone for the broncos. (Stanley Brewster / Blue-Turf.com)

Strong next hit Justin Lockhart for 39 yards on a fly route up the left sideline to power a lead-taking field-goal drive. Lockhart made 5 catches for 94 yards in the game. Strong would throw 3 consecutive incompletions to douse that drive. Brandon Talton hit the 38-yard field goal to give the Wolfpack the 10-7 lead. Talton would hit on all 4 field-goal tries in the game.


Play of the Game: In the back-and-forth second quarter, from 23 yards out, on 3rd and 8, with pressure in his face, Bachmeier threw a corner pass to Shakir, a bad choice into double coverage, but he threw it high enough so Shakir could go up and catch it with his right hand only. Calling it a great catch, a 1-hander, a stunning play, all the things you can throw at that wall of description falls short. Maybe the best catch made in this stadium. Touchdown Broncos: 14-10.


Both teams scored on both their drives in the first quarter. They combined for almost 300 yards in the quarter. Lots of big plays in the passing game. Bachmeier hit 4 passes of 20+ yards.


In Nevada’s third drive, which carried over the quarters, Strong again impressed, this time with his checkdown game. He hit his tailback Taua for 13, 11, and 4 yards. The drive looked to stall with an incomplete pass, but Rodney Robinson was flagged for defensive pass interference in the end zone. Devonte Lee would score from 2 yards out on a wildcat keeper. He tried to run power right, but it was clogged with defenders and he cut back left to the wide side of the field and scored without being touched.


Taua led Nevada with 12 carries for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns, and receptions with 7 for 44 yards.

Boise state running back, Andrew Van Buren (21) takes a handoff from QB Hank Bachmeier (19) around the corner during first half action against Nevada.
Boise state running back, Andrew Van Buren (21) takes a handoff from QB Hank Bachmeier (19) around the corner during first half action against Nevada. (Stanley Brewster / Blue-Turf.com)

BIG NASTY:

Boise State put together a plodding drive in the second quarter in an attempt to retake the lead. They converted on 3rd down 3 times, but twice Bachmeier and center Will Farrar failed the exchange. One snap went over the QB’s head, the other went bouncing at his feet. Both incurred huge losses, subtracting from their already paltry rushing tally. Bachmeier recovered some of the yardage with a long pass to his tight end, but the second poor snap led to a punt on 4th and forever.


Shakir ignited the team with a returned punt of 40 yards. Bachmeier then hit Cobbs for 33 yards to create a goal-to-go situation. Bachmeier would again hit cobbs from 5 yards out on a little rollout left slide route to the back left of the end zone. Cobbs had the speed to pull away from the defender and had 5 yards of separation. BSU took the 21-17 lead


The second quarter ended with another Talton field goal, this time from 37 yards out as time expired on the half.


In the third quarter, after Backmeier’s strip sack, and after a series of penalties on both teams, Taua ran for a 12-yard score to help his team retake the lead. Strong would hit Romeo Doubs on a slant route to convert the 2-point conversion and give the Wolfpack a 28-21 lead. This score went into a specious column in the stat book: points off turnovers.


A big wonder at BSU was how many of the fans who cheered in the first half would return for the second half. The implementation of No re-Entry has long-time fans upset by the disturbance to their gameday rituals. The concourse gets clogd. The beer lines slog as if the people are standing in sticky dried malt. Even the bathroom trips take a shaky minute. It’s not like fans get bottle service to their seats. If you want anything, you gotta get up and get it yourself.

Boise State wide receiver, Octavius Evans (1) runs up the sideline during second half action against Nevada.
Boise State wide receiver, Octavius Evans (1) runs up the sideline during second half action against Nevada. (Stanley Brewster / Blue-Turf.com)

BSU’s only 3rd quarter scoring drive was highlighted by another Shakir miracle catch, this time at his ankles. Cobbs also caught a 15-yard pass. The drive would stall and Jonah Dalmas hit a 32-yard field goal.


Nevada simply ran Taua for 21 and 38 yards on back-to-back plays, but they too stalled and settled for a field goal. Talton nailed the 35-yarder to put the Pack back up 7, at 31-24.


With a chance to tie the game, BSU watched another drive crumble. Van Buren had a 19-yard run, but Bachmeier, in an attempt to evade the rush, ran backward and was eventually sacked by Sam Hammond for a 21-yard loss. Yes. 21 yards. BSU punted, and even that was a faulty 27-yarder.


Nevada then ran 3 plays and scored. A 35-yard catch by Lockhart, then a 22-yard TD run by Taua put Nevada up 38-24.


The entire third quarter proved poor for the Broncos (fumble, field goal, punt).

The entire third quarter ran rich for the Wolfpack (TD, FG, TD).


The Broncos truly struggled to run the ball consistently and to stop it staunchly. Yes, the stats are partially swayed by those 2 bad snaps that together cost nearly 40 yards, but BSU had 27 rushing yards thru 3 quarters and finished with 22.


On 4th and 4, to start the 4th quarter, BSU gained 1 yard on a shovel pass to Thomas. Turnover on downs. This was a pivotal play that went to Nevada. The Wolfpack took over at midfield up 2 touchdowns, but could not take advantage of the position. They went 3 and out and punted to Boise State.

Umpire Sheldon Davis tackles an unknown streaker who ran loose on the field in between the 3rd and 4th quarters while the fans in the stadium were doing their ritual sing-a-long to Garth brooks 'Friends In Low Places' song.
Umpire Sheldon Davis tackles an unknown streaker who ran loose on the field in between the 3rd and 4th quarters while the fans in the stadium were doing their ritual sing-a-long to Garth brooks 'Friends In Low Places' song. (Stanley Brewster / Blue-Turf.com)

With 12:47 left in the game, BSU took over deep in their own territory with a chance to get back in the game. They ran one more disastrous play. On a first down pass to Cobbs, Nevada Senior defensive back Jordan Lee stript Cobbs of the ball and recovered it


Umpire Sheldon Davis likely made the best tackle of the game, chasing down a streaker (shirtless only) who made it on the field and evaded security for about 2 minutes, dancing to “Friends in Low places”, going to his knees in the south end zone, before dodging a would-be tackler. Davis chased the man down from behind so he may be promptly arrested. Best roar from the crowd in the entire second half.


Again, down big in the fourth quarter, Bachmeier tried to rally his team, but it only lasted one play. He completed a pass to Cobbs, or so he thought. Cobbs bobbled the pass and Daiyan Henley intercepted it in stride and made a short return.


With that, the upper and lower decks began to empty out of Albertsons Stadium. The record crowd moped out the exits.


Boise state WR, Stephan Cobbs (5) with positive yards after the catch during 4th quarter action against nevada.
Boise state WR, Stephan Cobbs (5) with positive yards after the catch during 4th quarter action against nevada. (Stanley Brewster / Blue-Turf.com)

This is the second consecutive loss at home for BSU. It spoiled an otherwise gorgeous autumn afternoon in Boise.


By the time BSU scored its first touchdown of the second half, Evans’ 4-yard snag, only 3:15 remained in the game. They closed the lead to 41-31, but the mistakes of the second half kept them too far out of reach. The dominance at home, the mystique, is seemingly diminished. Andy Avalos’ coaching career is off to a rough start at BSU. This is football. A team wins. A team loses.


Boise State now travels to face No. 13 BYU (5-0), the highest ranked team on the schedule.


Nevada next hosts New Mexico State. The Wolfpack is in the driver’s seat to win the West division and possibly play for the Mountain West championship.

Boise State EDGE linebacker, Demetri Washington (38) tackles Nevada RB, Devonte Lee (2) during second half action. The Wolf Pack defeated the Broncos 41-31.
Boise State EDGE linebacker, Demetri Washington (38) tackles Nevada RB, Devonte Lee (2) during second half action. The Wolf Pack defeated the Broncos 41-31. (Stanley Brewster / Blue-Turf.com)
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