Boise State’s homecoming and parent weekend football game did not go how Bronco fans wanted.
The Nevada Wolf Pack defeated the Boise State Broncos 41-31 in the Broncos’ homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 2.
The score does not tell the whole story of the game, as Nevada dominated Boise State both offensively and defensively in the second half of the game. Nevada’s offense gained 164 offensive yards, including 115 rushing yards and forced three turnovers in the second half of play.
“We all know what the standard is here, and that is not it,” head coach Andy Avalos said. “It starts with me, and we have to re-establish the foundation of how we take care of the ball and how we operate.”
The first quarter consisted of two scores by each team. For Boise State, these scores included a 25-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Hank Bachmeier to redshirt junior receiver Stefan Cobbs and a 23-yard touchdown pass from Bachmeier to senior receiver Khalil Shakir, who made a one-handed catch on the play. The quarter finished with a score of 10-14 in favor of Boise State.
The Wolf Pack outscored the Broncos in the second quarter with a touchdown and a field goal while the Broncos scored off of a 3-yard touchdown pass from Bachmeier to Cobbs. The score was 20-21 heading into halftime.
Photo by Corissa Campbell | The Arbiter
Nevada was strong throughout the second half. The Wolf Pack scored on four different occasions, consisting of 21 points compared to Boise State’s two scores for 10 points.
“We’ve continuously had starts that are not going to help us win games in the second half,” Avalos said. “We’re winning the first half, but we have to come out and start fast [in the second half].”
The third quarter started off with a Nevada touchdown and two-point conversion, followed by a Boise State field goal from sophomore kicker Jonah Dalmas.
The Nevada Wolf Pack dominated the Boise State Broncos from this point forward. Nevada rushed for 113 of their 130 total rushing yards in the third quarter alone.
Nevada also forced three turnovers, two of them coming off the first play of Boise State drives. These turnovers gave Nevada a great starting field position and allowed them to score with ease.
Boise State tried to come back in the fourth quarter, but turnovers and problems with clock management only allowed them to score once off a 4-yard touchdown pass from Bachmeier to redshirt senior receiver Octavius Evans in the final minutes of the game.
According to Boise State Athletics, this is Boise State’s first regular-season conference loss since 2018 against San Diego State. This is also Boise State’s first loss to Nevada since 2010 and the first loss to Nevada on The Blue since 1997.
After losing to Oklahoma State two weeks ago, Boise State now has back-to-back home losses for the first time since 2015. Their record moves to 2-3 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.
“There’s a lot of proud history and tradition here, and we honor it every single day,” Bachmeier said. “Losing back-to-back home games sucks. For us, it’s the small details and it starts today — recovering and getting back to it.”
According to the Idaho Statesman, this is the first time Boise State is under .500 wins through the first five games since 2001.
“Football is a humbling game,” fifth-year linebacker Riley Whimpey said. “Losing on The Blue is never acceptable, and we, as a team, need to be more consistent.”
