The Boise State Broncos (4-4, 3-1 MWC) played their best game of the season, blowing out the University of Wyoming Cowboys (5-3, 2-2 MWC) 32-7.
After what must have been an extremely productive bye week, the Boise State Broncos looked like an entirely new team on Saturday night.
“The players did a really good job throughout the course of the week with the preparation and really understanding the game plan,” head coach Andy Avalos said. “That’s a big part of the maturity of this team.”
The Broncos returned both sixth-year senior DJ Schramm and redshirt senior running back George Holani.
Their return was pivotal in this matchup. The defense was noticeably better with Schramm on the field and with Ashton Jeanty injury midway through the second quarter, Holani’s return couldn’t have been timed any better.
“It’s a blessing to go out there and finally be back out there with the boys,” Holani said. “It’s a beautiful part of this team, everybody welcoming me back … being open armed.”
In his return, Holani had 75 rushing yards and 17 receiving yards while Jeanty notched 53 yards despite his apparent injury.
Boise State’s defense played strong through all four quarters. On the opening drive, the Broncos forced the Cowboys into a three and out, setting the pace for what would become a defensive showcase.
With the back and forth of the “dual quarterback system” that the Broncos have been operating on for the past few weeks, quarterback Taylen Green got the offense started in the opening drive.
On the fifth play of the series, Green connected with redshirt sophomore Eric McAlister on a perfectly placed 49 yard touchdown pass.
To cap off the drive, the Broncos ran a tricky two-point conversion play that set up redshirt sophomore Colt Fulton with a perfect dime to redshirt sophomore tight end Matt Lauter. The successful two-point-conversion put Boise State up 8-0.
After back to back punts, freshman safety Ty Benefield came up big. On third and 11, Wyoming quarterback Andrew Peasley launched it deep to receiver John Michael Gyllenborg, Benefield jumped up and intercepted the pass.
While a great play, this set up a strange series of events. Three plays later, Green fumbles on a quarterback keeper, leading to what should have been a three and out for Wyoming.
Instead, sixth year senior Sefan Cobbs muffed the punt return, setting Wyoming for a 19 yard touchdown pass to Gyllenborg on the next play. After the extra point, Boise State’s lead was shortened to 8-7.
From this point on, Green only saw about a quarter of the snaps Madsen did, if that.
A big reason for that is due to the Cowboys having a plethora of players dedicated to run defense, according to Avalos. Having Madsen in, even during run situations, kept their defense honest, always having to account for his arm, as well as the running backs’ legs.
“One big piece of it was that … we were able to run the ball for 227 yards, but there was a lot of bodies in that box too,” Avalos said.
Two punts later, the Broncos find themselves in field goal distance on fourth down. After a bad snap and hold, senior kicker Jonah Dalmas booted the ball into the back of the offensive line, giving the Cowboys the ball on their 20 yard line.
Boise State maintains a great defensive showing, forcing another three and out.
“There’s nothing more rewarding than to be able to go out there and play the way the defense did tonight,” Avalos said.
The defensive side of the ball kept rolling, which made this game a solid matchup and an even more momentous win.
Safety Seyi Oladipo and linebacker Andrew Simpson, both had themselves a game with four solo tackles each.
The Broncos’ next drive started on their own 23 yard line. The offense went the length of the field in 14 plays (tied for longest drive of the season) and Jambres Dubar’s first touchdown as a Bronco, putting Boise State up 15-7.
To kick off the second half, Madsen led the offense down to Wyoming’s nine yard line, highlighted by a gutsy 36 yard throw and catch to McAlister.
On the final play of the drive, Green came in at quarterback and ran around the outside for a 9 yard touchdown, Broncos up 22-7.
Boise State’s defense held firm yet again, setting the offense up at the 37 yard line.
Another lengthy drive featuring Madsen at quarterback most of the time, and another first career touchdown, this time for freshman receiver Prince Strachan, putting the Broncos up 29-7.
The final scoring drive for the Broncos, Madsen led the offense on a 41 yard drive, to set Dalmas up for a 48 yard field goal, 32-7 Boise State.
The Broncos closed out the game like pros, running the final eight minutes out on offense, and not allowing a first down on defense.
Boise State played their most complete four quarters this match, dominating in major stat lines such as time of possession (38:31 to 21:29) , offensive yards (443 to 112 lowest in series history) and first downs (23-8).
The Bronco defense especially showed improvement. Wyoming is a team known for their ground game, but Boise State’s front seven held them to 27 rushing yards on 24 attempts.
Additionally, they recorded two sacks, seven tackles for loss.
With a statement win, the Broncos will look to continue to utilize the dual quarterback system and fine tune an already improved defense. Boise State will travel to Fresno, Calif. To face Fresno State on November 4.
