PROVO — The nation was alerted to BYU's Tanner Mangum following the Cougars' 33-28 win at Nebraska on the former backup quarterback's Hail Mary pass to Mitch Mathews with no time on the clock.

But Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin knew Mangum long before Saturday evening.

He tried to get him to campus during the Eagle (Idaho) High School graduate's recruitment.

"He's a very good football player," Harsin told the Boise-area media Monday. "What he's done to where he is now: He looks bigger, he's stronger, he's more mature, and even his mechanics have improved. They've done a nice job with him."

The Eagle, Idaho, native grew up a fan of the No. 20-ranked Broncos, adding his final decision came down to the local university and BYU. Mangum chose the Cougars before serving a two-year LDS Church mission in Chile. But every time the two teams face each other, a part of him feels a little conflicted.

"I am a huge BYU fan, but was also a huge Boise State fan," Mangum said. "I remember the first time I watched them play on TV; it was in Provo, and Boise State won the game and I was torn. I didn't know if I was happy or not.

"It's a good matchup: two great programs, two good teams, and it's a fun matchup, for sure."

Mangum's first career start will come against his hometown team Saturday night at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN2. But the freshman who was recruited primarily by former Boise State coach Chris Petersen won't let the "pretty special" moment get to be too much.

"I have some friends and former teammates on the (Boise State) team," Mangum said. "I know coach Harsin. It will be fun to have them in town.

"Where I'm from, everyone's a huge Boise State fan. I know I'll have a lot of people rooting against me. But it's fine — it's college football. I have to remind myself that it doesn't matter who we are playing — they're an opponent, and I have to respect them no matter who they are."

Mangum's introduction to college football couldn't have gone much better. He completed seven of his 11 pass attempts for 111 yards and rushed five more times for 27 yards. On top of his TD toss to Mathews, he also found Nick Kurtz for a first down to keep the game-winning drive alive, helping the junior to 123 yards on five receptions in his first significant playing time at the FBS level.

But Boise State is also coming off a momentum builder following a 16-13 home win over Petersen and new Washington team. The offense did all of its scoring in the first half, highlighted by Jeremy McNichols' 89 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

In other words, the Broncos are poised to move on from running back Jay Ajayi, who now plays for the NFL's Miami Dolphins.

"The same thing we saw last year — they're going to try to pound the ball," BYU outside linebackers coach Kelly Poppinga said. "They love power football, setting it up, then chucking the ball down the field. We've got to be great at stopping the run and great in our assignments. They do a bunch of different formations, and being able to adjust and get our guys aligned properly will be a big key to the game."

Last week, though, the Bronco defense stole the show. Linebacker Kamalei Correa had six tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack, and safety Darlan Thompson added an interception and four tackles in the secondary.

An offensive coach by trade, Harsin paused when thinking about his team's defensive execution last Friday. Then he acknowledged the team's prowess on that side of the ball.

"I didn't really look at it like that, but our defense played extremely well," Harsin said. "The one thing about that unit, even at the end of the game, when we were struggling on offense, we were struggling on special teams, and a lot of times the third unit starts to struggle and it gets frustrating. But they didn't do that.

"Every time we had a situation that hurt us in the two other units, the defense ran out there with great energy, put it on themselves, and got a chance to get it done."

Harsin said BYU's win at Nebraska gives the Cougars significant momentum heading into the second week of the season. But the Broncos have plenty of momentum themselves.

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"You see the adversity that both teams face, and how they handle it," said Harsin, noting both teams opened with Power 5 conference teams rather than traditional lower-division opponents. "That's a big question both teams face coming out of fall camp. When you play a good opponent in a tight-fought game, you get to see how guys handle it."

For BYU receiver Terenn Houk, the trick is to take that momentum and turn it into motivation against a Boise State team that is 4-1 all-time against BYU.

"You pretty much just have to use that momentum and carry it into the next game," Houk said. "You have to realize that Nebraska is down, over, and as amazing as it was, we have to move on to Boise State and make sure we can get those guys.

"After last year, we definitely have to prove ourselves."

Boise State also has something to prove in its first game of 2015 on the road. But Harsin stopped short of calling BYU-Boise State a rivalry — and instead focused on the short history of a recent series that has many, many more future dates on the calendar.

"It's always going to be a big game," Harsin said. "We're on the schedule to play each other for a long time. As far as two good football teams playing each other, I look at it like that. I think it's two teams that have respect for each other … and two teams that will keep this game going for many years. It'll be a lot of fun."

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