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BOISE, Idaho — Lacking its No. 1 running back and playing in a hostile environment on a wild Thursday night, BYU lost its second game of the season, 28-27 at No. 14 Boise State in front of 34,575 fans at Albertson’s Stadium.
The Cougars (4-4) have lost to three teams currently ranked in the top-25 in the Broncos (7-0), No. 19 Utah and No. 12 West Virginia, and now head into a bye week before playing at Cincinnati on Nov. 5.
Here’s how the team graded out in another close loss.
Offense: C-
Squally Canada earned his first start of the season in the absence of Jamaal Williams, and the Washington State transfer ran the ball well. But his biggest plays early were called back for penalties, as the Cougars committed three in the first quarter.
BYU converted just one of its first five third-down attempts, and finished 4-of-17 in that category en route to 71 yards of offense in the first half. BYU finished with just 322 total yards, including 135 on the ground.
“They key was the offensive linemen, of course,” said Canada, who finished with 88 yards on 21 carries. “The scout team D-line gave us a great look in practice, so shout out to the scout team defense and offense.
“It was no secret; the O-line had a great push up front.”
Taysom Hill kept several drives alive with his dual-threat ability, and he scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper after Mitchell Juergens laid out for a 33-yard strike inside the one in the third quarter. But he also took four sacks while Boise State’s defense forced nine tackles for loss.
Hill completed 21-of-42 passes for 187 yards, and ran for 48 yards and a score.
Defense: B+
After a first quarter where Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien diced the visitors for 205 yards and two passing touchdowns, the Cougars settled down — and only allowed 14 points in the remaining three periods.
Linebacker Fred Warner made up for a lot of defensive inefficiency in the first quarter with a 59-yard pick-six in the second, his fifth career interception, to change the momentum of the game. The junior from San Marcos, California was the first BYU player in the end zone, jogging in behind a bevy of blockers and a Boise State illegal tackle to pull the Cougars within 14-10.
Dayan Lake added a 50-yard pick-six to give the Cougars its first lead at 17-14 with 4:54 left in the opening half. BYU forced three second-quarter turnovers, but trailed 21-17 at halftime.
“We just played our same game; we can guard anyone," Lake said. "We’ve gone against a whole bunch of different receivers, and we feel like we can cover anyone.
“The aggression, we’ve got to have. Play tight and stay with them.”
BYU finished with five turnovers — and a plus-5 turnover margin — to take a 24-21 lead into the fourth quarter, despite Boise State putting up a 443-222 edge in offensive yardage. One fourth-quarter score by McNichols, who had 249 all-purpose yards, was enough to give the Broncos arguably their biggest win of the season.
“He’s just a hard runner,” Warner said of McNichols. “Up front, their O-line got little gaps for him to wiggle through. He’s a good player.”
Special Teams: A-
BYU punter Jonny Linehan had the Cougars’ top play in the first quarter, a 53-yard punt that pinned the Broncos at the 2-yard line. The New Zealander averaged 40.0 yards on five punts for BYU, but also tried to run a punt out of his own end zone and fell at the 2-yard line.
Corbin Kaufusi blocked Boise State’s 32-yard field goal attempt with about two minutes left in the first quarter, and Kai Nacua returned the muff to the 47-yard line to set up a positive drive.
Rhett Almond knocked down his seventh field goal of the season with a 35-yard try on the first drive of the second quarter, but the Cougars already trailed 14-3 at that point. They then took a lead with the two pick-sixes, the first BYU game with multiple interceptions returned for a touchdown since 1989.
Zayne Anderson recovered a muffed punt after the Cougars took a 24-21 lead in the third quarter, but the Cougar offense could only get Almond’s field goal out of the drive.
Overall, special teams turned in another stout performance under coordinator Ed Lamb.
Were it not for the blocked field goal on the antepenultimate play of the game, the special teams unit played as well as it could.
Coaching: C
With Linehan backed up and his heels on the end zone, the Cougars attempted a fake punt — and promptly ran to the 2-yard line, a coaching decision that failed in a remarkable way. The Broncos took a personal foul on a celebration penalty, then missed a 30-yard field goal attempt. No harm, no foul — right?
The staff also elected to punt on a fourth-and-four situation in the second half — even taking a delay-of-game penalty that Boise State coach Bryan Harsin declined. The Cougars also elected to attempt a potential game-winning 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left on second down, and risk a Hail Mary final play after the Broncos blocked the kick.
Fair or not, part of the Cougars’ offensive woes likely falls on the shoulders of the coaching staff. The playcalling was conservative inside the red zone — not bad, but with only a handful of memorable plays for a team that shrunk within itself when faced in scoring position.
Overall: C+
The defense played well enough to win on several big plays, but also allowed 249 all-purpose yards to McNichols in the Broncos’ fifth win in the regional series and 23rd-straight non-conference home victory.
But the offense was rarely in a position to capitalize on the big defensive plays, scoring just three points on a pair of turnovers in the second half. The squad also couldn’t take advantage of generous field position offered by the special-teams unit; BYU had seven drives of 10 yards or fewer.