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BOISE, Idaho — On an icy night in the Treasure Valley wearing icy white face masks to complement an all-white look, and with the future of the BYU-Boise State rivalry in doubt, BYU extracted a small measure of revenge for last year's upset loss at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Jaren Hall was back to his offensive ways, throwing for 377 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions and a career-best 459 yards of total offense. Puka Nacua looked like "one of the best players in college football" with 157 yards on 14 receptions, the most catches by a BYU receiver since 2014 and tied for the third-most in program history, with two touchdowns — including a toe-tapping 6-yard score in the final two minutes that gave the Cougars a 31-28 win.
For one more night, BYU celebrated in a postgame locker room, this one the Broncos' visitor setup underneath the all-steel and concrete stadium named for national grocer Albertsons. Clark Barrington busted out his dance moves, Keenan Pili almost did, and Hall was too busy signing autographs, taking selfies and making the rounds around the section of BYU fans among the crowd of 36,461 to see any of it.
Winning is hard in college football, and no club has learned that more than BYU during the recent winless month of October. Saturday's win, then, was a cause for celebration for the Cougars — not just for the victory, but for a simpler reason.
"I'm not really focused on the results — I know that's what everybody wants to harp on — but I see growth, and I see progress," said BYU coach Kalani Sitake in a brief reprieve from calls to fire one or both of his coordinators. "Regardless of the results, I've got to find ways for us to improve, and I think we have improved.
"I don't know if everybody can see it. Sometimes success can mask our deficiencies, and I think we're on our way to fixing all of that. I'm just happy that we got the win, and we've got to keep rolling."
The win didn't make BYU's entire season for a team that once ranked in the top 15 nationally and had sights set on a New Year's Six bowl. It didn't erase the heartbreak of a four-game losing skid unseen since 2017, either (though we'll get to that in a moment). The Cougars made plenty of mistakes, including four false-start penalties and a stuffed fourth-and-1 attempt that continues to rank BYU near the bottom of FBS in conversions.
But it did buoy a proud football program that had fallen on hard times, elevating morale to the point where perhaps the Cougars can finish the regular season in a way that will regain a little bit of the pride lost during their troubles.
The Cougars dominated possession on the blue turf with 36 minutes to 24, and outgained the Broncos with 532 yards to 324. More importantly, they played complementary football with an offense that poured in 155 yards on the ground, including 82 from Hall and 75 more from Lopini Katoa and breakout freshman Hinckley Ropati.
Credit to special teams, too, which had a spectacularly unspectacular night — so much that it's forgotten that Jake Oldroyd made a 25-yard field goal in the third quarter. In a 3-point game, that matters.
"You feed off of each other," BYU linebacker Ben Bywater said. "Seeing the offense make plays or Puka make that tuddie, it's motivating for us as D-boys. For us, going out and limiting their total offense, I'm proud of the way we played, in all three phases.
"If we could just lock in and dial in, we're going to come out with the dub."
The Cougars played complementary football, limiting George Holani to 73 yards on 20 carries, primarily in the fourth quarter and stuffing the Broncos to three-and-outs on three of their first four drives, with a fumble on the fifth. Taylen Green eventually got rolling, completing 17-of-12 passes for 220 yards and two scores.
But when the redshirt freshman quarterback had a chance to lead his team to a game-winning drive with just under two minutes remaining, the offense stalled after just two yards gained and Jakob Robinson's game-clinching pass breakup sealed BYU's second-straight victory on the blue turf.
"I'm so proud of the way the boys played tonight, especially in all three phases," said Bywater, who tied for the team lead with six tackles. "We've been through some tough times these past weeks, and for everyone to go out and have that turnout was big for us. I couldn't be happier.
"That's a huge win. Boise State's a great team; for us to go out there and do that, I think it goes to show that we've got some tenacity and some mental toughness, and we can fight through some adversity."
It was, in many ways, the essence of complementary football — something BYU admittedly hasn't done well for the first nine games of the season.
"We always tell each other on offense, defense or special teams, we've got y'all back," Ropati said. "We support everybody. I feel like everybody went out today on all sides of the ball, and just executed."
During a four-game skid that matched the longest of the Sitake era, changes began to take shape. Sitake began calling plays on defense, relegating Ilaisa Tuiaki to coach the defensive line and pushing Preston Hadley back to coach safeties.
More changes are likely coming, though more likely after the season.
The win over the Broncos put BYU back on track to make a bowl game for the 17th time in 18 years, and while a game against a faceless opponent in Albuquerque or Frisco, a bounty of bowl swag, and a sizeable check to the athletic department may mean little to the fan base, the 10 extra practices granted to bowl teams are valuable for a program moving into the Big 12 in 2023.
So bowl eligibility might help in the long run, providing the Cougars can take care of business after a bye week against FCS Utah Tech, or even at Stanford in the regular-season finale.
Even the four-game losing skid might have looked a little rosier Sunday morning, after Liberty had shaken up Arkansas 21-19 to improve to 8-1, and Notre Dame had routed No. 4 Clemson 35-14 in the signature win of first-year coach Marcus Freeman.
Add to it 6-3 East Carolina, and the Cougars' strength of schedule to date ranks 31st nationally, according to Jeff Sagarin.
That streak is in the past. The future looks a little bit brighter after the upset. And the present includes a much-needed bye week.
Does a win make the bye week feel that much better?
"Absolutely it does," Hall said.
