Boise State struggles in Provo

The Broncos had a very up and down game. The first half was all defense, but very little offense. The second half seemed like the defense was getting a little tired, but the offense was coming to life. The defense didn't quite have enough in them and the offense didn't do enough to help. BYU had some great plays, but honestly this loss is more on the Broncos than anything.

THINGS WE LEARNED

1. This defense is good. It seems the lynch pin MIGHT be the secondary. They got caught out of position on multiple plays where Mangum was flushed and he managed to find wide open receivers way down field. Moxey was getting a little mouthy throughout the game and got called on it, but I'm sure the coaches got him straightened out. They were gassed by the end of the game it seemed. A function of the offense sputtering.
   
2. Our offense still has some work to do. Finley made some questionable calls, but he made some good ones as well. Our offensive line, though, had WAY too many false start penalties. They need to tighten up and play like the veteran line that they are. McNichols and SWR made some great plays. I feel like they were finding their rhythm into the second half.
   
3. Work to be done on the play calling. There were some odd/conservative calls earlier, but they seemed to mix it up a bit after half. Not sure if Harsin got involved, but I feel like Drink will get it worked out. He's still young and based on what I've seen of him, I have faith he'll figure it out. Let's just hope it's quickly!
   
4. McNichols will carry the RBU flag well. He seems to have a very cool head, great vision and a competitive drive. He'll continue to improve each week and he'll keep Bronco Nation happy for a few more years.
5. Special teams was lights out tonight. Rausa hit his field goal and Wale had 3 punts inside the 10. Me thinks they did a fair bit of running after the Washington game.

FIRST HALF RECAP Boise State 10 - 7 BYU

Total yards: Boise State 189; BYU 155

Rush yards: Boise State 36; BYU -14

Pass yards: Boise State 153; BYU 169

Penalties Boise State 5-33; BYU 2-14

First Downs: Boise State 9; BYU 5

Total offensive plays: Boise State 37;  BYU 33

Time of Possession: Boise State 17:57; BYU 12:03

Turnovers: Boise State 1; BYU 2

QB Comparison

• Ryan Finley 25-38 for 297 yards 1 TD and 3 INT 124.3 rating
  
• Tanner Mangum 17-28 for 309 yards 2 TD and 2 INT 162.7 rating

WR Comparison

Boise State

BYU

RB Comparison

Boise State

BYU

BOISE STATE DRIVE RECAP

BYU DRIVE RECAP

Defensive Totals

Boise State

BYU

Apologies for all of the screen grabs from statmonitor, but I wanted to get this info out as soon as I could. One note, it seems Boise State's FG at the end of the first half made it onto the BYU scoring drive. Let's keep our heads up and turn out for Idaho State next week. Go Broncos!