Boise State can’t overcome special teams blunders, lose on the road to Oklahoma State

FINAL BSU 21 OKST 44

The game started about as one would expect it to. Two offensive powerhouses holding each other to punts in a scoreless first quarter. The Bronco offense and Rypien opened up the scoring with a BEAUITFUL pass from Ryp to Hightower for a touchdown. It really was a thing of beauty. That was about all we had going for us in the first half. We managed a measly 31 yards on 20 carries. NO BUENO. The offensive line committed a few penalties and just didn’t give Rypien the time he needed to make throws. To top it off, special teams had a punt blocked DEEP in Bronco territory, resulting in a touchdown for the Cowboys.

AND THE TACKLING...don’t get me started on the tackling.

The Okie defensive front spent all of the time in the Bronco backfield, causing tons of confusion for the Bronco OL. The Cowboys really controlled the game the second quarter. The Broncos have more total yards (203-165), but somehow Cornelius has been able to shuffle for 47 yards extending multiple drives.

Credit must be given to the OSU defensive line. They’ve schemed well and kept the Broncos on their toes, resulting in multiple sacks on Ryp and tackles for loss for our running backs. Our defense also hasn’t expecting Cornelius to run (if you call it running).

The second half kickoff went to the Cowboys. The Broncos did a good job on defense holding them, but still needed to make some adjustments. Their opening drive ended in a 48-yard field goal, which was obviously impressive.

BSU finished their first possession with an SCTop10 worthy catch from Richardson to bring them within 6.

Special teams had yet another derp, apparently trying to give the game to Oklahoma State, and had ANOTHER punt blocked, but this one was returned for a touchdown. More missed tackles plagued the normally sound Bronco defense, but it was a game reminiscent of the Utah State game in 2015. There haven’t been a lot of situations that have gone well for the Broncos. The lone bright spot has been the receiving corp, with Richardson’s clutch TD and Modster stepping up, not to mention some clutch catches from Butler and Thomas. Let’s not forget Rypien, too, who passed Kellen Moore with the most 300+ passing yard games in his career. He was 39-56 (69.6%) for 380 yards and 3 TDs.

I said this on Twitter, but this was not a game where BSU was outmatched. This was a game where BSU didn’t execute as well as the other team. The Cowboys didn’t do anything crazy or amazing. Heck, most of the game BSU lead most major statistical categories, but they executed poorly on special teams and let OSU extend plays with poor tackling. Get the punts off quicker and shore up tackling and this game is very different.

Don’t take anything away from OKSt, either. They came to play and their coaches had them ready. BSU seemingly has a game like this every season, unfortunately. Harsin will have them in shape in 2 weeks for Wyoming, I can promise you that. Losses are indeed frustrating, but they are also learning experiences. These players will bounce back and respond in the coming weeks.

As I stated, the Broncos get a break this week and will travel to Wyoming on the 29th for their first conference game looking to defend their title. GO BRONCOS!