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BYU players sing the fight song after the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Courtesy BYU Photo)

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BYU returner Hobbs Nyberg falls on a fumbled punt during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

Jaren Wilkey/BYU

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BYU head coach Kalani Sitake (left) watches his team compete during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Courtesy BYU Photo)

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BYU linebacker Chaz Ah You makes a tackle during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Courtesy BYU Photo)

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BYU fans cheer on their team during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Courtesy BYU Photo)

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BYU quarterback Jaren Hall throws a pass during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Courtesy BYU Photo)

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BYU wide receiver Samson Nacua makes a touchdown catch during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Courtesy BYU Photo)

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BYU running back Lopini Katoa gets pushed out of bound during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Courtesy BYU Photo)

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BYU defenders prepare for the ball to be snapped during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Courtesy BYU Photo)

BYU_PHOTO

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BYU receivers Samson Nacua (right) and Puka Nacua celebrate after a touchdown catch during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Courtesy BYU Photo)

University Photographer

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BYU linebacker Pepe Tanuvasa makes a sack during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo

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BYU wide receiver Gunner Romney makes a catch during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo

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BYU players come out of the tunnel and take the field before the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo

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BYU tight end Dallin Holker makes a catch during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo

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BYU center James Empey prepares to snap the ball during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Courtesy BYU Photo)

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BYU linebacker Max Tooley makes a tackle during the 26-17 Cougar loss to Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

Jaren Wilkey/BYU

❮ ❯

The No. 10-ranked BYU football team had utilized a very effective recipe for winning in its first five games:

1. Don’t turn the ball over.

2. Get the lead.

3. Capitalize on opponent mistakes.

4. Make key plays down the stretch to secure the win.

While it hadn’t resulted in blowouts, that formula turned out to be good enough to keep the Cougars unbeaten to start the 2021 campaign.

It worked so well that Boise State decided to copy it and apply it … against BYU.

Once again, the strategy proved effective but this time it was the Cougars who found themselves on the wrong end as the Broncos forced the mistakes and made the key plays to get the 26-17 win at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, handing BYU its first defeat.

“I saw a lot of mistakes, and against a good team it’s hard to overcome those mistakes,” Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake said after the loss. “We made mistakes, but they made the plays. Props to them for being aggressive. I thought they did a great job. We didn’t do enough to put ourselves in a position to get a W, but we’ve got to bounce back.”

After only having two turnovers in their other games, BYU coughed the ball up four times (three fumbles and an interception), plus had a pair of failed fourth down conversions.

Those errors allowed Boise State to rally from an early deficit and seize control.

The Cougars got a field goal on their first drive, then put the ball in the end zone on their second possession on a 14-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Jaren Hall to junior wide receiver Samson Nacua.

The Broncos cut into the BYU lead by getting a field goal after a 14-play drive but the Cougars still seemed to be in good shape.

Then the rain started falling heavily and things came unraveled for BYU.

Cougar sophomore running back Tyler Allgeier coughed up the ball for only the second time in his career, having it get knocked free and recovered by Boise State deep in BYU territory.

Four plays later, Bronco senior running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio scored on an 11-yard run to tie the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, Cougar junior running back Lopini Katoa fumbled on the return and again the Broncos had the ball with a golden opportunity to take the lead.

Boise State senior running back Andrew Van Buren burrowed into the end zone from a yard out and suddenly BYU found itself playing from behind for the first time in 2021.

“We have to bring our own spark so the fans have something to be excited about,” Cougar sophomore wide receiver Puka Nacua said. “Today we were able to do that sometimes, but we also hurt ourselves with penalties and a [lack of] ball security. We weren’t connecting on all of our plays either. I’m proud of those guys in that locker room. It’s not fun to lose, but it’s fun to see everyone fight.”

BYU hoped to make a big offensive drive before halftime but Allgeier got stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-2 from the Cougar 46-yard line, giving the ball back to the Broncos with great field position again.

Boise State completed a pass to the 1-yard line but the BYU defense was able to keep the Broncos to a field goal.

Cougar freshman linebacker Ben Bywater said that it’s never easy to be repeatedly placed in short-yardage situations as a defense.

“Those are not situations we want,” Bywater said. “Those are things that, as a football player, you have to battle back from. We held them to three points in the red zone a lot, so I’m proud of the way our defense fought.”

The visitors added to their lead to start the second half, getting a 35-yard kickoff return to start the drive and tacking on another field goal.

The 13-point lead certainly wasn’t insurmountable at that point but BYU couldn’t stop hurting themselves.

The next Cougar drive looked promising, particularly after the Cougars converted a fourth-and-8 from just inside Bronco territory. But it ended when Katoa — after a big run — had the last defender between him and the end zone hit him just right to pop the ball free.

“Nobody feels worse than those running backs right now,” Sitake said. “Ball security is something that we’re always preaching. It’s something we can always improve on and always get better at. Mistakes happen; it just seems like we made way too many today to battle back from.”

The BYU defense held and the Cougar offense roared back down the field — only to be stopped on four consecutive plays from inside the Bronco 5-yard line for a turnover on downs.

The outcome was still very much in doubt, however, after a 49-yard pass from Hall to junior wide receiver Gunner Romney set up a 1-yard TD run by Allgeier, cutting the Boise State lead to six points.

But the Broncos stepped up and, aided by a pair of costly Cougar penalties and a tremendous catch by senior wide receiver Khalil Shakir, tacked on a field goal with under three-and-a-half minutes left in the game.

Any hope for a miracle comeback for BYU died when, under pressure, Hall tossed the ball up for grabs and it was intercepted.

Nacua said the difference in the game was the failure by the Cougars to handle key details.

“It was just the small and simple things,” Nacua said. “We missed some simple blocks. We missed some small and simple things and those start to add up as the game goes on. I thought we fought back, but having four turnovers makes it harder to come back.”

BYU ended up with 101 more total yards than the Broncos had (413-312) but Hall said it wasn’t nearly enough.

“I felt like we moved the ball pretty well except for a couple of drives,” Hall said. “Obviously we didn’t take care of the ball and did a lot of uncharacteristic things. We put our defense in a tough spot a couple of times. We can’t beat ourselves. We had done a great job of that and that’s why we’d won five games. The game we don’t do that, that’s the result.”

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