On paper, the Boise State football team’s run game had to be thrilled to be having BYU come to town for Saturday night’s contest in Albertsons Stadium in Boise.

The stats certainly indicated that the Broncos would have a definitely advantage. Led by junior running back George Holani (5.1 yards per carry this season), Boise State was rushing for a solid 179.6 yards per game, which is 45th in the nation.

The Cougar rush defense, on the other hand, was giving up an average of 205.7 yards per game (121st in the country) and had been gashed for at least 200 yards on the ground in six of the last seven games.

Mismatch, right?

Well, football games aren’t played on paper.

It was the BYU defense that stood tall, holding the Broncos to just 104 yards rushing on 30 carries.

“I play in the front seven with the defensive line and linebackers, so for stopping the run is a big goal,” BYU sophomore linebacker Ben Bywater said. “Having that pride and getting that swagger back was important. We’ve done it before. We kind of just lost our identity a little bit. For us to come out and do that this week against Boise State on their home turf shows a lot. It shows we’re a tough team.”

Being able to slow Holani and the Boise State run game put more pressure on the rest of the Bronco offense, according Bywater.

“If we can stop the run and limit them to throw, they are going to make mistakes,” Bywater said. “They are going to make good plays. They found the soft spots in the zones and that’s how football works. They are going to get chunks here and there. But overall I think our defense did our thing.”

The Cougar defense was put into some tough spots when it appeared that Boise State had all the momentum after a pair of interceptions and a fourth-down stop in the first half.

“The thing I liked about the defense was the answers to the mistakes, when it could’ve been easy to put their heads down and say, ‘oh, no, here we go again,'” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said. “There were some untimely mistakes with turnovers and not converting on a fourth down, but our guys believe in each other. We ask them to just keep working. I’m really happy with the leadership and the coaches. These guys did a great job sticking with it and fighting to the end.”

As the losses started piling up including surrendering 52 points to Arkansas, Sitake put more of his attention on the Cougar defense and had defensive coordinator ‘Ilaisa Tuiaki focus on the defensive line.

While that appeared to pay dividends with a better showing on Saturday night, Bywater said he didn’t think there were any dramatic differences.

“Not a lot changed as far as alignment, assignment or technique,” Bywater said. “But Kalani always brings great energy and he’s a guy we would always follow into battle.”

Sitake said he is emphasizing the basics and trying to get guys in position to be confident they will make plays.

“We are trying to play fundamentally-sound football,” Sitake said. “We didn’t miss as many tackles as before but some of the big plays happened because we missed tackles. We’re just going to keep working on that.”

It still wasn’t perfect as BYU gave up 28 points and 324 yards of total offense to the Broncos, but the Cougars never got down.

“It was about grit and tenacity,” Bywater said. “I’m just so proud of how all the boys played tonight. We’ve been through some tough times these past few weeks, so for everyone to go out there and have that turnout was big for us. I couldn’t be happier.”

When Boise State took the field with time to drive down and either tie or take the lead late in the fourth quarter, the BYU defense didn’t allow the home team a single first down.

“These nail-biter games come down to mental toughness, to who has faith and who is going to go out there and make a play,” Bywater said. “We did that.”

He also gave credit to the big plays by the BYU offense and special teams because he said that helped the defense be more confident.

“You feed off each other,” Bywater said. “Seeing the offense make plays, seeing Puka make that touchdown, it’s motivating for us as defensive guys. For us to go out and limit their total offense, I’m proud of the way we played in all three phases. If you lock in like that, you are going to come out with the win.”

Not blue on the blue

BYU has won back-to-back games at Boise State against the Broncos. The Cougars also won in 2018 in the Idaho Potato Bowl vs. Western Michigan, giving them three consecutive wins on the blue turf at Albertsons Stadium.

Prior to those games, BYU was 0-5 when playing in Boise.

Piling up the yards

BYU’s offense put up 532 yards of total offense on the Boise State defense. The Broncos came into the game No. 2 in total defense, allowing just 231.9 yards per game.

It is the most yards Boise State has given up since the season opener against UCF in 2021 (573 yards) and the most at home since 573 against BYU in 2020.

Extra points

BYU lost the coin toss for the eighth time in 10 games. Boise State deferred to the second half, meaning the Cougars got the ball to start the game. BYU scored a touchdown on its first possession, while the Broncos also scored a touchdown on the first possession of the second half … the Cougar alumni flag bearers were Matt Hadley (RB/LB, 2012, 15-18) and Spencer Nead (TE, 2001-02). The American flag was carried by junior linebacker Morgan Pyper, while sophomore long snapper Austin Riggs carried the flag of the state of Idaho … the announced attendance at Albertsons Stadium was 36,461.

Courtesy BYU Photo

Courtesy BYU Photo