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| Tanner Mangum attempts a pass against Boise State in 2015 |
On September 12, 2015, it was a good day to be number 12 if you were a BYU Cougar. The Boise State Broncos were in town for the annual match up. BYU freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum was fresh off a hail Mary that won the season opener at Nebraska on the final play of the game.
The third play of game two, Mangum connected on another bomb. Mitchell Juergens caught it without breaking stride and went 84-yards for a touchdown.
The Cougar defense moved Boise State backwards in its first three plays to get the ball back for BYU. That's when Mangum showed he was mortal. After BYU picked up a first down, Mangum went for another home run ball. It was intercepted.
Boise State and BYU traded punts after the turnover, and then the Broncos got on the board. Taking advantage of excellent field position, Boise State drove 52 yards in seven plays and tied the score, 7-7, on a three-yard run.
By this time, the Cougar offense had come crashing back down to earth. The next possession ended in another punt.
Boise State, meanwhile, was starting to look like the top 20 that they were. First down was a 43-yard pass completion. Boise State went deep on the next play, too, but Kai Nacua was there to intercept the ball at the BYU 1-yard line.
Nacua's big play, however, did nothing to inspire the BYU offense. On the second play of the second quarter, the Cougars were punting from their own end zone. In fact, BYU did very little with the ball the rest of the half.
Fortunately, the Cougar defense stymied the Broncos offense as well. It wasn't until the very end of the half that Boise State had any offensive success, and that resulted in just a field goal as time ran out to make it 10-7 at the break.
Boise State came out of the break and methodically drove the ball down the field for a touchdown. The 11-play, 75-yard drive gave the Broncos a 17-7 edge.
BYU and Boise State then exchanged punts.
Mangum was sacked for an 11-yard loss on second down to bring up 3rd and 19 at the BYU 7-yard line. Once again, Boise State looked poised to take control of the game, but number 12 came to the rescue again. Mangum found Devon Blackmon for 70 yards. A few plays later, Adam Hine took the ball in for a touchdown from 21 yards out.
Boise State came right back and answered with it's second touchdown of the quarter, and the lead was back to 10, 24-14.
As the third quarter ended, the BYU offense seemed to have found some life, but something had to be done about stopping the Boise State offense. BYU had to look no further than the number 12 on defense. On Boise State's next possession, Nacua got his second pick of the game. This one he returned 26 yards to the Boise State 12-yard line.
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| Kai Nacua celebrates fourth quarter interception (Gene Sweeney, Jr./Getty Images) |
Five plays later, Mangum plunged in from the one. With 10:22 to play, it was 24-21.
Nearly seven minutes later, the score remained the same. With first down at its own 36-yard line, BYU realized this was probably its last chance to win the game. On 3rd and 3, Hine broke loose for 19 yards to move the ball to the Boise State 38. Mangum then completed a pass for seven yards, but was sacked for a loss of four on the very next play. His pass on third down was incomplete.
With under a minute to play, BYU had to convert a 4th and 7, or try to tie the game with a 52-yard field goal. Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall felt more comfortable with keeping the offense on the field. Mangum took the snap, got flushed from the pocket and scrambled to his right. He then threw a jump ball to the end zone to his favorite target on the night. Juergens caught the ball for a touchdown.
BYU took a 28-24 lead with just 45 seconds to play.
Boise State wasn't going to go away that easy. Following the touchback on the kickoff, the Broncos came out throwing. The fourth quarter would end the same way it began for Boise State. Nacua recorded his third interception of the game. This time, he took it back 50 yards for a touchdown.
It a matter of seconds, the one-two punch of Mangum and Nacua, who both wore number 12, delivered a very memorable win for the Cougars.
Mangum finished the night 17 of 28 for 309 yards passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Juergens had four receptions for 172 yards. Blackmon also topped the century mark with 105 on six grabs.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Mangum to Juergens 35-yard, game-winning touchdown pass.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kai Nacua--3 interceptions, 1 touchdown, 5 tackles, 1 pass breakup
The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com
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