BYU continues mysterious pattern of wins and losses with win over 14th ranked Boise State

BYU celebrated its first win over Boise State since 2015 (Ravell Call, Deseret News).

The 2019 football season has been anything but predictable for the BYU Cougars. Coming off of two head-scratching losses to Toledo and South Florida, BYU coasted to a win over the previously undefeated Boise State Broncos, 28-25.

Baylor Romney become the third different quarterback to start for the Cougars in the last three games. Weather was not going to make the first start of his career easy. It rained and snowed most of the game.

Boise State certainly looked like the better team on the opening drive of the game. The Broncos quarterback completed all three of his throws for 43 yards, and they scored on a 12-yard run to take an early 7-0 lead.

It looked like it would be another long night for the Cougar D, especially when the BYU offense quickly found itself facing 3rd and 12 on the ensuing possession. Even after a Boise State defender jumped offsides to make it a more manageable 3rd and 7, there wasn't much hope for BYU to convert the first down.

Romney then made his first of several big throws during the game. He found Talon Shumway for a 22-yard completion. Two plays later, Lopini Katoa picked up 11 yards on the ground. That moved BYU into Boise State territory. A holding penalty six plays later moved BYU from 1st and 10 at the 16-yard line to the 26. That type of penalty is typically a drive killer for BYU, but on 3rd and 12, Romney found Shumway, again, for 13 yards. Two plays later, Katoa finished the 16-play drive with a four-yard touchdown run.

With 3:34 left in the first quarter, it was tied 7-7.

The BYU defense came up with a big turnover three plays later. Isaiah Kaufusi made a diving interception at the Boise State 43-yard line. The Cougars had a golden opportunity to take an early lead in the game. Sione Finau broke loose for a 16-yard run, and Romney connected with his brother Gunner for 10 yards on the final play of the first quarter to give BYU a first and goal at the six-yard line.

This time, a holding penalty proved very costly. Baylor Romney scored on an eight-yard scramble, but it was called back because of holding. BYU lost two yards on 3rd and Goal from the 19-yard line. That set up a 38-yard field goal attempt that was no good.

The score remained locked at seven apiece for much of the rest of the first half as BYU and Boise State combined for six straight punts on possessions that saw neither team pick up a single first down.

Boise State broke the streak as the second quarter came to a close. The Broncos put together an 11-play, 42-yard drive that ended in a successful 38-yard field goal with 28 seconds to play.

While trailing 10-7 at halftime against a team that was 6-0 and ranked in the top 15 looked good for BYU, it was overshadowed by the squandered scoring opportunity following the turnover. Historically, Boise State was too disciplined and consistent for an injury-depleted Cougar squad to expect to hang around in the second half and steal a win with a big play at the end.

BYU received the ball to start the second half. Two good plays got BYU quickly into Boise State territory. Two plays later, Finau found a crease in the Boise State defense. He slipped through and raced 46-yards for a touchdown. With 13:03 to play in the third quarter, BYU had its first lead of the game, 14-10.

Little did anyone know, the Cougars would keep that lead for the remainder of the game. However, Boise State would not make it easy for BYU to keep that lead. The Broncos don't roll over for anyone.

Boise State immediately drove inside the BYU 20-yard line, but had to settle for a field goal after an incomplete pass on third down. The 36-yard attempt missed.

The Cougar offense fired right back. Romney completed a 39-yard bomb to Shumway to move the ball to the Boise State 36-yard line. Three plays later, BYU was one-yard short of a first down. BYU made the gutsy move to go for it on fourth down. An excellently executed fake hand off left tight end Matt Bushman wide open down the seam behind the Boise State defense. Romney threw a perfect pass that resulted in a 27-yard touchdown.

The Cougar defense protected the 21-10 lead with a second interception. This time by Jackson Kaufusi. He returned it 13 yards to the Boise State 41-yard line. It was another golden opportunity for BYU. This time, the Coguars wouldn't squander it.

After a short two-yard run on first down, BYU gave Boise State a taste of its own medicine. Known for capitalizing on catching opponents off guard with trick plays, Boise State has broken the hearts of many nationally ranked teams. BYU reached into its bag of tricks and ran a reverse, flea-flicker. Once Romney had the ball back in his hands, he lofted another pass to a wide open Bushman down the sideline. The 39-yard touchdown gave BYU a commanding 28-10 lead with 3:10 left in the third quarter.

BYU now faced the challenge of protecting the 18-point lead for 18 minutes.

Two 15-yard penalties on the BYU defense didn't help. One was a mysterious unnecessary roughness penalty after the Cougar D got a stop on 3rd and 18. That kept the drive alive. With 12:42 to play in the fourth quarter, Boise State ended the 13-play drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass. That was followed by a successful two-point conversion to close the gap to 10 points, 28-18.

It didn't look good for BYU when the offense couldn't move the ball very much, and had to quickly punt. There was still way too much time to feel comfortable with just a 10-point lead. Credit the Cougar defense for getting a quick stop. Chaz Ah You and Austin Lee both nearly intercepted the ball on third down, which would have given BYU great field position. Nevertheless, BYU ended up in great shape after Boise State shanked the punt for just 21 yards.

BYU was unable to pick up a first down and the Cougars tried to run the ball to use as much time on the clock as possible, so they had to punt. The kick was perfect and downed inside the one-yard line, but BYU was penalized for illegal formation. This time, the punt landed at the 21-yard line.

Boise State drove down for another touchdown, but the Cougar D made the Broncos work for it. The drive used 3:24 of precious game clock. While it was now a three-point game, 28-25, only 3:17 remained.

BYU continued to run the ball. On 2nd and 3 from the 32-yard line, it appeared Finau easily crossed the 35-yard line for a first down. The ball was spotted at the 34, however. BYU's quarterback sneak on third down was ruled short. A strange sequence of events then followed.

Boise State called its final timeout to preserve clock, expecting BYU to punt the ball. Following the timeout, a measurement was made, and the officials signaled first down BYU. Despite being out of time outs, Boise State was allowed to challenge the spot. Upon replay review, the spot was reversed, although there didn't seem to be any indisputable evidence to back it up.

With over two minutes to play, at its own 34-yard line, BYU gambled and went for the first down. This time, the BYU offensive line got enough of a surge, and the ball carrier got enough of a push to get the first down.

Now, BYU was able to kneel on the ball and run out the clock to preserve the 28-25 victory.

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