Boise State Football: Takeaways from Week 8 win over Wyoming

Boise State continued its rebound in October with a divisional win over Wyoming on Saturday night. What did we learn from the Broncos victory?

After taking down San Diego State in a convincing road win last weekend, Boise State returned home to the Smurf Turf in Week 8. There they took on Wyoming, the team that thwarted their chances of winning the Mountain West last year. Boise State was down 14-10 entering the fourth quarter, but Bryan Harsin’s team racked up two unanswered touchdowns to run away with the 24-10 victory.

Once again, the matchup of MWC Mountain rivals proved to be a heated affair. But it was a clean contest, as the officiating crew threw just four flags all night long. Instead, it was a night punctuated by strong defensive efforts on both sides.

We learned that Josh Allen is either overhyped as a first-round NFL prospect or that he simply has none of the weapons he enjoyed with the Cowboys last season. The veteran quarterback was held to 131 passing yards with a touchdown and two interceptions on a 12-of-27 completion rate. Allen added a touchdown and 62 rushing yards on the ground. Aside from Allen, though, Wyoming managed just 49 more yards of offense and were unable to keep pace.

However you choose to explain Allen’s inability to pull out the victory on the road, Wyoming is now a game behind in the MWC Mountain standings. More importantly for Boise State, the Broncos now hold a critical tiebreaker in the quest to claim the conference title that has eluded them since 2014.

What else did we learn about the Broncos on Saturday night?

It wasn’t exactly an impressive effort on offense for Boise State, either. The Broncos continue to rely on a two-quarterback system as Montell Cozart spells Brett Rypien. As a result, the Broncos offense seems disjointed at times. They can rattle off long touchdown drives, but Boise State is also susceptible to early three-and-outs as they try to figure out the best balance against a particular opponent.

They didn’t throw for a ton of yardage, but Rypien and Cozart have at least been efficient. The two combined to complete 75 percent of their passes for 177 yards. Cozart threw for one touchdown and ran in two more. Thus the graduate transfer from Kansas provided the bulk of the points, vindicating the coaching staff’s approach even if it does have its drawbacks at times.

But the passing game is just one element of Boise State’s success this year. Alexander Mattison continues to be the most important cog in the offense for Boise State. The running back has staked his claim on the starting role in the Broncos backfield as the replacement for Jeremy McNichols. Mattison responded with 91 yards on 17 carries, and added another 41 yards on four receptions.

What’s next for each team?

Now 4-3 on the season, Wyoming is pretty much out of the Mountain West race. The Cowboys are still in good position to return to another bowl game, though. Craig Bohl’s team needs to get two more victories over a schedule featuring home games against New Mexico, Colorado State, and Fresno State and road trips to Air Force and San Jose State. They might have to wait until the regular-season finale against the Spartans, but Wyoming should be able to get to six wins.

For Boise State, the march toward the goal of reaching the Mountain West championship continues with next week’s trip to Logan to face Utah State. If they can make it out of October with a 6-2 record, the Broncos then square off against Nevada before facing Colorado State on the road.

Next: Projected Week 9 AP Top 25 Poll

The game against the Rams will likely decide which team represents the MWC Mountain in this year’s Mountain West championship game.