Oregon Football: 3 takeaways from loss to Boise State in Las Vegas Bowl

3. Boise State defense showed Justin Herbert-led Ducks can be stopped

A large part of the story line in the lead-up to the Las Vegas Bowl was the performance of the Oregon offense. When Justin Herbert is in at quarterback, it has been the most dynamic offense in the country. In the five games he missed with a collarbone injury, the Ducks struggled to gain yards and put points on the scoreboard.

On Saturday in Vegas, Herbert completed plenty of passes but didn’t do much with his attempts through the air. He finished 26-of-36 for 233 yards, as Herbert threw two touchdown passes in the second half. The Broncos managed to pick off two of his passes, including one interception returned 53 yards for a touchdown by freshman defensive back Kekaula Kaniho. And his longest completion of the game went for just 24 yards.

Coming into the game, Boise State had struggled to stop Power Five offenses in their recent opportunities going back to last year’s Cactus Bowl. The Broncos defense had a lot to prove at Sam Boyd Stadium, and they came through strong to hold up the Ducks offense for just two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

In a season where Boise State had put up numbers befitting a middle-of-the-road defense, they dominated their postseason matchup. The Ducks had their opportunities to pull back into the game, and the Broncos snuffed them out at every turn.