Boise State Football: 3 takeaways from runaway victory over Hawaii
By Zach Bigalke
3. Boise State quarterback situation is just fine
When young quarterback phenom Hank Bachmeier fumbled the ball away in the second quarter, it proved far costlier than just the turnover. Bachmeier left the game and headed to the locker room before halftime with an injury, and it could have quickly derailed Boise State’s best-laid plans against Hawaii on Saturday night.
The true freshman has been a revelation for Boise State in 2019, as Bachmeier has made the position under center his own over the first half of the season. Once he exited the game, though, the Broncos had no trouble maintaining their momentum and continuing their rout of the Rainbow Warriors.
In came Chase Cord as the next man up, and the redshirt sophomore seized the opportunity. Cord completed 12 of his 18 attempts for 175 yards and three touchdowns, ably filling in as Bachmeier’s backup and ensuring that there was no drop-off at the position with the switch. Third-string passer Jaylon Henderson also saw snaps, finishing with 82 yards and a touchdown on 6-of-10 passing.
Losing a starting quarterback always has the potential to torpedo a team’s best-laid plans. But Bryan Harsin and offensive co-coordinators Zak Hill and Eric Kiesau had their team ready to handle such an unanticipated contingency, and the preparedness paid off as the Cougars racked up more than 300 total passing yards and five combined touchdowns through the air.