BYU Football: 3 takeaways from huge upset at home over Boise State

BYU football shocked the nation late on Saturday night as it dealt Boise State their first loss of 2019. Here is what we learned about the Cougars in the upset.

Boise State came to Provo as a seven-point favorite for their Saturday-night showdown at LaVell Edwards Stadium against BYU. The Broncos were riding a six-game winning streak and looking to push further up the AP Top 25 after the chaos that transpired in earlier Week 8 action around the country. Instead, a team that lost back-to-back games at Toledo and South Florida pulled out one last shocker to cap a wild week with a 28-25 upset of the Broncos.

A tight defensive battle in the first half left the two teams tied until the final minute before the intermission, when Eric Sachse booted a 38-yard field goal through the uprights to give Boise State a 10-7 lead heading into the locker room. It appeared that the Broncos had weathered the storm, and then the second half began.

BYU came out of the locker room ready to play, rolling up 21 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a 28-10 advantage at home. Boise State chipped away in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to save the Broncos from suffering their first loss of the year.

A New Year’s Six berth is still completely within reach for Boise State, which needs only to win the Mountain West and finish higher in the College Football Playoff selection committee’s estimation than the other Group of Five champions. But the loss will drop them in the polls and leave them chasing the other contenders for the mid-major crown.

What, though, did we learn about BYU on Saturday night? Here are three takeaways from the surprise in Provo in late-night action.