Boise State defends its muscles against BYU | national

BOISE – The defense of the Boise State football team was pushed to the last game – a game that preserves the game.

Tyson Maeva had a bag for a two-yard loss at the end of the allotted time, allowing the Broncos to escape with a 21-16 win against BYU on Saturday.

"Our defense has a lot of courage," Boise State coach Bryan Harsin immediately told an ESPN reporter and a national television audience.

After saving a touchdown that could lose the game in the third quarter, Tyler Horton took a well-known place in the throne of the turn-over.

Horton made his fifth trip this season to headquarters, but was barely alone as Boise State got a big performance from his defense on Saturday.

Skyler Seibold and Jabril Frazier also recovered fumbles for the Broncos, while Boise State limited the Cougars' offense to 388 total yards after allowing an average of 466 yards in the past two weeks against Colorado State and the United States. Air Force.

The Colorado State had 489 yards of offense two weeks ago at Albertsons Stadium, while the Air Force's three-option offensive had 443 wins on a 48-38 win last week at Boise State. .

The story was a lot different from Saturday's, with Bronco's defense yielding just 126 yards in the first half, including five on the ground.

This was largely due to seven quarterback sacks from BYU's ZU Wilson, resulting in a 30-yard loss in total. The seven sacks were a high season.

In the first part of the game, real freshman Scale Igiehon set the tone for the Broncos with his first career bag. Igiehon, making his first start for the Broncos, dropped Wilson for a two-point loss to third base, forcing a 3-and-out.

Curtis Weaver had an 8-yard sack later in the first quarter, releasing the Cougars and forcing a longer placement attempt twice later. Cougar striker Skyler Southam missed his 48-yard effort, maintaining a 14-0 lead for the Broncos.

Weaver has added a bag in the second half and now has a team record of 7.5 sacks on the season.

Kekaula Kaniho and Jabril Frazer had backpacks for the Broncos, forcing the Cougars to Bronco's 5-meter line at the end of the second quarter, forcing another goal.

But much of the difference came in turnover, as Boise State added three fumble recoveries to its season total. The Broncos, who ranked 11th in the nation's lead, increased their season total to 12 fumble recoveries this season.

Seibold had the first goal at the end of the first quarter after Avery Williams hit the ball when returning the BYU punt. The turn gave the ball to the Broncos at BYU 18, but the Boise State was not able to turn it into points.

Frazier recovered his fumble late in the first half when the rap went over Wilson's head.

But Horton's breakaway recovery in the third quarter was perhaps the most important of the game. While Boise State maintained an 8-point lead, BYU wide receiver Neil Pau'uu completed a pass to Matt Bushman by the goal line, but Horton pulled the ball off the 3-yard line and has recovered in the goal zone.

It was the fourth time that a fumble escaped the season for Horton, who was tied for first place in the NCAA.