Cowboy report card
OSU won a wild game with tremendous highs and more than a few lows. Hence some crazy grades,
BOISE, Idaho – OSU beat Boise State 21-20 in a wild game Saturday that included tremendous highs and more than a few lows. Hence a crazy report card:
Coaching adjustments: A
Buoyed by a strong finish to the first half, the Cowboys were a different team in the second half. Mike Gundy credited his staff, particularly defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. Knowles said he could list 15 minor adjustments but mentioned only two, retaining the edge on the pass rush and the safeties staying over the top in pass coverage. But offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn adjusted, too. OSU used four wide receivers on seven of its first 14 snaps, during which Boise State dominated the game. But thereafter, OSU used its tight ends much more often – 54 of its final 58 plays.
Passing game: D
The offense of Zac Robinson, Brandon Weeden and Mason Rudolph is a distant memory. Spencer Sanders completed just six of 13 passes for 87 yards, and that includes the game-sealing fade to non-scholarship Cale Cabbiness for 24 yards in the final two minutes. Don’t lay much blame on Sanders. His wiped-out receiving corps had two or three dropped passes, and Sanders didn’t have a lot of time to throw.
Run defense: A
The only constant in this turn-on-adime game was Boise State’s running game. It wasn’t great early or late. The Broncos gained just 78 yards on 26 designed running plays. OSU’s ability to stop the run early helped limit Boise State to a couple of first-half field goals, when touchdowns would have broken open the game.
Punting: A
Tom Hutton’s average wasn’t great, 38.3-yard average, but that’s misleading. All three of Hutton’s second-half punts were downed inside the 20-yard line — at the Bronco 8-, 11- and 6-yard lines. In an old-fashioned game of possession time and field position, Hutton was huge.
Offensive line: B
Guard Hunter Woodard returned after missing the first two games, and the OSU run game exploded — 263 yards on 48 called running plays, including 218 yards from workhorse Jaylen Warren. The tailbacks ran tough, but there was running room that wasn’t there in the first two weeks. Alas, the pass protection wasn’t great. The Broncos sacked Spencer Sanders twice and hurried him into throws thrice. Sanders also scrambled for yardage three times.
Bedfellow stories: A
A couple of the game’s offensive stars had interesting ties to the opponent. OSU star Warren, who rushed for 218 yards? With Utah State, Warren ran for a combined 128 yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns against Boise State. And Boise State receiver Davis Koetter, a transfer from Portland State who had four catches for 56 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown catch? He’s the son of former Boise State coach Dirk Koetter, who famously accepted the OSU head-coaching job in December 2000, only to renege the next day and instead take the Arizona State job. The younger Koetter was born in Boise but went to high school in Tampa, where his father was head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Stadium view: A
You hear about the view from stadiums like Cal-Berkeley and Brigham Young, but Albertsons Stadium never is mentioned. Maybe because the Broncos’ blue turf dominates talk about Boise State’s home field. Which is a shame. The Boise foothills rise majestically above trees and the eastern edge of downtown.
Pass coverage: C
The Cowboys got a strong rush on Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier, sacking him four times, flushing him from the pocket several other times and getting credited with seven quarterback hurries. Brock Martin had two sacks; Jayden Jernigan and Lamont Bishop had one each. But despite that help, OSU’s defensive backs had trouble containing Boise State’s receivers. Bachmeier completed 22 of 34 passes and missed several other open receivers. In OSU’s defense, they were playing without star safety Tre Sterling, who is lost for the season with an injury.