BOISE STATE CRUSHES UTAH STATE IN SEASON OPENER

Boise State 42, Utah State 13

No fans were on hand to witness Boise State’s 42-13 season-opening win over Utah State on Saturday evening, but if they had, they would have felt like they had seen this game before.

Hank Bachmeier threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns and George Holani rushed for 100 yards and had a pair of scores to power the Broncos to another dominating performance against the Aggies.

Boise State won its home opener for the 11th straight time and hasn’t dropped a conference opener since 1999.

Utah State continued its abysmal record against the Broncos, losing for the 17th time in the last 18 matchups.

Despite the game taking place in an empty stadium with less atmosphere than a spring game, Boise State brought plenty of intensity on defense and sprinkled in its trademark pizzazz on offense.

“The opportunity to compete and go out and just play another opponent was exciting,” Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said. “We were just trying to keep it as normal as we could without fans and all that energy. That was a challenge and I think our guys handled that really well. We were prepared mentally to play and we had a fast start in the first half.”

By every metric, Boise State started fast, beginning with the defense.

The Broncos held Utah State to 45 yards in the first half, keeping Utah State quarterback Jason Shelley under constant duress.

Meanwhile, Bachmeier shined in his return after an injury-mired 2019 season. He utilized his full complement of receivers, completing passes to eight different players. Khalil Shakir led the corps with seven receptions and a pair of touchdowns, including a 52-yard scoring strike.

“We had our moments, but we allowed the big plays to take place,” Utah State coach Gary Anderson said. “And that’s what a good quarterback does. (Bachmeier) took the check downs when they were there and some of those turned into big plays. He played like a savvy seasoned veteran.”

Nevada 37, Wyoming 34 (OT): Carson Strong threw his fourth touchdown pass, a 9-yarder to Romeo Doubs in overtime as Nevada beat Wyoming on Saturday night in the Mountain West Conference and season openers for both teams.

Strong was 39-of-52 passing for 420 yards. Cole Turner had seven receptions for 119 yards with two touchdowns. Doubs finished with 12 catches for 117 yards.

Hawaii 34, Fresno State 19: Hawaii ran away with a season-opening victory at Fresno State, gaining 323 rushing yards in Todd Graham’s debut as the Rainbow Warriors’ head coach.