Fresno State-Boise State, round 4: They know each other, but there are some new wrinkles
Fresno State and Boise State will play for the fourth time in the past 12 months including the second time for a Mountain West Conference championship on Saturday at Albertsons Stadium.
The Bulldogs are 1-2 in the first three games, losing the past two by 17-14 in the conference title game a year ago and by 24-17 back on Nov. 9.
Both of those games were played at Boise State.
Can the Bulldogs flip those one-score losses and claim their first conference championship since 2013?
Boise State has won seven games in a row and despite being banged up on defense has held some high-scoring offenses in check down the stretch.
Fresno State was second in the conference scoring 40.4 points per game when it went to Boise State. It managed 17 points.
New Mexico was averaging 30.2 points per game when it played the Broncos. t put up just 14 points.
Utah State was averaging 49.3 points per game. It lost 33-24 Saturday night on the blue turf.
The Broncos also pose challenges with their offense, second in the Mountain West putting up an average of 37.0 points per game.
A quick look at Boise State (10-2, 7-1 in the MW) …
Big back attack
Alexander Mattison got a kick start from the Bulldogs in putting together a late-season run and has set a season-high in rushing yards in three games in a row.
Mattison rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries in a 24-17 victory over Fresno State, then 145 yards and one touchdown on just 20 plays in a 45-14 victory at New Mexico and on Saturday had 200 yards and three touchdowns on 37 plays in a 33-24 victory over Utah State.
The ‘Dogs got him started. Can they stop him? They have had some success against the 1,000-yard rushers in the conference the past two seasons:
2018
- Nico Evans (Wyoming), 18 for 58
- Lexington Thomas (UNLV) 14 for 43
- Alexander Mattison (Boise State) 30 for 144, 2 TDs
2017
- Rashaad Penny (San Diego State) 15 for 69
- Diocemy Saint Juste (Hawaii) 22 for 104
- Lexington Thomas (UNLV) 20 for 88, 1 TD
- Alexander Mattison (Boise State) 15 for 62, 1 TD
- Alexander Mattison (Boise State) 14 for 50, 1 TD
Bowled over
Boise State is the only Group of Five conference program that has beaten six bowl-eligible teams this season.
It has victories over Troy, Wyoming, Nevada, BYU, Fresno State and Utah State.
Fresno State has wins over five bowl-eligible teams, beating Toledo, Wyoming, Nevada, Hawaii and San Diego State.
Boise State over Utah State?
The Broncos advanced to the Mountain West title game with a 33-24 victory over Utah State, which came in 10-1, ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25, No. 15 in the Coaches Poll and No. 21 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
The Aggies also were one of the more questionable ranked teams out there.
The combined record of the 10 teams that Utah State has beaten this season is 39-80 and that includes a 1-10 FCS team in Tennessee Tech and 1-11 San Jose State.
Testing that depth
Boise State played without safety Kekoa Nawahine in its victory over Utah State due to an injury – he was leading the team in tackles with 67.
The Broncos also are down linebacker Riley Whimpey, who was leading the team with 55 tackles when he suffered a season-ending knee injury, and safety DeAndre Pierce, who was their top tackler when he went out for the year with an internal injury.
Nawahine was replaced in the starting lineup by redshirt junior Evan Tyler, who had played in 10 games and recorded just four tackles.
Third, and out
In the Bulldogs’ loss at Boise State on Nov. 9, they struggled to pressure quarterback Brett Rypien, who completed 24 of 28 passes including 5 of 7 on third downs.
The Broncos converted on 10 of 16 third-down plays (62.5 percent), with the average distance to go to move the sticks a manageable 4.6 yards.
Seven of their 10 conversions were on third-and-short plays.
To win, the Bulldogs will need to knock Rypien and the Boise State offense off schedule.
It has been a marker, in their losses the past few years:
2018
- Oklahoma State: 11 of 22, 50 percent
- San Diego State: 6 of 19, 31.6
2017
- Washington State: 5 of 14, 35.7
- Virginia: 4 of 16, 25.0
- Fresno State: 6 of 14, 42.9
2016
- Wyoming: 2 of 8, 25.0
- Air Force: 1 of 12, 8.3
- Baylor: 8 of 19, 42.1
2015
- BYU: 2 of 12, 16.7
- Utah State: 5 of 16, 31.3
- New Mexico: 9 of 23, 39.1
- Air Force: 6 of 20, 30.0
Tough combo
Boise State continued to cause opponents trouble at the line of scrimmage with a combination of crowd noise and late movement with its front seven.
Utah State was called for two false start penalties on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter following a Broncos score, which put Boise State up 26-17.
Boise State opponents playing at Albertsons Stadium have been called for 20 false starts:
Connecticut: 34,515 attendance, 6 false starts
San Diego State: 36,679, 6 false starts
Colorado State: 32,399, 1 false start
BYU: 35,241, 2 false starts
Fresno State: 33,118, 3 false starts
Utah State: 35,960, 2 false starts
The Bulldogs’ offensive line worked game week on its communication and silent counts, and the three false start penalties were outside: one apiece on wideout Jamire Jordan, tight end Kyle Riddering and tight end Jared Rice.
Quotable
The Broncos after beating Utah State to reach the conference title game …
Safety Kekaula Kaniho on the Broncos’ seven-game winning streak: “We learned from out losses. Brett (Rypien) said that, as well, after the San Diego State game. Our team just flipped the mentality to everything is a must-win now. We must prepare our best, we must stay focused, we must find a way to win.”
Mattison on the Boise State run game down the stretch: “It’s just momentum and taking every week to get better. A lot of teams like to say, ‘Get better every week,’ or ‘Get better every day.’ But we really mean it up front. Like I said, watching film with those guys up front and understanding the defenses better and understanding their box and techniques, it helps me out a lot. Just continuing to get better is something that we emphasize as players.”
Coach Bryan Harsin on the home crowd: “I’ll say this, that was one of the best atmospheres that I’ve been a part of since I’ve been back in our stadium. The crowd was phenomenal. The energy was amazing. We needed that tonight. We’ve been down a few dudes and everyone knows that. I thought the crowd tonight really was the 12th man. They gave us an advantage, especially late in the game.”
Harsin on the Broncos: “This team, they’ve been repping all season long, these moments. They’ve been seizing these opportunities like anything else we do in life. You rep something, you get better at it. You rep moments where you seize the moment. You get more confidence. You know you’re capable of doing it. Tonight, nobody flinched. Our defense held their backs against the wall. Offense was out there with them, supporting them. Offense has a chance to drive it and the game, which they did. Defense was out there supporting them. To me, that’s what this team is all about. We just have a lot of heart. These guys found a way to get it done.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2018 at 8:56 AM.