BOISE STATE 14/10/7/7 - 38
OREGON 0/14/0/14 - 28
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - Days after Willie Taggart announced his decision to leave the UO after just one season to become head coach at Florida State, it was announced that offensive line coach Mario Cristobal would take his place thanks to a heartfelt recommendation from the team. And less than two weeks later, Cristobal coached his first game in green and yellow while trying to salvage a promising recruiting class. The Boise State Broncos preserved their winning streak against Oregon (3-0) by forcing four turnovers in the first half; The absence of Royce Freeman, who sat out to protect his draft ststatus, combined with the off-field distractions proved too much to overcome for the Ducks.
The Ducks’ opening possession ended in a three-and-out, and the Broncos took advantage by marching their way 67 yards to score a shorty touchdown run from Ryan Wolpin. After another Oregon three-and-out, Arrion Springs ended a Boise State drive with a miraculous one-handed interception in the back of the end zone.
Back-to-back Oregon fumbles led to scoring opportunities for the Broncos: first a tackle from Leighton Vander Esch forced Tony Brooks-James to fumble on a screen pass, which led to a Boise State 26-yard touchdown pass three plays later. Then, Justin Herbert fumbled the ball after being sacked by Tyson Maeva, Haden Hoggarth missed the proceeding 42-yard field goal attempt, but connected on his next attempt after another Oregon punt.
Herbert threw a pass that was intercepted at midfield, but the defense was able to mitigate the damage by forcing a Boise State punt. However, on the next Oregon drive, Kekaula Kaniho gave the Broncos a 24-0 lead with 5:11 left in the second quarter when collected Herbert’s second interception of the contest and returned it 53 yards to the house.
Things looked bleak for Oregon when Bronco quarterback Bretty Rypien marched his team to the Oregon 10 with less than :37 to go before the half, but Troy Dye collected a fumble and returned it 86 yards to score the Ducks’ first touchdown of the game. Rypien responded with a 65-yard pass to Cedrick Wilson, placing the Broncos at the Oregon seven-yard line and giving them an excellent opportunity to add to their lead just before halftime, but defensive back Tyree Robinson picked off Rypien and returned it 100 yards to score Oregon’s second defensive touchdown in under a minute. Suddenly, it was a two-score game and the Ducks had an opportunity to build a comeback bid.
Boise State added to their lead early in the third quarter by capping a 12-play, 75-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Alec Dhaenens to go up 31 to 14. The game then slowed down when the Ducks and Broncos punted the ball six combined times to take them part way into the final quarter. Herbert made it a two-score game with just over ten minutes left in the game, but another big pass to Cedrick Wilson set up a short rushing touchdown that sealed the victory for Boise State. The Ducks ended the game on a positive note when they scored on a four-play, 75-yard drive that ended with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jaylon Redd, the Broncos recovered the proceeding on-side kick and milked the clock to hand Cristobal his first loss as a Duck.
"We're gonna have to bounce back. We've got nine months to get that bad taste out of our mouths."- Mario Cristobal
Oregon Offense (total: 280 - pass: 233 - rush: 47)
Boise State Offense (total: 481- pass: 369 - rush: 112)
Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 3 - FUM: 1 - INT: 2)
Boise State Defense (forced turnovers: 4 - FUM: 2 - INT: 2)
UO (7-6) BSU (11-3)