BOISE, Idaho--Running back Jeremy
McNichols ran for 166 yards in his return to the lineup and
quarterback Brett
Rypien completed 13 of his first 14 passes as Boise State coasted
to a 34-14 Homecoming win over Wyoming last
night in Albertsons Stadium. It was the worst loss of the season for the
Cowboys.
The Broncos, who suffered a
52-26 defeat last week to Utah State, became
bowl eligible for the 18th-straight season and now find themselves tied for the
Mountain Division lead with the Aggies and Air Force. All
three teams sport 3-1 records in the Mountain West Conference. The Aggies
were humiliated by San Diego State 48-14
Friday night. Boise State has the best overall record in the conference
at 6-2 with an undefeated record against the Resource Five, thanks to wins over Washington (16-13)
and Virginia (56-14).
Rypien bounced back from a
harrowing experience last weekend in which he was pressured throughout the game
to throw for 211 yards and three touchdowns against Wyoming.
"Tonight, (Rypien)
hung onto the ball. He did a better job in the pocket. He stepped up and was
aggressive that way," Boise State coach Bryan
Harsin said. "Those are things you want to see the next week when
you play -- you want to see those mistakes being corrected. And he did that.
It's just a continuation of his growth."
Rypien threaded the needle
on a 13-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Thomas
Sperbeck for a 7-0 lead. Tyler
Rausa connected on a 39-yard field goal to advance the Bronco lead to
10-0. On Wyoming's next possession, defensive end Tyler
Horn, in pursuit of Cowboy quarterback Cameron Coffman, intercepted a throw
at the Wyoming 46 and rambled 45 yards along the Bronco sideline to the
one-yard line. McNichols
plunged over the goal line on the next play to advance the lead to 17-0 in the
first quarter.
"The back came up, we
knew he was cutting a lot, he didn’t cut me, and he kind of let me go
free," Horn said. "I saw the quarterback’s eyes, read it, and
he threw it to me. It was good to catch it and run. I was pretty tired
when I caught it. I was just thinking hold onto the ball. I felt
him close in on me fast. He has a lot more speed than I do. I just
saw the end zone; saw Kamalei was blocking the quarterback, so I just ran as
fast as I could."
With
7:37 remaining in the half, Rypien found McNichols in the right flat for a
four-yard touchdown pass as the Broncos built a 24-0 lead.
Wyoming scored their first
points with one minute left before halftime as Coffman hit Jake
Maulhardt from 15 yards out. It was the first offensive
touchdown the Broncos have given up at home this season, ending a streak of 214
minutes and 34 seconds. The last offensive touchdown Boise State
gave up in Albertsons Stadium was in the Mountain West Championship on
December 6, 2014. The touchdown also ended Boise State's overall shutout
streak at home at 156:32, with the last score given up at Albertsons Stadium
being a 28-yard field goal by Washington's Cameron
Van Winkle in the season opener on September 4.
Rypien and Sperbeck
connected again in the third quarter. Despite pass interference that
wasn't called and two Cowboy defenders, Sperbeck hauled in the pass for a
36-yard scoring play for the Broncos' final points.
Wyoming lost Coffman, who
left the game with an injury to his right shoulder. Backup quarterback Nick
Smith guided the Cowboys on an 11-play, 83-yard drive punctuated by
Smith's six-yard TD run for the final margin.
McNichols, who sat out the
Utah State game for precautionary measures after suffering a concussion against Colorado State,
came back strong, carrying the ball for a career high 33 times and hauling in
seven passes for 36 yards. Jeremy's two touchdowns brought his season
total to 16, second-best in the Football Bowl Subdivision to Baylor's Corey Coleman.
"We wanted to come in
and run the ball, but whatever coach calls going through the game, we go with
it," McNichols said. "It hurt just watching that game last week. So,
I came in with a chip on my shoulder and wanted to help the team tonight."
In doing so, McNichols
outperformed Brian Hill,
the #4 rusher in the country coming into the game. Hill, who came into
the game averaging 140.7 yards per game, was held to 76 yards on 23
carries but eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Wyoming managed
just 233 yards, its lowest output of the season.
"He’s been huge,"
Sperbeck said of McNichols. "He’s been playing lights out. It opens
up the pass game, and the pass game opens up the run game. We just build
off of each other. J-Mac’s a tough kid, you guys see it. He fights
for every yard he gets. We appreciate that a lot."
Wyoming fell to 1-7 overall
and 1-3 in the conference, with their only win coming at the hands of Nevada.
"I think we're still a
few classes away, but we're getting there," said Wyoming coach Craig Bohl.
"Our players have proven to be resilient. They continue to
play hard even when we get down like we were."
Sperbeck caught six passes
for 84 yards and two touchdowns, including a highlight reel catch along the
east sideline in which he tapped the ball to himself and hauled it in, all the
while keeping his feet inbounds. Sperbeck's two TD receptions increased
his Mountain West-leading touchdown reception total to seven.
"Thomas has really
made some spectacular catches," Harsin said. "I go back to one
of the first catches we’ve seen him make against Air Force. That to me
right there, that’s not anything that we worked on. That’s something he
has that not many people do."
Rypien finished 22-28
passing for 228 yards and three touchdowns, his third game with three passing
touchdowns in five starts. Rypien passed former Bronco great Tony Hilde
(1,461 passing yards in 1993) and is now behind only Kellen Moore (3,486
yards in 2008) for season passing yards by a freshman.
Linebacker Joe Martarano started
in place of an injured Tanner
Vallejo and was one of the Broncos' leading tacklers with six.
"It’s a good feeling," Martarano said. "You prepare
every week for that chance, so whenever you get that chance you can make the
best of it. I felt like I had a pretty good game. There’s always
stuff to work on."
Boise State travels to UNLV for a game next
Saturday against the improved Rebels.
