Feeling Blue: Boise State drops to 0-2 after UCF wins on last-second kick

BOISE — DJ Schramm stopped himself. He tilted his head down, slowly tapping the dais as tears welled in his eyes.

“Sorry,” Schramm said, still choked up.

Whatever reaction comes out of Boise State’s 18-16 loss to UCF, it will be hard to not think about guys like Schramm. Or Riley Smith. Or Demitri Washington.

Eight months ago, those dudes had a choice: Move on with their life or come back for one last ride. And, by golly, it is so hard to turn down the latter. Regret is not a fun enemy. Sometimes living with failure is better than living with what-ifs.

It is so difficult, too, because it is human nature to think of the positive, to play a little documentary in your head of this glorious season that ends with a trophy and a ring.

It is easy to envision the fairytale. It is mighty challenging to think of the nightmare, to think about anything that resembles what Boise State football has endured in its first two weeks.

Just seven days after getting blown out by No. 10 Washington, the Broncos had their hearts ripped out against UCF.

“Obviously it’s not where we want to be,” said Schramm, who had six tackles. “We played two really good teams back to back but, like I said, that’s no excuse. We expect to win those games Boise State has won those games in the past.”

After one of the grittier performances we’ve seen from an Andy-Avalos-coached team, Boise State took a lead to the fourth quarter on The Blue. The last 129 times that happened, a Broncos’ win followed.

But this is not the fairytale. This is the nightmare.

And, so, minutes after backup quarterback Maddux Madsen led the Broncos down the field, hitting Stefan Cobbs for a 28-yard go-ahead touchdown, UCF kicker Colton Boomer’s 40-yard goal drew left and went between the uprights.

UCF’s players stormed the field. Boise State gathered in a dejected loss, talking about how the goal of a Mountain West Championship is still in front of them while trying not to think about the questions being asked on the outside.

You know, like how could this have happened?

How could Boise State, a school that hasn’t started 0-2 in 18 years be in this spot?

How could this once mighty program lose a home opener for the first time in over two decades?

How can Avalos — a disciple of “The Brotherhood — have an 8-6 record on The Blue?

How? How? How?

“0-2, that’s definitely not the place we want to be,” Avalos said.

The big picture is much scarier than the granular. Let’s face the facts: Boise State was not supposed to win either of its first two games. Both were against Power-5 schools. Both were against programs with more talent. And the Broncos were underdogs in both games.

Saturday hurts more because of the way it ended.

“If that ball goes wide right, obviously it’s a different conversation right now,” Avalos said. “But that ball (went) through tonight. We take it. We own it. And we move forward.”

But here’s the truth: UCF was the better team.

The Knights rushed for 258 yards. They threw it for 272 yards. For most of the first half, UCF was averaging over 10 yards on every play. They shredded Boise State’s defense for most of the night … until they reached the red zone.

On the first drive, UCF wide receiver Kobe Hudson let a very catchable ball sail through his hands. Boise State picked it off in the red zone.

A few drives later, UCF was back in the red zone. The Knights faced a 4th and 1. Instead of letting their best player — quarterback John Rhys Plumlee — go to work, they ran a Wildcat play. Boise State linebacker Marco Notaraianni sniffed that out and made a great tackle.

The Broncos notched another red-zone interception in the third quarter, when Knights wide-out Javon Maker dropped a pass he catches 99 times out of 100 and bobbled it three times before it fell into Jaylen Clark’s arms.

By halftime, UCF had 263 hards and just nine points.

That fact that Boise State was in the game by the fourth quarter was somewhat surprising, especially considering quarterback Taylen Green left the game midway through the third quarter with what Avalos called “cramps.”

Backup Maddux Madsen was solid, leading Boise State on a miraculous fourth-quarter drive. If that UCF kick sailed wide right, Madsen is a hero in Boise.

He would have been carried off the field and coordinated by the fans. His run on 4th and 2, where he barreled through a UCF defender to get the first down, would have lived in infamy. His go-ahead touchdown pass to Cobbs would have been the season’s signature play.

Instead, the kick drew through the uprights and Boise State has to be reminded about how good it once was.