EUGENE, Ore. – A 37-34 loss at No. 7 Oregon late Saturday night did nothing to discourage the Boise State football team or derail their goals for the rest of the season.
It did the opposite.
Acknowledging there’s no such thing as a moral victory, the Broncos left Autzen Stadium feeling even more encouraged about the rest of the season than they did before the game.
And that’s saying something.
The Broncos rallied back with two turnovers on defense and took the lead early in the fourth quarter Saturday but fell victim to two special teams touchdowns and more explosive plays in the passing game in a 37-34 loss to the Ducks.
Oregon kicker Atticus Sappington connected on a 25-yard field goal as time expired to run Boise State’s upset bid.
“It’s definitely a tough loss but this gives me all the confidence in the world in this team,” Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty said. “We know what type of team we are. We know we can play with the best of the best.
“We are one of the best teams in the country. We fell short tonight. Whoever we play next from here on out, the next 10 games, we’re going to dominate and we are going to win.”
Boise State entered the game as an 18-point underdog but hung throughout – never trailing by more than seven points – in front of a sellout road crowd of 58,134.
The Broncos led 20-14 at the half (it could have been more had the Broncos punched it in from 3-yard line in the final seconds) but gave up back to back touchdowns in the third quarter – including an 85-yard punt return touchdown to fall behind 27-20 heading to the fourth quarter.
But Boise State’s defense, which was criticized heavily all week following a rough opener against Georgia Southern, came up big when the Broncos needed it most.
First, Zion Washington forced a fumble and Marco Notarainni recovered it.
Jeanty then went 70 yards for a touchdown on the next play to tie the game at 27.
On Oregon’s next drive, Andrew Simpson knocked the ball out from Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Ty Benefield recovered it. Jeanty punched it in from 8 yards out to give Boise State a stunning 34-27 with 10:15 to play.
But the lead was short-lived, as Oregon’s Noah Whittington took the kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 34. (Whittington actually let the ball go prior to crossing the goal line, but the Ducks’ Jayden Limar picked it up in the end zone for the touchdown).
If not for the two special teams touchdowns Boise State likely wins the game by double digits. Instead the Broncos couldn’t retake the lead in the fourth quarter and Oregon moved the ball enough on its final possession to win the game with the short field goal.
“We have to find a way to win that game,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said. “I’m proud of our team. We didn’t finish the game the way we need to. We need to find a way to win that game and we didn’t. We’re going to look at it and learn and grow from it. We’re going to be a better football team because of what we went through tonight.
“Our guys kept swinging and stayed in it. That’s a testament to their heart and who they are. We’re going to learn and grow from this. Our best football is in front for us. I think we showed ourselves tonight, even for those people maybe outside who didn’t believe in who we are, we have a good football team.”
Jeanty is a big reason why. He followed up his impressive debut in week one by rushing 25 times for 192 yards and three more touchdowns against the Ducks.
Boise State rushed for 221 yards as a team while playing without two starting offensive linemen for much of the game. Center Mason Randolph was injured against Georgia Southern and is likely to miss much of the season, while right guard Roger Carreon went down early in the game with a leg injury.
While the running game impressed, the passing game did not. Maddox Madsen completed just 17 of 40 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. He was just 5 of 19 in the second half for 33 yards.
“We have to be better in the pass game,” Danielson said. “Everyone is going to look at the quarterback but it’s not just on him. There’s some alignments and routes that we have to find and to go win our one on one,. … We’re going to go look at because we have to be better.
“We have to grow in our pass game. We’ll look at it. Coach Koetter called a great game but we have to execute when numbers are called.”
The two special teams touchdowns were the biggest factor. Winning despite giving up one is tough enough. But two? It’s nearly impossible.
Boise State brought Stacy Collins back from Penn State to put a renewed emphasis on special teams. Through two games it hasn’t shown up yet.
“Coach Collins is the best special teams coordinator in the country and I believe that,” Danielson said. “That will not change. We have to fix it. We have to find the guys that can execute on special teams and win their one-on-one.
“You can’t give up two special teams touchdowns and find a way to win.”
A win would have been monumental for Boise State, but a close loss doesn’t really do much to hurt them. Boise State likely will still make the College Football Playoff as the Group of 5 representative should they win the final 10 regular season games and the Mountain West championship.
It sounds daunting, but the Broncos figure to be favored in every game the rest of the season.
For now Boise State gets a needed bye week following two road games. Then the Broncos get three home games in a row.
The loss stings now. But it did nothing to change the big picture. If anything, it still helped.
“We have a really good football team and maybe people outside our walls didn’t know that,” Danielson said. “We didn’t do enough to win the game. There’s no (moral victories). We have to find a way to win that game. But we have a good team and we’re going to learn and grow from this.
“You can see our team will battle. Anybody that lines up against us, be ready for a Boise State team to keep swinging. … I’m proud of how our team came out and swung until the very end.”
And he’s excited for the future. And Boise State fans should be as well.
“There’s no ceremonial losses, you win or lose the game and hats off to Oregon, they beat us tonight,” Danielson said. “But I do believe it shows we have a good team and we have a team who will battle and fight.”
Good well coached teams find a way to finish with a win