Boise State Game Recap

The Cougars had a surprisingly easy win over the Broncos of Boise State on Friday night. By all measures, BYU dominated the game and it showed up on the scoreboard. Let's review my preview of the game and see how my predictions did (or did not) hold up.

Taysom Hill looks downfield against the Broncos. Courtesy washingtonpost.com.

Prediction: "Hill will complete 25/40 passes for 280 yards and rush 15 times for 75 yards. I think he'll get two touchdowns through the air and one more on the ground. I predict he will be sacked 3 times and throw an interception"
Reality: Hill finished the day 27/41 with 339 yards passing. He threw 3 touchdowns, had no interceptions, and ran for a touchdown. He had 18 runs for 69 rushing yards. He was sacked twice.
Analysis: I don't mean to toot my own horn, but..."toot!!!" I was very close on almost all of these statistics (though Hill had a better game than I even anticipated).
 
Prediction: "The receiver that will have the biggest game is BYU's all time leading receiver, Cody Hoffman."
Reality: Hoffman finished with 4 catches for 57 yards and a TD. His touchdown catch was another spectacular grab in which he stole away what probably should have been an interception by the Boise defender. Statistically, Mitch Matthews had a slightly better game (4 catches for 66 yards and a score) but the the whole receiving corps shined with 9 different players making at least one catch and 5 different players having 4 catches.
Analysis: Hoffman had a solid game. His touchdown put him in sole possession of all-time TD receptions by a Cougar. Congrats to him on that remarkable achievement. While I was expecting him to go over 100 yards, it was nice to see the whole receiving corps making plays and showing that Hoffman's not the only playmaker on this year's team.

Prediction: "Last week's game was a fluke and the D will come prepared. Craig Bills was sidelined with a head injury. Many of the big plays that were given up were due to blown assignments by his replacements. Also, KVN had an uncharacteristically poor showing. He will make up for it, today, and bring his A game in front of a national audience."
Reality: BYU's D forced 4 turonvers and only gave up 3 points by halftime. The Broncos scored two touchdowns later in the game when it was already in hand. The Cougars gave up 499 total yards of offense. KVN had 2 tackles and a pass break-up.
Analysis: The Cougars gave up a lot of yards but many of those can be attributed to the high volume of plays the Broncos ran (90) and Boise racking up stats after the game was well in hand. KVN had a solid but quiet game. He had a great play in which he bullrushed and batted the ball down as soon as it left the QB's hand. Teams are and will continue to run away from him. Overall, the D played well and there were never any real concerns that the Broncos might sneak out of Provo with a W. Still, nobody had any hits that topped Matt Payne's from 2004...

Prediction: "BYU's offense is finding its groove. They've scored at least 31 points every game in their 4 game winning streak. The D will bounce back from a poor game, last week. While I do not think they will dominate Boise, I think they will come away with a W. BYU 28, BSU 21"
Reality: The Cougars won 37-20 in a game that was not even that close. The Cougars did, in fact, dominate Boise. The D was solid and the Y came away with a W going into a bye week.
Analysis: I was wrong about the game being a close one that would be evenly matched. This game was over by halftime. I did not show enough confidence in the O, who again scored over 31 points. I don't mind being wrong when it means the Cougars did better than I expected.

As the Cougars head into a bye week, I will be off this weekend, as well, celebrating Halloween and  my baby daughter's 2nd birthday. Hopefully my writing fingers will be well rested and my lungs recovered for the big game in Madison. 

Go Cougs!!!