Best In The West: Week Four
Best in the West is The Aggship's weekly Mountain West football round-up.
Boise State 49, Air Force 37
Boise State, the preseason favorite to win the Mountain West, got off to a hard-fought 1-0 start with a 49-37 win over Air Force. With the loss, Air Force fell to 0-2 in conference play. The Falcons seem much better than their record indicates, but they'll have to prove it when they resume conference play against Hawaii.
Air Force got on the board first, but Boise State rattled off three unanswered touchdowns in response. The Falcons found their way to the end zone once more before the half was through, however, and struck again when the second half started. Air Force's three-play, 75-yard flurry to knot the game at 21 kickstarted a fury of scoring drives from each team. Boise State scored a touchdown on its next drive, then Air Force hit a field goal, and Boise State scored another touchdown to take a 35-24 edge into the final frame.
The haymakers went on into the fourth as the teams traded a pair of touchdowns for a pair of touchdowns. Air Force had possession through the two-minute timeout and though it wasn't likely to erase a 49-37 deficit in that time, it ended the game for good with a Liam Szarka interception. It was the first drive from either team in the second half not to end up with points on the board, and the only such drive other than Boise State kneeling twice to seal the victory.
Air Force’s Szarka took over most of the quarterbacking duties for the game and was 13-of-18 passing for 248 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 20 times for 111 yards and a touchdown. Dylan Carson had a solid night on the ground as well with 16 carries for 109 yards and a score.
Boise State’s Maddux Madsen completed 13 of 22 passes for 276 yards with two touchdowns and one pick. Latrell Caples caught five of those passes for 87 yards, Dylan Riley caught two for 84 and a touchdown, and Matt Lauter caught two for 23 and a touchdown. Riley was also responsible for 171 yards and four touchdowns on the ground from his 19 carries.
The Falcons will be looking for their first conference win and will host Hawaii this weekend, while Boise State will take a break from conference play to host Appalachian State.
Fresno State 23, Hawaii 21
In the second of two hard-fought conference games, Fresno State survived a trip to Hawaii with a 23-21 win.
Both offenses staggered to a slow start. Fresno State opened the game with a missed field goal to cap a meandering 13-play, 56-yard drive, then, after the teams exchanged punts, Hawaii fumbled. Fresno State followed that with another missed field goal and Hawaii punted again. With both offenses refusing to score, the Hawaii defense got on the board first on a safety, and, one drive later, added a fumble returned for a touchdown to take a 9-0 lead.
Down nine points, the Bulldogs finally put together a drive that ended with points for themselves rather than for Hawaii. E.J. Warner ended off a 57-yard scoring march with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Richie Anderson III, and Fresno State trailed 9-7. The offensive struggles continued for Hawaii, and an interception ended its ensuing drive, though nothing more came of it before the halftime break.
The Warriors added to their lead in the third quarter when they finally got Kansei Matsuzawa into range, and he hit a 40-yard field goal, but Fresno State responded on its following drive with a four-play, 75-yard touchdown surge. The Bulldogs failed their two-point conversion try, but still took the lead for the first time in the game, 13-12 The lead did not last long as Hawaii kicked another field goal on its next drive.
That took a 15-13 game to the end of the third and ushered in an overly eventful fourth quarter. It started with Fresno State failing to retake the lead when it missed yet another field goal, its third failed attempt of the evening. Hawaii gave the ball right back when Micah Alejado threw his second interception of the night. Four plays and three yards later, Fresno State settled for a field goal, which, this time, was good.
Alejado then threw his third pick of the night, which K'Vion Thunderbird returned 59 yards for a touchdown. After starting the quarter down two, the Bulldogs found themselves up 23-15. They forced a turnover on downs to follow that critical pick-six, but had a three-and-out of their own, which gave Hawaii a chance to score and cut the lead to two. But, the Warriors failed to tie the game when they couldn’t convert a two-point try. With only 10 seconds to play, Fresno State put the game away when it recovered Hawaii’s onside kick attempt and took victory formation.
The Warriors will square off with Air Force this weekend, while a 4-1 Fresno State team is set for a well-earned week off before hosting Nevada on Oct. 4.
UNLV 41, Miami (OH) 38
With a 31-point effort in the second half, included a 17-0 fourth quarter capped off by a field goal with 18 seconds remaining, UNLV survived a scare against Miami (OH). The Rebels are now 4-0, but haven’t taken an easy path to get there. Three of those wins were one-score games, and the Rebels trailed at halftime in two of them. Plus, their opponents through the games hold a combined 1-13 record, with the lone win coming from Idaho State over Lincoln (CA) – a football team in name only.
UNLV’s only touchdown in the first half came on an Aamaris Brown pick-six. The Rebels were blanked in the first quarter and at the break, and they trailed 24-10 without an offensive touchdown.
Out of the break, Dan Mullen's bunch got rolling. UNLV started the third quarter with two quick touchdowns to tie the game at 24. Then, disaster struck. After the game-tying score, UNLV's ensuing kickoff was returned 100 yards to the house, immediately breaking the tie. On the next drive, Anthony Colandrea threw a pick-six, meaning the Rebels had allowed 14 points without making the Miami offense take the field, falling into a 38-24 deficit to enter the final frame.
Somehow, UNLV survived its self-sabotage. It added two more unanswered touchdowns in the fourth to tie the game at 38, then forced a fumble to take possession and set up the game-winning field goal.
Colandrea was 29-of-44 passing for 293 yards with two touchdowns, two picks, and four sacks. On the ground, he had 54 yard on 15 carries. Jai’Den Thomas added 118 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Keyvone Lee had 11 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown.
For the second time in three weeks, UNLV will be on a bye this Saturday, set for a return to play at Wyoming on Oct. 4.
San Diego State 34, Cal 0
In what was maybe the most surprising result of the week, San Diego State not only dispatched Cal, but shut it out in a dominant 34-0 beatdown. Cal was 3-0 and averaging 32 points per game entering the contest, but looked hapless against SDSU. The Golden Bears had three turnovers and just 65 rushing yards.
Early in the second period, Jayden Denegal hit Jordan Napier for a six-yard touchdown to open the game's scoring. This got the Aztecs started and led to a 13-point quarter. San Diego State followed that with a 14-point third quarter. The Aztecs forced three turnovers and found the end zone on two of them: First with a scoop and score, then on a pick-six. SDSU had a comfortable 27-point lead going into the final frame and extended it by one more score a few minutes in, setting the final margin.
Denegal was 15-of-18 passing for 189 yards and a touchdown. He added nine yards on the ground, while the rushing attack was headed up by Lucky Sutton, who had 61 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Christian Washington also contributed 48 yards on nine carries. Napier, who logged the lone receiving score, finished with 154 yards on nine receptions.
San Diego State’s other touchdowns came from the defense. Dwayne McDougle recovered a fumble for a touchdown, and Chris Johnson returned an interception 97 yards for a touchdown, both in the third quarter. The Aztecs take on Northern Illinois this week, looking to close out their non-conference slate with a 3-1 record.
San Jose State 31, Idaho 28
The Idaho Vandals, who defeated Wyoming last year and Nevada the year prior, were looking for their third win over the Mountain West in as many years on Saturday. They didn’t miss it by much. San Jose State had to put together 10 points in the final five and a half minutes, including a last-second field goal, to pay off its comeback effort in a 31-28 win.
Idaho dominated the opening stanza. It forced a San Jose State a fumble on the opening drive and scored on the ensuing possession. The Vandals added another score to take a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, but the Spartans managed to even up the score by the intermission.
Idaho scored on its opening drive of the second half, eating up nearly 10 minutes of clock in the process. SJSU moved quickly in response and scored in just over three minutes to again knot the game, this time at 21. The teams traded touchdowns again to open the fourth quarter, with Idaho taking over seven minutes on its drive and the Spartans again taking under four. San Jose State forced a punt and got the ball back with 3:23 left, and with eight seconds left, Denis Lynch broke the tie with a 48-yard field goal.
Idaho dominated time of possession 39 minutes to almost 21, and each team had one turnover. Walker Eget was 13-of-21 passing for 222 yards and a touchdown without throwing a pick or taking a sack, though he did fumble twice (one lost). Jabari Bates and Floyd Chalk, with 11 carries each, were responsible for most of the production on the ground. Bates had 131 yards and a touchdown, while Chalk had 45 yards and two touchdowns. Danny Scudero added 130 yards on six receptions, and Kyri Shoels caught Eget’s touchdown pass on his way to three receptions for 35 yards.
This was San Jose State’s first win of the year, and the Spartans, who have not looked nearly as good as expected this year, are still on the hunt for an FBS win. Up next for the struggling San Jose State team is a Stanford group that may well be in even worse shape.
Colorado 37, Wyoming 20
Despite dropping its second game in a row, there's really no reason to panic in Laramie. At 2-2, Wyoming is right where it was expected to be, with both losses coming to Big 12 opponents – Utah and Colorado. Wyoming's defense looked competent in both games, and the offense, which was flat against Utah, put up 20 points on Colorado. After four games, the Cowboys are surrendering a solid 18.8 points per game.
Wyoming was marred by a few big plays but held up well outside of that. The Pokes trailed 7-3 in the second quarter before Kaidon Salter found Sincere Brown for a 68-yard touchdown. Colorado took a 21-3 edge into the break. In the third frame, a 47-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Williams gave the Buffs a 28-3 lead, their biggest of the night.
Then, the Cowboys forced their way back into the game with some big plays of their own, like a 41-yard touchdown pass from Kaden Anderson to Eric Richardson. After an Erik Sandvik field goal, the Buffs nearly scored again, but Wyoming forced a fumble and recovered on the one-yard line. This still led to a safety and two points for Colorado, but the Wyoming defense made its own stand and blocked a field goal on the next drive. The Pokes used the next possession to cut the lead to 10 with another Anderson touchdown strike, but Colorado added one more touchdown to claim a 37-20 victory.
The Cowboys gave up 497 yards, but had some big stops to keep them in the game. The offense picked up 347 yards without a turnover. Anderson was 11-of-25 passing for 176 yards and two touchdowns. He took two sacks, one of which was worth two points for the Buffs. Samuel Harris had 19 rushes and picked up 126 yards.
Wyoming gets a week off to prepare for conference play, which it will open as it hosts UNLV on Oct. 4.
UTSA 17, Colorado State 16
Whatever Colorado State did during its bye week didn’t seem to fix the glaring problems this team has. One game after escaping with a narrow and controversial victory over FCS Northern Colorado, the Rams weren't so lucky this time, falling to 1-2 with a home loss to UTSA.
Colorado State forced two turnovers, both interceptions, and turned them both into punts. It also forced a turnover on downs, which it also turned into a punt. The Rams didn’t commit any turnovers of their own and outgained the opposition 407 to 345 but found a way to lose regardless, even after mounting a 13-point fourth-quarter comeback effort.
Two quarterbacks played in the game for Jay Norvell's team. Starter Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi was 14-of-25 passing for 176 yards, and Jackson Brouseau was 10 of 12 for 78 yards and a touchdown, most of it coming amid that late comeback effort. CSU had an opportunity to extend the game with only a few seconds to play in the final frame, drawing within one point on a four-yard touchdown pass, but opted to go for the two-point try and the win. Brousseau's throw fell incomplete, and UTSA kneeled out its 17-16 win.
Colorado State hosts Wazzu this week, and will do so with a new starting quarterback, as Brousseau finally supplanted the struggling Fowler-Nicolosi.
Western Kentucky 31, Nevada 16
The Wolf Pack had a strong start, but couldn’t keep up with Western Kentucky, ceding 21 points to the Hilltoppers in the fourth quarter en route to a 31-16 loss that dropped Jeff Choate's squad to 1-3.
After WKU missed a field goal, Nevada got on the board first with its own field goal, though the game was tied back up after WKU’s next drive. Nevada grabbed an interception early in the second frame, but couldn’t cash in and fumbled it back to Western Kentucky seven plays later. Nevada did find the end zone later in the quarter, however, and took a 10-3 lead into the half.
In the third frame, the Wolf Pack gave up a touchdown and countered with a field goal, a shift in momentum that got worse in the fourth quarter, where the Pack was outpaced 21-3.
Chubba Purdy completed 16 of 30 passes for 165 yards with two interceptions. He also ran the ball 12 times for 60 yards and a touchdown. The leading rusher for Nevada was Caleb Ramseur, who had 66 yards on nine carries. Herschel Turner also added 60 yards on 12 carries.
Nevada has a week off to prepare for its upcoming trip to the Valley to play Fresno State.