Boise State's football team came into LaVell Edwards Stadium with a perfect 3–0 record against the Cougars. BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall made sure his namesake, the Broncos, wouldn't push their streak to four.
'Really proud of our team. Big game, big stage and against a really good opponent,' Mendenhall said. 'Coach Petersen has a really good program, and they have really good schemes and good players.'
Cody Hoffman catches a touchdown in the corner of the end zone against Boise State. The touchdown was Hoffman's record-breaking 31st of his career. Photo by Maddi Dayton.
A perfect record against BYU wasn't the only thing Boise State had going for it before its 37–20 loss to the Cougars. The Broncos also won 21 straight games against teams from Utah and 50 straight games played in the month of October. BYU was the first team to beat Boise State in October since 2001.
'Any loss is frustrating. We let them get out to that big lead, and it's hard to get back from that,' said Boise State linebacker Corey Bell. 'We battled, and we are going to come back and work our butts off this week and make sure we come out ready to go next week.'
While BYU beat Boise State in almost all aspects of the game Friday, perhaps the most visible was the turnover battle. The Broncos lost three fumbles and had one pass intercepted, while the Cougars kept a clean sheet with no turnovers.
'We're putting our defense in too much harm's way. There's no way they can hold up that long to a really good offense,' said Boise State head coach Chris Petersen. 'The turnovers were back-breaking, just really frustrating.'
With their fifth straight win, and sixth win of the season, BYU becomes bowl eligible for the ninth straight season. Officials were on hand after the game to invite BYU to play a Pac-12 opponent in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl at AT&T Park in San Francisco on Dec. 27.
'I'm thrilled to be able to go to San Francisco. I look forward to playing the very best team that we can play out of the Pac-12 and then continuing a strong streak of bowl wins as well,' Mendenhall said.
The BYU offense was once again on display in the nationally televised Friday-night battle against the Broncos. Taysom Hill finished the game with 339 yards, completing 27 of 41 passes with three touchdowns. One of Hill's touchdown passes went to Cody Hoffman, who passed Austin Collie as BYU's record-holder for touchdown catches in a career with 31.
'Cody's a guy that wants to win football games,' said BYU quarterback Taysom Hill. 'I've loved playing with him and the time that I have had with him, and I feel honored to throw him the touchdown pass to send him over the edge.'
Quarterback Taysom Hill leaps between two defenders against Boise State. Hill threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Cougars defeated the Broncos 37-20. Photo by Maddi Dayton.
BYU's win against Boise State did come at a cost as safety Daniel Sorensen and cornerback Mike Hague both left the game with injuries and did not return.
'Danny's the best safety that's played at BYU in my opinion,' said BYU safety Craig Bills. 'I never want that to happen again, where Danny's not on the field when he could be.'
Even with bowl eligibility, the Cougars are still focusing on their upcoming games. Following next week's bye, BYU faces a tough road test on Nov. 9 against Wisconsin led by former Utah State head coach Gary Anderson.