A punter’s TD pass, 7 fourth-down attempts: Welcome to a weird Boise State game

BOISE — Boise State and New Mexico have played some weird games through the years in a series totally dominated by the Broncos.

A decade ago, BSU outgained the Lobos by more than 200 yards but lost 31-24 on The Blue. A year before that, the teams combined for over 1,200 yards of offense in Albuquerque and Boise State scored 19 unanswered fourth-quarter points to win 60-49.

Just two years ago, the Broncos stomped New Mexico 42-14, and then fired head coach Andy Avalos a day later.

The Spencer Danielson tenure as head coach followed, and now he has presided over a game that you can add to the list.

Boise State defeated New Mexico 41-25 at Albertsons Stadium on Saturday night, a score that should indicate a run-of-the-mill night for a team that entered the game as a 16-point favorite and won by exactly that much.

But there wasn’t much ordinary about this contest. The Broncos trailed 14-10 in the second quarter, held a 17-14 lead at halftime and were ahead 20-17 entering the final quarter — despite doing plenty of things that should have led to a big lead.

On the second play of the game, redshirt junior edge Jayden Virgin-Morgan forced a fumble from New Mexico quarterback Jack Layne, and senior linebacker Marco Notarainni pounced on the ball at the Lobos’ 18-yard line — the first of three turnovers the defense forced.

However, the Broncos could net only a 24-yard field goal out of it.

Just four plays into New Mexico’s next drive, fifth-year cornerback A’Marion McCoy picked off Layne at midfield. But Boise State’s ensuing drive resulted in a turnover on downs after redshirt junior quarterback Maddux Madsen was sacked on fourth-and-5.

That would be the first of seven fourth-down attempts for the Broncos on the night, their most in a game since at least 2002, records showed. Impressively, they converted the rest of them.

“With the (tackles for loss), with the penalties, we were playing from behind in a lot of those drives,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said. “And that’s why we ended up having to go for more fourth downs, to try and get stuff going.”

The Broncos managed to open a 10-0 lead with a 74-yard touchdown drive, which featured a fourth-down conversion on a Maddux Madsen quarterback sneak, but their kickoff to open the second quarter was returned 100 yards for a touchdown by Damon Bankston. Danielson said several players assumed the ball was going out of the back of the end zone and let up, leading to the play.

By the end of the first half, Boise State had outgained New Mexico 187 yards to 62 and allowed only four first downs, but was in a dogfight. The Lobos’ second touchdown came after an unsportsmanlike penalty on Virgin-Morgan, who appeared to kick a player on the ground after a third-down stop. The free 15 yards kept New Mexico’s drive alive.

“That’s unacceptable by me,” Virgin-Morgan said. “That’s something that I need to get fixed. I let the heat of the moment get to me.”

New Mexico’s first drive of the second half covered 64 yards — exceeding its entire first-half total. But all the Lobos could get was a chip-shot field goal to cut BSU’s lead to 20-17.

Still, the visitors probably felt good, having built a reputation this season as a good fourth-quarter team. They scored 15 points against Idaho State, 21 against UCLA and 14 against New Mexico State in their three wins, and 11 in a loss last week to San Jose State.

But the Broncos flipped the script, scoring three unanswered touchdowns. The Lobos’ only TD came in the final minutes when the issue had been settled, thanks in large part to a BSU defense that limited New Mexico to 49 rushing yards on 24 carries and forced Layne into a 7-for-17, three-turnover night.

The second of Boise State’s three TDs in the final quarter kind of epitomized the night. The Broncos lined up for a short-range field goal, but holder Oscar Boyle, a junior punter, bobbled the snap. Forced to come up with a play, Doyle scrambled to the right and lobbed a pass toward redshirt freshman tight end Troy Grizzle, who made a contested catch and crashed into the end zone.

“So proud of our guys to find a way to finish,” Danielson said. “Proud of us doing a good job in the fourth quarter. They’re one of the top fourth-quarter teams in the country. We are not. But we were better tonight.”