This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • BYU's 4-3 football team hasn't caught a lot of scheduling breaks in 2016. The Cougars had to face two teams coming off byes — West Virginia and Toledo — and a rival, Utah, that opened against an FCS opponent and had two extra days to prepare while BYU was battling it out with Arizona less than a two-hour drive from the Wildcats' campus.
That will change slightly this week, as BYU travels to Boise State to take on the No. 14-ranked Broncos on Thursday at Albertsons Stadium.
While the Cougars were celebrating Friday's 28-21 double-overtime win over Mississippi State and beginning preparations for the Broncos, Boise State was dealing with Colorado State's comeback and some rainy weather late Saturday night that forced coach Bryan Harsin to leave his starters in to the end.
Boise State (6-0) prevailed 28-23, but only after CSU recovered two onside kicks and scored 20 points — three touchdowns — in 85 seconds to throw a scare into BSU's undefeated season.
Boise State has perhaps the best running back the Cougars will see this season, junior Jeremy McNichols. The Doak Walker Award candidate rushed a school-record 40 times and picked up a career-high 217 yards against Colorado State.
"I will probably be sore [Sunday] morning," he told the Idaho Statesman.
So, Thursday's game is shaping up to be a duel between McNichols and BYU senior Jamaal Williams, who broke the Cougars' career rushing yardage record Friday and now has 3,468 in his time in Provo.
Williams is second in the nation in rushing yards, 942, fourth in rushing yards per game (134.6) and tied for fourth in rushing touchdowns, 10.
McNichols is tied for ninth in rushing yards, 775, fifth in rushing yards per game (129.2) and tied for second in rushing touchdowns, 11. He broke off an 80-yard touchdown run to give the Broncos a 21-3 lead, and also caught four passes for 47 yards.
Colorado State (3-4) opened the scoring with a 39-yard field goal in the first quarter, the first time Boise State has trailed this season. The Broncos have played the 30th most difficult schedule in the country, the Cougars the 18th toughest, according to Jeff Sagarin's ratings for USA Today.
The Broncos' closest win was 31-28 over Washington State, and they also downed the Pac-12's Oregon State 38-24 in Corvallis and Utah State 21-10 in Boise.
The Williams-McNichols battle will be just one of many subplots in the ESPN-televised encounter.
Boise State will be out for revenge. Last year, BYU needed a Hail Mary touchdown pass from Boise native Tanner Mangum to Mitchell Juergens, and Kai Nacua's game-sealing interception return for a touchdown to subdue the visitors 35-24 for its second win over BSU in three games.
Barring a lopsided game or an injury, Mangum isn't likely to play against his hometown team this time around as BYU tries to win in Boise for the first time.
Pocatello product Taysom Hill will get the call, after having to watch the 55-30 blowout loss on the blue turf in 2014 when his fill-in, Christian Stewart, tried to rally the defensively inept Cougars at Albertsons Stadium but fell woefully short.
In the first game of this 12-game series contracted to be played through 2023, then-freshman Hill took over for an injured and ineffective Riley Nelson in 2012 and directed the Cougars on a 95-yard drive for a touchdown with 3:37 remaining. But a two-point conversion attempt failed and BSU improved to 3-0 against BYU.
The Cougars' schedule lightens up in November, so this is their last chance to make a national splash. They have a bye the last weekend of October, then face Cincinnati, Southern Utah, Massachusetts and Utah State, the latter three at home.
Are they ahead of schedule in coach Kalani Sitake's first season?
"No, ahead of schedule would be undefeated," Sitake said. "I am just pleased with the way the guys have played. We have not seen a letdown in the effort. When you have guys wanting to do everything they can to help the team win, you can really build on stuff like that and work on that foundation that's already been set with these guys and the leadership that they already give you."
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU at Boise State
P Thursday, 8:15 p.m. MDT
TV • ESPN