Boise State vs. BYU: Postgame Grades for Broncos, Cougars

If you could be graded for drama and flair, the BYU Cougars would ruin the curve for everybody else in class.

The Cougars stunned No. 20 Boise State on Saturday night 35-24 behind the magic of quarterback Tanner Mangum and his second Hail Mary in as many weeks, this time finding receiver Mitchell Juergens from 35 yards away on 4th-and-7.

The Broncos played well through the first three quarters, but they completely stalled out, which cost them the game.

With that, let's check out each team's game grades for each positional unit.

BYU

Positional Unit	First Half	Final
Rush Offense	F	C
Pass Offense	B	A
Rush Defense	B	B+
Pass Defense	C	B-
Special Teams	A	A
Coaching	C	A

Rush Offense: C The Cougars had negative rushing yards in the first half but finished the game with 72 on 32 carries. Running back Adam Hine had a decent day on the ground with 93 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. The Cougars didn't necessarily rely on the run game because Mangum was clicking, but they need to be more balanced unless they plan on winning every game with Hail Marys. 

Pass Offense: A Mangum will win the lottery. He'll find buried treasure. He'll even walk under a ladder and not have bad luck. In his first start this year after Taysom Hill's injury and a week removed from his heroics at Nebraska, Mangum came through again with his pass to Juergens late in the fourth quarter. He was consistent throughout the contest, though, hoisting up 309 yards and two scores on 17-of-28 passing. He did have two interceptions, however.

Rush Defense: B+ The Cougars rush defense was surprisingly adept despite Boise running back Jeremy McNichols scoring twice on the ground. The Broncos were limited to just 64 yards total on 31 carries, with the longest run of the day being 10 yards.

Pass Defense: B- While the Cougars front line held off McNichols and Co., quarterback Ryan Finley got into a groove against the BYU secondary to the tune of 297 yards and a touchdown. However, Finley did have three picks, all by Kai Nacua, who deserves to be taken out to dinner one-by-one by all of his teammates. He took his third pick to the house in the game's final minute to seal the game.

Special Teams: A Jonny Linehan punted eight times Saturday. One went for a touchback, and two were inside the 20. Trevor Samson was 5-of-5 on extra points with no field goal attempts, and they didn't allow a huge punt or kick return. No news is good news for the Cougars here.

Coaching: A Schematically, head coach Bronco Mendenhall's game plan wasn't perfect—which coach's is?—but he rallied his team down by 10 in the fourth quarter to pull out a victory. His team has been through a year's worth of tribulations already this season, and he's the guy at the helm.

Boise State

Positional Unit	First Half	Final
Rush Offense	C	C-
Pass Offense	A-	B
Rush Defense	A+	B
Pass Defense	C+	D
Special Teams	A+	A
Coaching	A	C+

Rush Offense: C- The Broncos scored two touchdowns on the ground but gained just 64 yards as a team. McNichols had just 46 yards on 15 carries. The two scores were what powered Boise State through most of the game as it capped off a few nice drives.

Pass Offense: B Finley had 297 yards through the air but had three picks to the same guy, and he ultimately dropped the guillotine on his squad with the pick-six in the final minute. He powered the Broncos but shot them in the foot along the way.  

Rush Defense: B The Broncos did shut down the Cougars in the trenches, giving up just 72 yards rushing. But Hine found his stride late and had some big runs to keep Boise State on its heels. Over the course of the game, Boise was great. But, as is life, they struggled late. 

Pass Defense: D You'd think the Broncos would have known to guard against the Hail Mary. In all seriousness, the Broncos simply couldn't shut down Mangum in his first real test this year as a starter. Toss in that the secondary gave up three big plays that led to scores, and there's your ballgame. 

Special Teams: A No complaints on special teams for Boise State. They converted a field goal at the end of the half and, like BYU, didn't have any catastrophes by allowing a big return. 

Coaching: C+ Simply put, Bryan Harsin coached a great first three quarters, but he couldn't finish this game. There's plenty of blame to go around, but a head coach has to have the ability to put his team in a position to win.