Coach Gary Andersen promised second-string quarterback Andrew Peasley would share time with starter Jason Shelley this season. Perhaps hoping to catch Boise State unprepared, the coach brought the sophomore in five minutes into the second quarter of the Mountain West foes' season opener Saturday night.
The move did little to unsettle the Broncos. Instead, they were the ones keeping their opponent off balance on offense during their 42-13 win in an empty Albertsons Stadium in Idaho.
“Hillbilly” Hank Bachmeier, the sophomore quarterback who completed his first seven pass attempts of the game, connected with seven different receivers in the first half and eight for the game. That included a 52-yard scoring strike to Kahlil Shakir and 17-yarder to George Holani, who also ran in the Broncos' first TD, as Boise seized a dominant 28-0 halftime lead.
Boise State piled on two more TDs in the second half, including an 18-yard pass from Bachmeier to Shakir with 8:29 to play. Bachmeier finished 20 of 28 for 268 yards and three scores.
If any Aggie caught Boise by surprise, it was senior running back Jaylen Warren.
Warren simply put his team on his back in the second half. The 5-foot-8, 215-pound tailback did the yeoman’s work in a nearly seven-minute touchdown drive in the third quarter, carrying the ball eight times — including five straight — for 49 yards and the 1-yard touchdown. Warren also scored USU’s second touchdown on a 2-yard dive and racked up a career-high 23 carries for 89 yards.
Shelley, making his debut for the Aggies after transferring from the University of Utah in July, completed 14 of 27 passes for 92 yards. Peasley didn’t return to the game after that first appearance and finished with one run for 2 yards.
Several players expected to be key for the Aggies missed Saturday’s game for undisclosed reasons. Among them was safety Troy Lefeged Jr., kick returner Savon Scarver and kicker Connor Coles.
Next week’s game won’t be much easier on the Aggies. San Diego State will come to Logan on Saturday, Oct. 31, for a 7:30 p.m. game at Maverik Stadium. The Aztecs were predicted to win the West Division in a conference poll in July, before divisions were eliminated just for this COVID-19-disrupted season. A poll released this month by MWWire.com had SDSU finishing second to Boise. The Aggies were ninth of 12 teams in that poll.
USU currently plans to fill the stadium to 20% of its capacity.
This story will be updated
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/3jrojDU
October 25, 2020 at 08:09AM
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