Presented by ZAMZOWS.
This Day In Sports…October 2, 2021, five years ago today:
Nevada wins on the blue turf for the first time in 24 years, beating Boise State 41-31. It was the Wolf Pack’s best team since 2010, the year the Broncos were upset by the Pack in Reno. Boise State did a decent job against reigning Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year Carson Strong, who had 263 yards passing with one touchdown. But after leading 21-20 at halftime, the Broncos started the third quarter with Hank Bachmeier losing a fumble deep in their own territory. After cashing in on that, the Wolf Pack chewed up Boise State on the ground. It spoiled an otherwise solid day for Bachmeier, who threw for 388 yards and four TDs.
The most bizarre stat of the day was Boise State’s net rushing total of 22 yards. But a little perspective is needed. It wasn’t on the running backs. Cyrus Habibi-Likio, Andrew Van Buren and George Holani combined for 107 yards rushing on 22 carries, averaging 4.9 yards per tote. None of them had any lost yardage on the day.Holani was running the ball really well until he was injured late in the first quarter. But two bad snaps in a span of three plays in the second quarter lost 40 yards. And six sacks of Hank Bachmeier accounted for minus-56 yards. That’s how the “22 yards thing” happened.
The Catch of the Year wasn’t quite enough in this one. Wide receiver Khalil Shakir, the centerpiece of the Boise State offense, made a falling-down, one-handed grab in the end zone late in the first quarter to give the Broncos a 14-10 lead. Shakir also had a 40-yard punt return late in the second quarter set up a three-play TD drive, putting the Broncos up 21-17. But the leads wouldn’t hold. Interestingly enough, Boise State’s next game was on the road at No. 10 BYU, and the Broncos would pull off a 26-17 upset of the Cougars, the biggest win of the Andy Avalos era.
The Boise State-Nevada rivalry dates back to 1971, with the Broncos winning 12 of the first 18 meetings. Nevada dominated things during most of the 1990s, but the tide turned again in 1999, when Bart Hendricks led Boise State to a 52-17 rout of the Wolf Pack on the blue turf. After the 2021 defeat, the Broncos got their revenge with a 41-3 romp in Reno in 2022. The series ended (for the foreseeable future) with last year’s 24-3 Boise State win at Mackay Stadium. The Broncos have taken 19 of the past 21 games.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
