Boise State had their chances against Penn State, but a new issue became a fatal flaw in the Fiesta Bowl
The Boise State Broncos were a team built on running the football at a high clip behind star running back Ashton Jeanty, and being clean with the football. Turnovers had not been an issue for this team all season, only throwing three interceptions and losing four fumbles coming in. That’s a total of just seven […]
The Boise State Broncos were a team built on running the football at a high clip behind star running back Ashton Jeanty, and being clean with the football. Turnovers had not been an issue for this team all season, only throwing three interceptions and losing four fumbles coming in. That’s a total of just seven giveaways in 13 games on the season.
During their Fiesta Bowl matchup against the Penn State Nittany Lions, that great strength became a weakness and their fatal flaw during the team’s 31-14 loss to Penn State. It was a game with a lot of chances for the Broncos, including having cut the deficit to 17-14 in the second half. Unfortunately, a couple of missed field goals, and four turnovers hurt those chances.
Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen was tremendous early on for the Broncos, and he was a big reason that they were in the game in the second half. Unfortunately, Madsen unraveled later in the game, ending with three interceptions in the loss. That matched the season total for Madsen, who had been extremely careful with the football heading into the contest.
The other turnover came from a lost fumble from Jeanty, who put the ball on the ground twice against Penn State. In 344 carries coming into Tuesday night, the star runner had only fumbled two other times. He also matched his season total in the loss.
When you are facing off against a really good football team, especially one that is more talented than yours, you have to limit mistakes. This Boise State team was in the game later into the contest because of coaching, and effort. They matched the intensity from the Nittany Lions.
Unfortunately, it was those four turnovers, and two missed field goals that decided this contest. If one or two of those plays went the other way, the game could have been much different in the end. Boise State just wasn’t able to remain mistake free, and make the biggest plays in the most important moments.
That Penn State defense does need to get a lot of credit. When you have speed and length everywhere, that increases the chances at forcing turnovers and creating some big plays. We saw that from James Franklin’s crew. The Nittany Lions swarmed to the football, and made plays all over the field. That was the biggest difference in the football game.
