Business taken care of.

Not in the most pristine fashion, but a win nonetheless.

Boise State, coming off of their first win of the 2022 campaign, came back to The Blue with a sold out crowd waiting (at least in terms of tickets sold). While there wasn’t much intense anticipation for this game that was originally scheduled to host Big Ten contender Michigan State, a home opener in Boise, Idaho is always a holiday in its own right.

UT-Martin isn’t North Dakota State by any means, but there were a FCS nationally ranked squad heading into Saturday. The Bronco defense did their job and held the Skyhawks to only one touchdown that was converted via a 4th and long. The offense, however, did look more creative in the first half and had different personnel lined up compared to the first two games. The second half, conversely, mirrored that of the offensive stagnation that has plagued the Broncos in 2022.

SCORING DRIVES

1st Quarter (9:41) - 4-yard pass from QB Hank Bachmeier to WR Stefan Cobbs (Dalmas PAT)

Boise State 7 - UT-Martin 0

1st Quarter (4:25) - 37-yard pass from QB Dresser Winn to WR Colton Dowell (Larco PAT)

Boise State 7 - UT-Martin 7

2nd Quarter (12:22) - 37-yard field goal by Jonah Dalmas

Boise State 10 - UT-Martin 7

2nd Quarter (5:18) - 48-yard field goal by Jonah Dalmas

Boise State 13 - UT-Martin 7

2nd Quarter (0:14) - 4-yard pass from QB Hank Bachmeier to RB George Holani (Dalmas PAT)

Boise State 20 - UT-Martin 7

4th Quarter (7:27) - 34-yard field goal by Jonah Dalmas

Boise State 23 - UT-Martin 7

4th Quarter (6:16) - 8-yard run by George Holani (Dalmas PAT)

Boise State 30 - UT-Martin 7

FINAL

BOISE STATE BRONCOS 30 - UT-MARTIN SKYHAWKS 7

Takeaways

• The first offensive drive for the Broncos was the best of the season. Going 80 yards on seven plays, both the run and pass game were effective as a neat play design allowed Cobbs to find his way into the endzone.
• Bachmeier did fumble twice with one leading to a turnover. This has happened a few times and can’t start becoming a recurring issue.
• George Holani looked like the all-conference running back that we had hoped to see this season. Totaling 110 yards on the ground and 47 yards in the air, he had his fingerprints all over the game and displayed how much of an impact he can have.
• Latrell Caples led the receiving corps with 48 yards and was still finding himself open more times than not. As an underclassmen, he looks to have a bright future in this Bronco offense.
• The offense did resort to its unimaginative play-calling in the second half and were stuck in the mud throughout the third quarter. Whether they were keeping their offense “vanilla” or not, only offensive coordinator Tim Plough can answer that.
• Backup QB Taylen Green didn’t enter the game until late in the 4th quarter when Bachmeier was sidelined after a hit to the head.
• Despite only having one registered sack, the Bronco defensive front found their way to the backfield, accumulating six tackles for loss.
• The Skyhawks couldn’t get anything going on the ground with 26 yards being the final product.
• Bronco special teams was anonymous, which is a good thing. Kicker Jonah Dalmas went three for three and punter James Ferguson-Reynolds averaged 45 yards on his four punts.

In regards to Bachmeier’s exit and Green’s entrance, those who cheered loudly when Green came onto the field should have been more cognizant of what that may look like. Some want the redshirt freshman to get a shot at being QB 1, and that’s fine. However, the situation that occurred on Saturday is not what any of us want and, in general, we need to recognize that Hank Bachmeier bleeds blue to his core and is one of the toughest son of a guns we have had don the blue and orange. Don’t @ any of the players, and for me, don’t @ any of the coaches either. They have one of the most publicized jobs in the world and shoving insults and crude remarks at them is not what Bronco Nation is about.

Going Forward

Boise State will go back on the road for their non-conference game against UTEP. The Miners lost to Mountain West counterpart New Mexico last week 27-10 and committed seven turnovers.

UTEP is currently 1-3 and their only win is by one possession against New Mexico State.

Look for a preview to be released Thursday.

What are your thoughts on the Boise State - UT-Martin result?

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