BOISE, Idaho — This Day In Sports…October 21, 2017:
Boise State holds future NFL quarterback Josh Allen to 131 yards on 12-of-27 passing in a 24-14 win over Wyoming at Albertsons Stadium. The Broncos sacked Allen four times and intercepted him twice, as fans wondered if they were really watching a first-round draft choice. But Allen’s one touchdown pass was the type of throw that had NFL scouts drooling—a 20-yard roll-out, back-foot bullet in the back of the end zone to Austin Fort. It was reminiscent of the dagger throw he had made to Tanner Gentry a year earlier to help shock the Broncos in Laramie and ruin their 7-0 start.
On the other side of the ball, the Broncos’ methodical 2017 offense, alternating between quarterbacks Brett Rypien and Montell Cozart, scored three second-half touchdowns. Boise State managed just 118 total yards, 29 passing yards, and three points in the first half and trailed 7-3 at halftime. Then on the first possession of the third quarter, Rypien was 6-of-8 for 39 yards, getting the Broncos down to the Cowboys 32-yard line. With Rypien in a rhythm, enter Montell Cozart? In the end, though, it was an epic 18-play, 71-yard drive that took 9:44 off the clock, capped by a four-yard Cozart touchdown run.
The next two Boise State drives scored touchdowns, too, with Rypien and Cozart rotating in and out. One ended with what appeared to be a four-yard touchdown pass from Rypien to Cozart, but it was ruled a lateral, and Cozart was credited with another four-yard TD run. He expressed disappointment after the game, not only because of the irony of the connection, but the fact it took away what would have been a passing-rushing-receiving touchdown trifecta for him. The switching of QB’s mid-drive did give Wyoming problems.
Rypien eventually reestablished his lock on the Boise State QB job and led the Broncos to the Mountain West championship and a Las Vegas Bowl win over Oregon. Allen, who at one time was projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, would be selected No. 7 overall the following April by the Buffalo Bills. His accuracy improved markedly during his first two seasons as a pro, and he soon became one of the elite quarterbacks in the game.
(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.)
