Can BYU conjure another miracle against Boise State?
BYU pulled off a miraculous victory over Nebraska, with backup quarterback Tanner Mangum tossing a 42-yard Hail Mary to receiver Mitch Mathews with time expiring.
Unfortunately, starting quarterback Taysom Hill was lost for the season due to an ankle injury, meaning this is Mangum’s team now. And, while his Hail Mary has cemented his legendary status in BYU history, he now has a far greater task in front of him leading the team’s offense for the rest of the 2015 campaign.
The Cougars lost Hill to an injury last year as well, and the team lost four games in a row. Head coach Bronco Mendenhall believes he has his team better prepared for this challenge this time around. He acknowledges the team was too quarterback-dependent in 2014.
“So I think we certainly now have addressed that in a different way, and hopefully a better way, in terms of now getting the rest of the team to step up and do more rather than just relying on only our quarterback to determine the identity of our team,” Mendenhall said, via The Salt Lake Tribune.
Up next for the Cougars is a dynamic Boise State squad (No. 20 in the nation) that features a nasty defense. The Broncos shut down Washington’s offense in a big way in Week 1, allowing just 179 total yards, 11 first downs and zero offensive touchdowns.
The Cougars have home-field advantage in this one, but it might not matter. The Broncos are formidable, meaning it another miracle could be in order for BYU to come out of this one with a 2-0 record.
This contest is nationally televised on ESPN2 starting at 10:15 p.m. ET.