Mired in 4-game skid, BYU looks to Boise State series that 'brings out the best in us'

PROVO — BYU coach Kalani Sitake is more concerned with his team's four-game losing skid and pulling the Cougars' oxen out of the proverbial mire before it gets stuck in the mud outside the trail of bowl eligibility.

But when asked to reflect on the 13-game series with Boise State that has morphed into something of a rivalry with 11 consecutive meetings that will end for the foreseeable future after Saturday's encounter (5 p.m. MDT, FS2), the seventh-year coach was increasingly complimentary toward Andy Avalos' side.

And though his opinion matters about as much as most fans, because he doesn't contract scheduling and even less so as the Cougars enter the Big 12 Conference in 2023, Sitake made sure his personal feelings on the potential end to the series were known when he met with the media Monday.

It may not be on the same rivalry level as Utah or the Wagon Wheel with Utah State, but BYU's schedule is better when it plays the Broncos, a square No. 3 rivalry for a program that every team in the old Western Athletic Conference once fancied for a rivalry.

"I just really like playing this team," Sitake said. "They're a really good team, and they seem to bring out the best in us in crucial times. I think this is one of those moments again.

"I'm not the one that makes the schedule," he added. "But they're a quality opponent, and it's been fun to play them while I've been here. … It's been an honor being on the field with them. If you're asking me, I don't want to see a good thing end."

The Cougars (4-5) opened as a 7-point underdog against the surging Broncos (6-2), who are 4-0 since firing offensive coordinator Tim Plough and replacing him with former NFL head coach Dirk Koetter after a 27-10 loss to UTEP.

The Broncos hold an 8-4 advantage against BYU but are riding a losing stretch at home since Zach Wilson led the Cougars to a 51-17 runaway victory on the blue turf during the 2020 season.

Boise State countered with a win in Provo last year, but home games matter more than road games in this series, where the home team has a marked advantage all-time.

"It requires you to be your best every day this week," Boise State coach Andy Avalos told the Gem State media Monday.

Absent an in-state rival since Idaho rejoined the Football Championship Subdivision and the Big Sky alongside Idaho State, and with no "traditional" rivalry being played annually in conference play, Broncos fans have looked to the Cougars as their source of annual hatred for the better part of the past decade.

It would be a shame if that decade were laid to waste in the name of Big 12 television revenue.

"I can't speak for BYU fans, but on the Boise side, I think they've easily become our biggest rival," said Nathan Carroll, a long-time Broncos fan and Boise State alum who lives in the Treasure Valley. "Idaho and ISU are Big Sky and irrelevant (toward Boise State). (Nevada) and Fresno aren't yearly anymore.

"BYU has become the hate-week game we can rely on every year."

It helps, too, that Boise State is back to being Boise State after some early-season setbacks.

The Broncos lost their season opener 34-17 at Oregon State before a pair of less-than-convincing wins over New Mexico and FCS Tennessee-Martin. But the low point of the season was a 27-10 setback at UTEP, when the Miners (4-5) returned a punt 47 yards for a touchdown to go up 20-10 and iced the game with a 14-play, 80-yard drive that took 9:10 off the clock in the fourth quarter en route to the 16.5-point underdogs' first-ever victory over Boise State.

That led to major shakeups in Boise, including Plough's firing and Hank Bachmeier's subsequent entry into the transfer portal after completing just 13-of-34 passes for 93 yards on a team that totaled just 84 yards rushing and 177 yards of total offense.

Under Koetter, it's been all uphill as the Broncos won five in a row to stay unbeaten in Mountain West play with a 5-0 record that puts them in the drivers' seat for the conference championship game with Nevada, Wyoming and Utah State left on the schedule.

"This is a really good team," Sitake said. "They have an identity on offense; coach Koetter has done that for them. And they have one of the top defenses in the country.

"They've got every bit of our attention, and we are going to have to play at our best this weekend."

Boise's rise has coincided with the increasing progression of quarterback Taylen Green, the redshirt freshman from Lewisville, Texas, who took the reins of the offense following Bachmeier's departure.

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound dual-threat signal caller has gotten better in each of his four starters, from 5-of-10 passing for 48 yards with no touchdowns and an interception in a win over San Diego State to 24-of-30 passing for 305 yards, two touchdowns and no picks in a 49-10 rout of Colorado State on Saturday.

But the jaw-dropping highlight of his career performance against the Rams came when he slid two defenders out of their shoes on a 10-yard touchdown run when he broke three tackles and sidestepped another on his way to the end zone.

"That's just Taylen being Taylen," Boise State defensive tackle Devine Obichere told the media after the game. "He does it in practice every day. Of course you get excited for the touchdown, but it's nothing we haven't seen.

"We've been victims of that, too."

If there's one game the Broncos want to win, it's the annual battle of blue between Boise and Provo that has grown in stature to the point of rival-like implications through the Cougars' decade as an FBS independent.

"It's always an intense game," BYU quarterback Jaren Hall said. "There's always history behind it, always grit on that field between both teams. It's always a great atmosphere, whether you're in Boise or in Provo.

"It's no different than playing Utah or Utah State; it's a very similar feel. The Boise fans are very passionate, and they always come out to support. It will be a great challenge for us."

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