No. 14 Boise State took a commanding 31-14 lead over Hawaii into halftime of their Mountain West clash on the blue turf but it might have been a costly first half for the Broncos long term.
That’s the result of a second quarter scramble from freshman quarterback Hank Bachmeier, who took a hard hit to his hip and had to be helped off the field. The youngster (58 yards and a touchdown passing, 28 rushing prior to the injury) spent the rest of half in the team’s injury tent and does not appear as though he’ll be returning to action in this game after barely being able to walk
Luckily BSU didn’t skip much of a beat without him against a lackluster Rainbow Warriors defense. Backup signal-caller Chase Cord wound up throwing for 69 yards and a touchdown of his own as the team capitalized on three turnovers on a short field that they turned into 21 points. Tailback Robert Mahone chipped in with 40 yards and a score as well.
Hawaii fans were none too happy about some of those turnovers given how at least one of them came on a questionable call but things are trending toward another tough showing in this rare trip to Boise (0-6 all-time on the blue turf). QB Cole McDonald was directly responsible for one of the giveaways on a fumble but did throw for 157 yards and two TD’s as the Run ‘n Shoot was somewhat hit or miss in the first half.
While this was shaping up to be a huge conference matchup between two teams with a combined 9-1 record and several Power Five victories between them, the reality has been anything but in a one-sided affair up in Idaho. The Broncos are understandably happy about the scoreboard right now but most of the fans at Albertsons Stadium are no doubt wondering about their starting quarterback’s health going forward.
