USD football battles, falls short at Boise State
· Yahoo Sports
The No. 10-ranked (FCS) South Dakota Coyotes showed fight against one of the best FBS Group of 6 programs, falling short in the upset bid against Boise State, 38-24, on the blue turf in a sold-out (34,428) Albertsons Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 19.
South Dakota found the end zone twice thanks to a pair of passing touchdowns from Austyn Modrzewski to two different Coyotes. It was the passing attack that kept the Broncos off balance in the first 30 minutes.
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USD would throw the first punch of the night, capitalizing on an early Bronco turnover in the first quarter.
On the second Boise State drive of the night, linebacker Gabe Hardman got the action going with a perfectly timed hit on the Broncos' running back to pop the ball loose inside the Boise State 20-yard line, with Kael Kolarik jumping on the loose ball.
The very next play, Modrzewski found Bryce Cohoon in the corner of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown, making it 7-0 South Dakota.
South Dakota put together another quick 75-yard drive to retake the lead at 14-7. Modrzewski would find Tennel Bryant loose, deep in Bronco territory to set up a five-yard touchdown pass to Tysen Boze.
After that, back-to-back drives would result in touchdowns for Boise State, and late in the second quarter it would be knotted up at 14-14.
Later in the second quarter, trailing 21-14 at the two-minute timeout, a 29-yard completion to Charles Pierre Jr. put USD within striking distance late in the first half just inside Bronco territory. The drive would stall, forcing the USD to punt as Boise State would take the touchdown lead into the locker room.
Modrzewski would finish the first half 7-for-12 passing for 110 yards and two touchdowns. With his 40-yard first-half reception, Bryant led the receiver room with his 58 yards in the first 30 minutes.
Boise State would start the second half with a drive deep into Coyote territory, but an Isaiah Wray tackle in the backfield would stop the Bronco momentum. Boise State would settle for three with a 38-yard field goal to take the 24-14 lead midway through the third quarter.
A lightning-quick three-play drive from the Coyote offense saw a 59-yard strike from Modrzewski to Boze breathe life into the game for the USD sideline, making it 24-21 Boise State with three minutes left to go in the third quarter.
The ensuing Boise State drive would see the Coyote defense pick up a massive fourth down stop to get the ball back to the offense down three with 13 minutes to play.
Modrzewski and company would drive into Bronco territory. As the drive stalled, Vitzthum turned to the leg of Bohdie Ing, who hit a USD career-best 43-yard field goal to tie things up at 24-24.
A methodical drive from the Broncos would see them retake the lead, 31-24. South Dakota was forced to punt on their next drive, but the Broncos muffed it and South Dakota jumped on it deep into Broncos territory.
The Coyotes, though, would be kept out of the end zone and turn the ball over on downs. A late Boise State touchdown with under two minutes to play sealed the deal for the Broncos, putting them up 38-24.
Modrzewski finished the night going 12-for-27 for 243 yards and three touchdown passes. Bryant picked up his second-straight 100-yard receiving game (3 rec., 104 yards). Boze picked up his first career multi-touchdown game with his two scores.
Defensively, Wade Abrams etched a new career-best with a game-high 14 tackles, marking his second double-digit tackle game of the season
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: USD football battles, falls short at Boise State