Broncos knew Oregon State’s deep passing game was dangerous, but big plays killed them

If Tre’Shaun Harrison had held on to the football, Oregon State would have scored on a 53-yard reception on the third play of its opening drive.

Alarm bells should have been sounding for the Boise State secondary.

Instead, Boise State cornerback Caleb Biggers — who was several steps behind Harrison — put one finger in the air and waved it back and forth like former NBA shot blocker Dikembe Mutombo.

And then the Beavers’ receivers made like Michael Jordan.

Boise State’s experienced secondary — with one fifth-year senior, two true seniors and a redshirt sophomore — was expected by many to be the strength of the Broncos’ defense this season. But they looked a step slow in a 34-17 season-opening loss to Oregon State on Saturday at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon.

“We knew going into the game that that was going to be (their) strength,” Boise State coach Andy Avalos said. “That was going to be a serious challenge with the matchups that they create, putting multiple tight ends in the game. If you go back and look at the film, there’s two-man routes, so everybody is protected. To get to the quarterback is extremely difficult.

“We knew going into the game that was going to be the case, but we have to do a better job of playing with better eye control in the secondary and being able to handle our coverage a lot better than what we did today.”

Boise State lost starting cornerback Markel Reed to an injury on Oregon State’s second drive of the game, but he had two experienced backups in redshirt sophomore Kaonohi Kaniho and redshirt senior Tyric LeBeauf.

The Broncos stymied the Beavers’ first two drives by forcing a fumble and a three-and-out, but Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave and a speedy group of receivers enjoyed one big play after another from there on out. The Beavers finished with 12 explosive plays, tallying seven receptions of 15 or more yards and five running plays of 10 or more.

Musgrave, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound junior, led all receivers with six catches for 89 yards — an average of 14.8 yards per catch. He scored Oregon State’s first touchdown of the game on a 27-yard pass from quarterback Chance Nolan with 5:24 remaining in the first quarter.

The Beavers then went up 14-0 near the end of the first quarter on a 47-yard pass from Nolan to Tyjon Lindsey.

From there, a 74-yard passing play with Nolan throwing from his own end zone set up another OSU score in the second quarter. And the Beavers also had a 43-yard double-pass trick play for a touchdown nullified — by only by a couple of yards, after Oregon State’s Trey Lowe was ruled out of bounds at the Boise State 2-yard line.

“The biggest concern coming into the game was being able to fend off their vertical pass game,” Avalos said.

Aside from two interceptions and a fumble the Broncos converted into all of three points, the Beavers racked up 470 yards of total offense. Nolan completed just 14-of-23 passes, but those 14 completions went for 251 yards — about 18 yards per pass play — and two touchdowns, for a QB rating of 163.8.

“We’ve got to be better and eliminate some of those explosive pass plays,” Avalos said.

Broncos lose 2 to injury

Two Broncos were carted off the field at Reser Stadium on Saturday.

Reed was taken off the field with 7:21 to go in the first quarter.

“That’s a tough one obviously for Markel and for the whole team,” Avalos said. “We love him and everything that he’s done to come back and compete and get himself to the point he was in this first game.”

It’s been a tough couple of years for Reed, a senior from Temple, Texas. A shoulder injury kept him out of spring practice in 2021, but he fought his way back and started four of the Broncos’ first five games last season. Then a knee injury put him on the shelf.

Redshirt sophomore receiver Austin Bolt, a Borah High graduate, was injured on the opening kickoff of the second half.

“The magnitude that Austin was injured tonight, it’s hard,” Avalos said.

Avalos did not specify either player’s injury in postgame interviews. Bolt was seen on TV being carted off with an air cast on his left leg.

Two Broncos miss trip to Oregon State

Boise State was without just one starter for Saturday’s season opener.

Offensive lineman Ben Dooley was out for undisclosed reasons, the Broncos announced a little before kickoff. Dooley started last season at right tackle, but he moved inside to right guard four games into the year.

Redshirt freshman Mason Randolph started in place of Dooley.

The only other player who didn’t make the trip was defensive end Cortez Hogans Jr.

QUICK HITS

Boise State team captains Scott Matlock and John Ojukwu were joined by tight end Riley Smith and nickel Tyreque Jones as game captains. ... Oregon State won the coin toss and deferred. ... Boise State was led onto the field by linebacker DJ Schramm, who carried the Dan Paul Hammer. ... Running back George Holani carried the American flag, and safety Alexander Teubner carried the Bleed Blue flag. ... The Mountain West went winless against Power 5 programs on Saturday, with Colorado State losing 51-7 at Michigan and host San Diego State falling 38-20 to Arizona. No. 1 Alabama beat Utah State 55-0, and then Boise State lost.