‘It takes all of us.’ Boise State focuses on creating more pressure on quarterbacks

Boise State football coaches didn’t pull any punches when asked this week about the Broncos’ loss to BYU.

Defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson called it the Broncos’ worst tackling performance of the season.

“That was obviously not a reflection of who I feel we are as a defense, and I take full responsibility for it,” Danielson said. “We’ve been a good tackling team this year. Last week we were not, and that’s on me.”

Defensive line coach Frank Maile said it was one of his unit’s worst performances since he joined the staff in January 2021.

“It was a huge letdown,” Maile said. “I think there is a lot of stuff I could have done better to prepare the guys, but bottom line was we didn’t get the job done.”

BYU posted 531 yards of offense on a defense that hasn’t been gashed very often this season. Boise State is giving up just 160.7 passing yards a game, which ranks No. 2 in the Mountain West, and 104.8 rushing yards, which leads the conference.

Boise State’s coaches agreed that a distinct lack of a pass rush played a big part in the Broncos’ loss. Creating more pressure on quarterbacks is an area they’re focused on cleaning up at Nevada on Saturday (8:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network).

“Ultimately, it comes down to winning our one-on-ones regardless of who’s playing up front and how we prepare our guys to do so,” head coach Andy Avalos said.

Not helping matters is that Boise State pass rushers have been dropping like flies in recent weeks.

Weber State transfer George Tarlas (4 sacks) was lost to a season-ending hip injury in the Broncos’ win over Air Force three weeks ago. Fellow edge rusher Isaiah Bagnah announced he was entering the transfer portal hours before Boise State was set to kick off against Colorado State on Oct. 29.

The Broncos’ top two pass rushers both went down with injuries on the first play of the BYU game last week. Middle linebacker Ezekiel Noa and edge rusher Demitri Washington — both of whom lead the team with 4.5 sacks — collided and needed medical attention.

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Noa returned to the game, but he wasn’t moving very well. Washington never returned.

Boise State didn’t notch a single sack against BYU. That can’t happen this weekend, Boise State linebacker DJ Schramm said.

“It takes all of us,” Schramm said. “We all need to step up and do a better job, because we have to get after the quarterback if we want to win football games.”

Maile said it takes a whole defense to produce an effective pass rush, but there aren’t too many that find success without at least some pressure up front.

“If you can’t rush with your D-line, you’re going to have a hard time no matter what,” Maile said.

If there’s a silver lining to the recent injuries and departures, it’s that a lot of young players are getting thrown in, which bodes well for the future.

One of those youngsters is Gabe Hunter, a redshirt freshman from Pflugerville, Texas, who notched the first interception of his career late in the Broncos’ win over Colorado State and filled in for Washington last week. He and junior college transfer Deven Wright are first in line to replace Washington if he doesn’t play this week.

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Former Rocky Mountain High School linebacker Ty Tanner could fill in for Noa if he’s out. Tarlas’ injury also opened the door for junior college transfer Cortez Hogans Jr. to make his Boise State debut. He missed the first seven games of the season with an undisclosed injury.

Hogans, who joined the Broncos in January, posted five sacks last season at Snow College.

“Cortez is super explosive,” Maile said. “Like the rest of the guys, he needs to grow in his eye progression so he can do his job the way he wants to get it done.”

The Broncos will face a struggling offense on Saturday.

Nevada (2-7, 0-5 MW) is scoring just 20.8 points a game, which ranks No. 7 in the Mountain West. The Wolf Pack are No. 10 in the conference in rushing offense (108.2 yards a game) and No. 8 with 175.9 passing yards. They’ve also given up 25 sacks, which is tied for No. 7 in the conference.

Nevada will try to lean on physical running back Toa Taua, who leads the team with 571 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. But the offense has evolved in recent weeks since Oklahoma State transfer Shane Illingworth took over at quarterback.

Nevada was splitting reps between Illingworth and Nate Cox, who is a traditional pocket passer. Illingworth is more of a threat to run, but isn’t afraid to throw. He completed 18-of-29 passes for 223 yards and added 30 rushing yards last week in a 35-28 loss to San Jose State.

“They opened things up in terms of the passing game and felt more confident in it,” Avalos said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re playing with great coverage and techniques, and disrupt the rhythm of their passing game.”

BOISE STATE AT NEVADA

When: 8:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Mackay Stadium, Reno, Nevada (30,000)

TV: CBS Sports Network (Rich Waltz, Aaron Taylor, Brandon Baylor)

Radio: KBOI 670 AM/93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)

Records: Boise State 6-3, 5-0 MW; Nevada 2-7, 0-5 MW

Series: Boise State is 30-14 in its all-time series against Nevada. The Broncos beat the Wolf Pack six straight times between 2011 and 2018, but Nevada went into Albertsons Stadium and won 41-31 last season.

Vegas line: Boise State by 20.5

Weather: 30 degrees at kickoff, 5% chance of rain, 3 mph wind