Non-Typical Freshman Leads BYU to another Non-Typical Victory over Boise State

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Tanner Mangum is not college football’s typical freshman quarterback and has posted atypical results in the pocket over the course of two games for BYU. On Saturday Mangum struck again throwing another Hail Mary pass in the closing seconds of the game to give the Cougars their second consecutive victory, this one against No. 20 Boise State.

Mangum came out of Eagle High School in Idaho as a 6’3”, 195 pound quarterback in the 2012 recruiting class. Mangum was not expected to start for BYU this early in his career with Taysom Hill filling in for departed 2014 starter Christian Stewart. An injury to Hill against Nebraska has started a legacy in Provo that might be hard to maintain for the recruit who just returned from a Mormon mission.

Against Nebraska in Week 1, Mangum rolled to his right and heaved a pass 42 yards with 1 second left on the game clock to Mitch Mathews for a go-ahead 33-28 win against the Cornhuskers. Mangum finished the game 7-of-11 for 111 yards with the one score.

The magic for Mangum started quickly against the Broncos connecting on the opening drive of the game for an 84-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Juergens for an early 7-0 lead. Boise State would adjust building a 17-7 lead early in the third quarter. With less than five minutes left in the third, BYU got on the board again when Adam Hine scampered for a 21-yard touchdown run bringing the game to 17-14.

Boise State would quickly answer, on the ensuing drive Ryan Finley hit Jeremy McNichols on a 29-yard pass pushing the game to a two-score lead at 24-14.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Cougars with Mangum rushing for a score and running back Adam Hine finally finding traction in the run game. BSU lead by 10 heading into the fourth but BYU ripped off 21 unanswered points with the last score adding to the legend of Magnum.

Mangum connected on 17-of-28 passes in first collegiate start for 309 yards with two passing touchdowns and two interceptions. His BSU counterpart, Ryan Finely, was 25-of-38 for 297 yards with one passing touchdown and three picks.

Hine led all rushers with 93 yards on 19 carries with the bulk of the yards coming in the second half. Jeremy McNichols was limited to 46 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns.

Mitchell Juergens was the recipient of Mangum’s first touchdown pass of the game and his second. With 45 seconds left in the game, Mangum threw another touchdown winning pass, this one 35-yards to go up 28-24 for the would-be winning score. On the Bronco’s next possession, BYU’s Kai Nacua intercepted Finely returning the ball 50-yards for the game’s final score at 35-24.

Juergens finished the game with 172 receiving yards and two scores off four receptions. Devon Blackmon also went over the 100-yard mark posting 105 on six catches. BSU’s Shane Williams-Rhodes led all receivers with 11 receptions for 107 yards. Chaz Anderson had three receptions for 66 yards and Jeremy McNichols added five passes hauled in for 49 yards with another score.

Next week Mangum’s “magic” may truly be needed for a road game against No. 13 UCLA. Boise State returns home to host Idaho State.

Photo credit: Rick Bowmer; Tanner Mangum recovers a fumble for BYU against BSU.