BYU will have to solve the hex of Boise State’s Albertsons Stadium if Cougars are to remain unbeaten

At Boise State two years ago, on second and goal with two yards to go and a chance to score a game-winning touchdown for BYU, Cougar quarterback Zach Wilson instead got sacked for a loss of two yards as time expired.

Having been so close to making a comeback, the loss stung even more. But it was something BYU is all too familiar with: The Cougars have yet to win at Albertsons Stadium.

Of the five games played in Boise in the series, three have been decided by one point and 2018′s game was decided by less than a touchdown (21-16).

No. 9 BYU will go into Albertsons Stadium Friday hoping to beat No. 21 Boise State for the first time on the smurf turf, and try to erase the painful past.

BYU wide receiver Dax Milne was a freshman the last time the Cougars played the Broncos in Idaho and didn’t play in the game, but he remembers seeing his roommate and best friend Wilson get sacked.

“I remember just, I wanted to go grab Zach and tell him it’s all right,” Milne said. “He really took it hard. Everyone took it hard. And I know that still stays in his mind and it’s probably a motivation factor going into this week. It still stings for him.”

Friday’s game will serve as a redemption matchup for Wilson, who was unable to play in last year’s Boise State game.

With Wilson still recovering from surgery following a fractured right (throwing) thumb, third-string quarterback Baylor Romney got the start and led the Cougars to a 28-25 upset over the Broncos. Backup quarterback Jaren Hall suffered a concussion a week prior at USF.

But Wilson said he’s moved on from what happened in Boise two years ago.

“I’m not reflecting on the past at all,” Wilson said following the win over Western Kentucky. “We’ve got a new team and they have a new team two years later. It’s a great opportunity for us and they’ve got a good football team over at Boise and they do well at home as well, so it’s a big week for us preparation wise.”

Wilson, as the rest of the BYU team, has come a long way from two years ago.

The quarterback is being intercepted less, sacked less, is completing a higher percentage of passes and has thrown more touchdown passes this season compared to his freshman season — or even last year. And there’s still plenty of season left.

The Cougars boast a 7-0 record for just the fourth time in program history and are trying to break into a New Year’s Six bowl for the first time in the independence era — and maybe have a chance at squeaking in to the College Football Playoff.

The Boise State game will mark just the first time BYU will face a ranked opponent this year, and is the first time the Cougars and Broncos are both ranked at the same time. A win on Friday would definitely help BYU’s continued rise through the ranks.

BYU coach Kalani Sitake said there’s some carryover this year from last season’s win, but he thinks there’s just too many new and different players in the mix now to make an overt comparison.

Having watched Boise for so many years now and building a relationship with Broncos coach Brian Harsin, who’s in his seventh year, Sitake said Harsin is a very detailed coach. And he does a great job utilizing his skill players in all three phases.

“They basically put guys in there and [don’t] seem to have a lot of drop-off,” Sitake said. “As you watched them, the replacements that they’ve had come in this year — still not a lot of drop-off from last year. … I think it’ll be a great matchup, but a lot of respect for what he’s been able to do as a head coach and what his coaching staff has been able to do, reloading their players, because it doesn’t seem to miss a beat.”

Either way, it seems like Friday’s game will be the most competitive yet this season for both teams.

BYU center James Empey isn’t sure why the games against the Broncos have always come down to the last drive or last play, but he knows Boise is a great team. And the Broncos play well at home.

“That’s kind of what they hang their hat on, that they’re tough and physical and they’re going to play really hard and win a lot of games,” Empey said. “We like to think we’re the same way, where we want to play tough and hard and take everybody and make them put their money where their mouth is. … When you get two teams like that, I think you get some really epic games and close finishes.”