The Boise State football team spent two months rebuilding from that glum, 2-2 September that concluded with a blowout home loss to Virginia.
Improbably, the Broncos pushed their way into the Top 25, onto the fringe of the New Year’s Six discussion and within one win of the first undefeated Mountain West season in school history.
And in three and a half hours Saturday at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, Calif., all of that unraveled.
The Broncos wasted a promising first half with an array of mistakes on the Bulldogs’ side of the field, including a missed field goal and a 15-yard penalty that prevented points.