BOISE — With so many freshmen playing for BYU, plenty of Cougars got their first experience playing on the famous blue turf of Boise State’s Albertsons Stadium Saturday night.
The blue surface was installed in 1986 and it was the first non-green playing surface in football history. While some refer to it as “Smurf Turf,” many here in Boise simply call it “The Blue.”
Saturday marked BYU’s fifth all-time visit to the blue turf.
Cougar senior safety Tanner Jacobson played his first game here two years ago and the blue turf caught him a little off-guard.
“I remember the first time going (to Albertsons Stadium), I was excited because it’s kind of quirky, kind of different, kind of an iconic field,” Jacobson said. “I didn’t think it would be as weird as it was. I walked out there thinking that, ‘This is grass.’ But there’s not very many times in your life that you’re out there on something that’s blue the whole time. It’s definitely fun.”
Boise State also wore all-blue uniforms on the blue turf.
BYU offensive lineman Tristen Hoge, who hails from Pocatello, is familiar with the blue turf. His final high school game was played at Albertsons Stadium, where he helped lead Highland High to a state championship.
LARGEST CROWDS: Going into Saturday’s game, two of the three top crowds to watch a Boise State game at Albertsons Stadium involved BYU.
On Sept. 20, 2012, the venue’s largest crowd — 36,864 — watched the Broncos edge the Cougars, 7-6.
On Oct. 23, 2014, the third-largest crowd — 36,752 — saw BSU pound BYU, 55-30.
The second largest crowd — 36,836 — attended Boise State’s 16-13 win over Washington on Sept. 4, 2015.
LOOKING AHEAD: BYU’s opponent next week, UMass (4-6), beat Liberty, 62-59, in triple overtime Saturday.
New Mexico State (3-7), which the Cougars play in the home finale Nov. 17, defeated Alcorn State, 52-42.
And Utah (6-3) fell at Arizona State, 38-20, as Ute quarterback Tyler Huntley went down with a broken collarbone. BYU and Utah meet Nov. 24 in Salt Lake City.
SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER: This was the first time BYU and Boise State have played at Albertsons Stadium on a Saturday.
The Cougars’ four previous games here were held on either Thursday or Friday nights.
CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: BYU’s captains for the pregame coin toss were quarterback Tanner Mangum, who hails from Eagle, Idaho; fullback Brayden El-Bakri; wide receiver Micah Simon; and offensive lineman Austin Hoyt.
FLAG BEARERS: BYU’s flag bearers before the game were wide receiver Dylan Collie (American), offensive lineman Tristen Hoge (Idaho), Inoke Lotulelei and Andrew Mikkelsen. The Alumni Flag bearers were linebacker Mike Tanner (2000-03), tight end Spencer Nead (2001-02) and linebacker Dan Bates (2004-06).
EXTRA POINTS: Freshman quarterback Jaren Hall made his BYU debut in the second quarter. Out of the wildcat formation, Hall lost two yards on a run attempt … Defensive lineman Chris Wilcox suffered a leg injury near the end of the second quarter.