BOISE, Idaho — Wednesday Weekly: October 5, 2022.
It’s been all about the Boise State offense this week, of course, but the defense was borderline historic in the 35-13 win over San Diego State. The 114 yards allowed is outside the Broncos’ all-time top 10, but definitely in it against FBS competition. Consider this: I couldn’t find the Aztecs’ record book for offensive futility, but for Boise State, 114 yards would be the second-fewest ever gained in program history. SDSU’s pass percentage of 12.5 percent (2-for-16) was the fourth-lowest ever allowed by the Broncos — and the lowest in 49 years. So here you go: Boise State is fifth in the nation in total defense at 237 yards per game, back up to third in third down conversions allowed at 22 percent, and second in passing yards allowed at 134.
SCHRAMM’S CONTINUOUS CLIMB
We could do a weekly D.J. Schramm update, because the story just keeps getting better. Boise State’s fifth-year linebacker, who had hardly played on defense before this season, is making the absolute most of his senior year. The high point so far was the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week award Schramm won after pestering San Diego State with 11 tackles, nine of them solo and four of them for loss, plus a fumble recovery. He leads the Broncos after five games with 44 tackles. The next chapter: Schramm came to Boise State after a stellar high school career in Fresno. In fact, his dad, Dave, was offensive coordinator at Fresno State under Tim DeRuyter and worked with Derek Carr (but was fired after the 2015 season). So there’s some juice for DJ this Saturday.
IF GREEN CAN ADD THAT OTHER FACET…
Everyone’s had four days to process what we all saw last Friday night. Yet another pivotal game sits ahead — the Milk Can game Saturday night against Fresno State — so where do Dirk Koetter and Taylen Green go from here? Green has a Mountain West Freshman of the Week honor in his pocket now, and Koetter has an ear-to-ear grin (at least he did in the 24 hours after the game). Green, of course, rushed for 105 yards on just eight carries and scored two rather startling second-half touchdowns. Koetter now has to get everything he can out of Green as a passer. The freshman sensation was just 5-of-10 versus the Aztecs, with his longest throw covering 17 yards. For the season, Green is 3-for-11 on passes of 10 or more yards downfield. If he gets that down, look out.
KOETTER’S FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
On Monday, Koetter met the Boise media in a press conference setting for the first time since December of 2000, when he held his final presser as Boise State head coach after the Humanitarian Bowl. It was the same Koetter personality, but he was the first to point out that he’s a lot older now. Despite all the fun he had calling plays in last Friday night’s 22-point win over San Diego State, Koetter reiterated that this offensive coordinator gig is a one-season deal. Even if it does make him feel like a kid again.Hopefully he’ll have some input on his replacement. He knows offense — and he knows who knows offense.
THE NARRATIVE IS BACK FROM THE BRINK
The Boise State program took its shots from national writers after the loss at UTEP, and rightfully so. Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated, who created the “Boise State Bus” during the Kellen Moore years and was a strong advocate, tweeted after the El Paso debacle that the bus looked like it had been sold for parts. Forde watched the San Diego State game and saw something different: “Good for Boise State. Program felt like it was falling apart after an ugly 2-2 start, coordinator firing and QB transfer, then fell behind San Diego State 13-0. Then came back for a blowout win. Character.” It permeated Albertsons Stadium last Friday night. With every good thing that happened in the second half, starting with the Tyreque Jones interception on the first snap, the place got louder.
FRESNO STATE’S UTEP MOMENT
Boise State beat Fresno State and Jake Haener 40-14 last year, and the defense took great pride in that, as Haener is a great quarterback. The Broncos won’t have that opportunity this Saturday, as Haener has been ruled out of the rematch on the blue turf due to the high ankle he suffered at USC two-plus weeks ago. So the Bulldogs will have to recover from their “UTEP moment” without him, as well as safety Evan Williams, linebacker Ray Scott and tackle Dontae Bull. It was QB Logan Fife who led Fresno State at UConn, one of the worst teams in the country, and lost 19-14. The Bulldogs gained only 187 yards of total offense. Man does that sound familiar. And UConn is ranked far below UTEP. Note that Fife did throw for 231 yards against the Trojans in less than a half, though.
ABOUT THE MILK CAN
Some like to make fun of the Milk Can, the trophy that goes to the winner of regular-season games between Boise State and Fresno State. But this is the only rivalry the Broncos have that has a trophy to play for. The Milk Can was introduced in 2006 and was created by dairymen in the Treasure Valley and San Joaquin Valley, who have always had a friendly rivalry. We can legitimately call it a tradition. The only problem with that is the Mountain West’s divisional rotation, which keeps these teams from playing every year. The Broncos have the Milk Can right now, of course. In fact, they’ve been in possession of it since a 24-17 win in November of 2018. (The Bulldogs beat Boise State in the Mountain West championship game the following month, but the Milk Can is a regular season thing.)
SHAKIR’S IN THE BOX SCORE
It was a long wait, but Khalil Shakir didn’t disappoint. The former Boise State star had already made his NFL debut for Buffalo, but he didn’t have a catch going into last Sunday’s game in Baltimore. The first two receptions of Shakir’s NFL career were keepers. The first, which Shakir called “amazing,” was a grab behind the line of scrimmage on the edge of field goal range that he turned into a 14-yard gain. Two plays later, a Josh Allen touchdown tied it up at 20-20. On the Bills’ final drive, Shakir tiptoed the sideline to make a nice nine-yard catch on third down after a classic Allen scramble. It saved the drive, and Buffalo kicked a field goal on the final play to win 23-20. The Bills’ wide receivers unit has been ravaged by injuries, but Shakir has eased the concern in that room.
ENJOY THE BYE WEEK, IDAHO
The team that hardly knew how to win the past five years now doesn’t know how not to. The momentum just gets stronger for the Vandals coming off their 55-35 rout of Northern Colorado last week in the Kibbie Dome. Why is this happening? One reason is quarterback Gevani McCoy, who has risen to heights not seen since the Matt Linehan days. Maybe even before that. McCoy is the national FCS Freshman of the Week after throwing for 298 yards and four touchdowns against the Bears. Over the last two weeks, McCoy has a completion percentage of 85.1 and has thrown for 482 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions. He now has a season completion percentage of 72.8, which is third in the FCS and first in the Big Sky. That number includes games against two power-five schools.
THE SHOWDOWN AT SIMPLOT
It’s No. 1 against No. 2 in the Frontier Conference Saturday when 4-0 College of Idaho hosts 3-1 Montana Tech for homecoming Saturday at Simplot Stadium. The Coyotes kept their roll going by surviving a steady downpour in their 31-20 win at Carroll College last week in Helena, Montana. The defense was unfazed by the sloppy conditions, holding the Saints to 203 total yards, including a school-record minus-15 rushing. The leader of the pack was senior defensive end Keagan McCoy out of Capital High, who was named NAIA and Frontier Defensive Player of the Week after logging nine tackles, including four sacks and a forced fumble. The Yotes have moved up to No. 9 in the latest NAIA rankings.
A BIG BOISE SPORTS NIGHT
This will be a great table-setter for the Idaho Steelheads’ season. For the first time since the very beginning, the Steelheads will host an NHL exhibition game at what is now Idaho Central Arena when the Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights play on Saturday night. It’s the final preseason game for both teams before the regular season starts. The last time (and only time) Boise has hosted an NHL exhibition was actually just before the Steelheads debuted in 1997, when the L.A. Kings and San Jose Sharks faced off. Crews were still putting the finishing touches on the arena, and the ice was, let’s say, not frosty. The place will be in midseason form for this one. It is, of course, the same night as the Boise State-Fresno State football game. No prob—both venues will be full.
MERRITT STILL MAKIN' MONEY
After three weeks off, Troy Merritt is back on the PGA Tour grind with the Shriners Children’s Open, teeing off Thursday morning at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. Merritt has played just one event so far in the new season, the Fortinet Championship. He has a paycheck to show for it, but it could have been a lot more. Merritt was fine until the final round in Napa, CA, when a three-over 75 sent him into a tie for 59th. The former Boise State star still made $17,840.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS…October 5, 1991:
Fresno State pummels New Mexico, 94-17, falling just short of the Division I-A record of 100 points set by Houston against Tulsa in 1968. The Bulldogs and coach Jim Sweeney exacted revenge for a shocking loss to the Lobos two years earlier that ended a 17-game Fresno State winning streak and had New Mexico fans chanting, “Sweeney is a weenie.” The Bulldogs scored 49 points in the second quarter and led 66-7 at halftime. Ten Fresno State players scored, three of them twice.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
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