BOISE, Idaho — Monday Special…July 22, 2024.
(Tom Scott’s feature will return Friday.)
There had been all sorts of leaks, but Friday marked the official release for College Football 25 from EA Sports. Max Olson of The Athletic ran 25 simulations of the season—four had Boise State in the CFP, more than any other Group of 5 team. Olson calls one of those simulations, “Season E,” “the wildest Playoff of them all.” It has the Broncos beating Nevada (huh?) in the Mountain West championship game and getting the No. 12 seed after coming in 21st in the final CFP rankings.
Boise State then routs Alabama 49-14 in Tuscaloosa, but Malachi Nelson is injured with “a season-ending torn hamstring.” So Maddux Madsen comes on to lead the Broncos to upset wins over fourth-seeded Miami and eighth-seeded Utah to reach the title game. Olson takes it from there: “Then (Madsen) throws for 329 yards and three TDs against Michigan’s defense, and Boise State pulls off a fourth-quarter comeback for a 35-31 triumph. Madsen becomes an instant college football legend. Who wouldn’t want to watch Season E?”
‘SAYS PHIL’ ON BRONCOS OFFENSE
I have a few days off coming up, so here are some Phil Steele takeaways on the 2024 Boise State football season. If you haven’t seen it, Steele’s College ’24 Football is 352 pages, with its teeny tiny teeny-tiny print and myriad abbreviations and acronyms. Steele is the one who didn’t have Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty among his preseason top eight Mountain West running backs last year, but we’ll give him a pass on that.
This year: at quarterback, no Taylen Green? No matter. With Madsen and Nelson battling, “we look for improved play out of this position,” says Phil. We can gloss over the running backs. At wide receiver, no Erik McAlister? No Steph Cobbs? No Billy Bowens? No matter. With Latrell Caples back, along with Prince Strachan and Austin Bolt, and transfers Cam Camper and Chris Marshall, this “will be an improved unit,” says Phil. And the offensive line? After paving the way for 215 rushing yards per game and just 16 sacks allowed—and a school-record total of 3,006 yards rushing—the Broncos O-line should be “on-par with 2023’s top-notch unit,” says Phil.
‘SAYS PHIL’ ON BRONCOS DEFENSE
Steele likes the Boise State defensive line. The forgotten man there is defensive end Jayden Virgin-Morgan, who played so well late last season after Demitri Washington was lost to injury. Says Phil, “They have all four starters back and add Ball State transfer Tavion Woodard, and we rank this unit as the Mountain West’s top D-line for the 2024 season.” At linebacker, says Phil, “with five of the top six back we look for more improvement and consistency.” And in the secondary, after dropping to No. 75 in his Pass Defense analytics last year, Phil says, “we expect a significant improvement in the Pass D rankings. Overall, Phil’s computer is expecting the Broncos D to “improve from allowing 385 yards per game in ’23 to just 339 in ’24.”
LOOKING FOR A SHORTER WATCH LIST
It’s watch list season, and the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 Watchlist is out. Boise State defensive standouts Ahmed Hassanein and A'Marion McCoy are on it. We don’t want to put too much stock into this, as “1000” means, yes, there’s about a thousand players on the list—any senior player in any division that has received all-conference accolades. There’s no doubt that Hassanein and McCoy are prime candidates for the East-West Shrine Bowl. But the watch list that would carry a lot more weight is the one for the Senior Bowl. I'm waiting for that one. Both Hassanein and McCoy are first-team Preseason All-Mountain West, and Hassanein is the Co-Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Just stay the course, and both guys will have a shot at playing in Mobile, AL, next January on a very important stage.
EYES ON ISU
Two Hawks are better than one. I don’t doubt that Idaho State football is about to take off, as former Boise State, Colorado and UC Davis coach Dan Hawkins has joined his son Cody’s staff. The release says that Dad’s title will be Director of Player and Staff Development, and that he’ll “focus on mentoring players and staff in various capacities as well as assisting all sides of the ball in game-planning, strategy, and recruitment.” The Bengals have not made the FCS Playoffs in 41 years. Buckle your chinstrap. This is one piece of Dan Hawkins’ resume that will never change: he was the one that had the vision of what Boise State could be. In 2001, Hawk said the Broncos could be a top 10 Division I-A program, and many rolled their eyes. They debuted in the top 25 in 2002—and made the top 10 for the first time in 2004.
ONCE A BRONCO HEARTBREAKER
After a 60-53 win Friday over Enchantment, New Mexico’s alums, Boise State’s alumni entry in the $1 million winner-take-all The Basketball Tournament ran out of magic Sunday. Once A Bronco led 71-65 late against Forever Coogs, the University of Houston’s alums. The “target score” was 79 points (first team to 79 advances), and when One A Bronco got to 76, they got stuck. They tried to win it with a three-pointer—over and over again—going 0-for-7 from beyond the arc in nine possessions. Justinian Jessup missed three of them, Thomas Bropleh and Marcus Shaver Jr. one apiece, and there were others. Forever Coogs chipped away and were victorious at the free throw line: 79-76 the final. Too bad, because that was a really good bunch of former Broncos.
TOUR DE MATTEO CONTINUES
The Tour de France ended yesterday in Nice instead of Paris due to the Summer Olympics opening this Friday night. But Boise High grad Matteo Jorgenson is still going to be on a bike in Paris as part of Team USA. Jorgenson is coming off his best international result, an eighth-place overall finish yesterday as the top American in the fabled event. His main job on the Visma-Lease a Bike team was helping his team leader, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, to possible victory. Vingegaard finished second. And just like that, Jorgenson will be racing in the Olympic time trial this Saturday morning.
HAWKS ROLL IN MONTANA
The Boise Hawks won their six-game series in Great Falls and are off to a 4-2 start in the second half of the Pioneer League season. The Hawks pushed across two runs in the top of the eighth Sunday to provide the difference in a 7-5 win over the Voyagers. That came on the heels of a 19-4 romp Saturday night that included nary a home run. Micah Yonamine went 5-for-6 with six RBI in that one. Yonamine is currently sixth in the league with a .388 batting average. Boise continues its 12-game road swing with a six-game set beginning Tuesday night in Kalispell, MT, against the Glacier Range Riders.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by POOL SCOUTS…perfect pools, scout’s honor!
July 22, 1979: Having shot a 67 two days earlier at the Quad Cities Open, 67-year-old Sam Snead does one better and fires a 66 in the final round to become the first player on the PGA Tour ever to finish a round with a score lower than his age. Wearing his familiar straw hat and using his trademark “croquet” putting style, Snead stole the show from eventual winner D.A. Weibring and runner-up Calvin Peete. The only other golfer to shoot his age on the tour was 71-year-old Arnold Palmer, who carded a 71 in the fourth round of the 2001 Bob Hope Desert Classic.
(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.)
