BOISE, Idaho — Wednesday Weekly…October 16, 2024.
There are some not-so-pretty Boise State defensive stats out there (the one interception this season is tied for last in the country). But the Broncos have been able to counter that by leading the nation in sacks with 29. Projected over 13 games that’s 62 sacks—and it’s 67 over 14 games. Boise State’s record as an FBS school is 49 in 2010 by what is considered to be the best team in school history, including four future NFL players on the defensive line. You can’t expect the Broncos to keep averaging 4.8 sacks per game, but it’s remarkable any way you look at it. Ahmed Hassanein has 6.5, Jayden Virgin-Morgan five and Braxton Fely four. Even safety Seyi Oladipo has three sacks after notching a pair at Hawaii. There have been some problems on the back end, but it helps a ton if the ball never gets there.
WHEN THE REF REFERRED TO A ‘BEHIND’
One phrase from last Saturday night’s Boise State-Hawaii game that we’ll long remember: “The runner’s behind was on the ground.” That’s what negated Ashton Jeanty’s fourth quarter fumble that could have turned things around for the Rainbow Warriors. Instead, the Broncos buckled down and nailed their fifth win of the season and fourth in a row—and climbed to No. 15 in the AP Poll. All night, the perception was that the Boise State pass defense was getting torched—then the smoke cleared. Hawaii totaled only seven points and 279 yards of total offense. The Rainbow Warriors were just 5-of-14 on third down, and the Broncos sacked quarterback Brayden Schager eight times.
JEANTY AND MORE JEANTY
When a good defensive night against Jeanty consists of holding him to 217 yards rushing and seven yards per carry, and one touchdown on the ground and one through the air, you know you have a pretty special player. Hawaii did a good job on Jeanty, as its highly-touted run defense promised. But in the end, Jeanty made the difference in upping the Broncos record to 5-1. On the decisive 91-yard drive that bridged the third and fourth quarters, Jeanty rushed for 62 yards, including runs of 13 and 27 yards. He then caught his first TD pass of the year. After he got his behind on the ground. And another Boise State record falls: Jeanty’s fifth career 200-yard game broke the mark of four he had shared for two weeks with Cedric Minter, who did it from 1977-80.
Jeanty is still the current odds-on favorite (1.5-to-1) to win the Heisman Trophy. Colorado two-way superstar Travis Hunter remains a consensus second, although an apparent shoulder injury he suffered in the loss to Kansas State last Saturday bears monitoring. Former 49ers and Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson, the analyst for Peacock at the Boise State-Oregon game, had Seattle icon Marshawn Lynch on his podcast over the weekend. Lynch went “Beast Mode” while talking about Jeanty. When Robinson marveled at Jeanty’s speed against the Ducks and said he can’t wait to see Jeanty’s 40-yard dash time, Marshawn countered with, “The 40 ain’t all that. That game speed (is) different.” Jeanty now has nine carries of 50-plus yards this season. Nobody else in the FBS has more than three.
IS KOETTER HAVING FUN YET?
When you have Dirk Koetter upstairs dialing up plays, well, there’s a lot on tape for Boise State opponents to worry about. Like, on fourth down go-for-its, what will Koetter do other than give the ball to Jeanty? There were three such situations at Hawaii, and Koetter crossed up the Rainbow Warriors each time. Maddux Madsen converted with a four-yard pass to Matt Lauter, a six-yard throw to Prince Strachan, and finally a 44-yard game-clinching touchdown to Austin Bolt. Much like Koetter ambushed Washington State with a fourth down TD pass from Madsen to Lauter when the Cougars defense was all boxed up to stop Jeanty. Is Koetter having fun? I think he is, although it’s sometimes hard to tell from his Monday press conferences. But with a generational player like Jeanty opening up his toolbox, how can he not be?
RAMS INJURY REVERBORATES IN THE MW
It’s sad when the Mountain West loses one of its best players, no matter what team he plays for. Colorado State wide receiver Tory Horton injured his knee in the Rams’ win over San Jose State last Saturday, and it was announced Monday night that the senior star’s college career is over, with season-ending surgery coming up. Assuming Horton, the younger brother of former Boise State cornerback Tyler Horton, fully recovers from this, he is an NFL lock. He began his career at Nevada and was part of the wholesale exodus of players who followed coach Jay Norvell from Reno to Fort Collins. Horton amassed 3,615 receiving yards at Nevada and CSU and ends up 14 yards short of the Mountain West’s all-time record held by former Rams star Rashard Higgins. Horton is worth rooting for at the next level.
PAC-12 POSSIBILITY DRIES UP
Hawaii has accepted an invitation to become a member of the Mountain West in all sports, not just football (the other UH sports have been competing in the Big West). There goes one of my hypotheses on the Pac-12. I would not have had a problem with the Rainbow Warriors being a football-only of the Pac-12, filling that eighth football slot. I mean, what options are left if the conference can’t reignite talks with Memphis and/or Tulane? I know Sacramento State is assembling a war chest of cash in its push to join the Pac-12. It may be a big market, but the Hornets have no traction in it. It would take years for Sac State to develop any value in TV rights race.
VANDALS CIRCLE THE WAGONS
After a colossal punch in the mouth in the form of a nationally-telecast 38-7 loss at Montana State, Idaho tries to right the ship Saturday against Cal Poly in the Kibbie Dome. It’s likely that the Vandals will, as the Mustangs are 2-4 coming off a 56-10 loss at UC Davis. But Idaho’s Big Sky title hopes were dealt a devastating blow by the Bobcats, who rushed for 192 yards in the first half last week, more than the Vandals had given up in an entire game this season. MSU and UC Davis are tied atop the conference standings at 3-0, and both already hold the tiebreaker over Idaho.
PETERS PROPELS YOTES
The College of Idaho defense is stabilizing, and the Coyotes offense is rockin’ it going into Saturday’s game at Montana State Northern. On the offensive side, there’s nobody hotter than quarterback Andy Peters. In the Yotes’ 52-27 win over Arizona Christian last Saturday in Simplot Stadium, Peters threw for 355 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. The senior out of Timberline High now holds C of I career records with 6,995 passing yards, 61 touchdowns and 520 completions. His single-game marks include 420 passing yards, 510 yards of total offense and 32 completions.
THE BRONCOS’ PRESEASON PROPS
During Boise State’s football bye week, let’s give hoops its due. No one I know follows college basketball’s KenPom computer ratings more closely than B.J. Rains of Bronco Nation News. Boise State opens at No. 45 in the first KenPom of the preseason, and B.J. points out that the Broncos’ NCAA Tournament teams the past three years—in order of most recent—began at Nos. 62, 85 and 80. It's the highest preseason ranking for Boise State in over a decade, as the Broncos were No. 42 to start the 2013-14 season when they went on to their first regular-season Mountain West championship. Meanwhile, Boise State received nine points in the Preseason AP Poll. San Diego State garnered two.
STEELIES HIT THE ICE FOR REAL
As the weather turns this week, the page turns to hockey season in Boise. The Idaho Steelheads open their 27th season Friday night in Idaho Central Arena against the Utah Grizzlies. And just in time, the Steelheads have received three players contracted to the NHL’s Dallas Stars by way of Texas of the AHL. One of them could play a key role out of the gate: goaltender Ben Kraws. Last season at St. Lawrence University, Kraws was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s best player. Also added to the Steelies roster: Boise native C.J. Walker, who made the team via a training camp tryout. Walker grew up playing for the Junior Steelheads and was a member of the 2012 14U Tier II National Championship team with former Steelhead Zach Walker.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS…October 16, 1962:
Second baseman Bobby Richardson catches Willie McCovey’s wicked line drive with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the winning runs in scoring position, as the New York Yankees hold on to beat the San Francisco Giants in the seventh game of the World Series, 1-0. I was in a sixth grade classroom in the Bay Area, where everything had shut down to watch or listen to the drama. That day, there was indeed crying in baseball. It would be 27 years before the Giants returned to the World Series—and 48 years until they would win one.
(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.)
