BOISE, Idaho — Wednesday Weekly…October 9, 2024.
Considering that Boise State’s Jonah Dalmas hit at least 23 field goals in each of the last three seasons, it seemed like a layup that he would get another 18 this year to break college football’s career record. But the Broncos offense has thrown Dalmas a curve. It keeps scoring touchdowns. Dalmas just broke the all-time Mountain West record and now has 85 field goals. But he’s only kicked five field goals this season (on six attempts). So he’s still 13 away from breaking the record of 97 held by Christopher Dunn of North Carolina State. Boise State has a max of nine games to go. It’s going to be nip-and-tuck. On the other hand, Dalmas is booting a lot of extra points for the nation’s top-scoring team—32 of them so far. That helped him become the Broncos’ career scoring leader last Saturday with 451 points.
Another Dalmas goal is to connect from 60 yards, but that would require a fourth down situation—along with the right game situation—from the 43-yard line on out. Boise State doesn’t stall there very often. Dalmas’ longest is a 56-yarder that tied the Broncos record against UCF last year. He also has his eyes on college football’s career scoring record (at least we do), 547 points set last season by Alabama’s Will Reichard. Dalmas needs to average 11 points per game to break that mark. He is kicking a lot of extra points this year. The math could work out.
NON-STOP JEANTY TALK
National media talked a lot about Boise State’s Kellen Moore way back when, especially in 2010 when he ended up fourth in Heisman Trophy voting. But it was nothing like what Ashton Jeanty is getting now. There’s something new every day. Yesterday it was all about Jeanty taking over the lead spot in Heisman odds, now 2-to-1 according to BetMGM. Colorado’s Travis Hunter is second at 3-to-1. And, for third time this season, Jeanty has been named Doak Walker Award Player of the Week. The actual award at the end of the season goes to the nation’s best running back, and there’s this little nugget: Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II earned the weekly honor three times last year before winning the Doak Walker Award. Jeanty has matched that total in five weeks. This is a once-in-a-lifetime run by a Bronco.
NUMBERS YOU ALREADY KNOW
Could the game have started any more perfectly for Boise State last Saturday? Jeanty was the main attraction for the 37,000-plus in Albertsons Stadium, and on the first offensive snap, he peeled off a 63-yard touchdown run. Utah State naturally focused on Jeanty and swarmed him, and had some success. But with Jeanty, you always know it’s just a matter of time. After the Aggies had pulled to within 14-10 early in the second quarter, he answered with another one-play drive, adding to his highlight reel with a 75-yard TD dash. On the Broncos’ next possession, Jeanty went over 1,000 yards for the season—in the first half of Game 5. At halftime, Jeanty had 186 yards and three touchdowns on just 13 carries, and his night was over. His nation’s-leading total is 1,031 yards now, 260 more than any other running back.
A WIDEOUT BREAKOUT?
If there was an award for Boise State’s “Most Improved Position Group of the Week,” it would go to the wide receivers. Cam Camper was already the leader of that unit, and he had another five catches for 59 yards and a touchdown. But the rest of the guys needed a good night. Chase Penry, maybe the Broncos’ most sure-handed wideout and a good third-down target, had four receptions for 74 yards. Prince Strachan, who’s had a lot of close calls on deep balls this season, was a mid-range success with four grabs for 58. And Austin Bolt had more than one catch for the first time this year—four for 24 yards. And for the first time in his career, Bolt had a multi-touchdown game. Finally, we thought Latrell Caples was unlikely to play against Utah State, but he made a cameo with one catch for 14 yards. There’s hope.
MADSEN FORGES AHEAD
Comeback Player of the Week: Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen. Five games into the season, there shouldn’t be any question as to why he’s the Broncos starter. Madsen was 21-of-25 yards for 256 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Utah State. Bottom line: Madsen was on-target and, most importantly, on-time. He was decent but a little off-kilter the previous week in the victory over Washington State. Versus the Aggies, he was more than just a game manager. He took USU’s focus on Jeanty and ran with it. Madsen’s pass efficiency rating took a hit after his 17-for-40 night at Oregon. Now he leads the Mountain West in that category at 150.15 (which is good).
ONE INTERCEPTION
That header is all you need to know about this paragraph. It is just bizarre that Boise State, despite its No. 17 AP ranking, has just one interception in five games. The Broncos aren’t even halfway through the season yet, so there’s still plenty of time for things to fall into place. Take A’Marion McCoy, for example. McCoy gained steamed as the season progressed last year and ended up with three picks to lead the team. So we know he has it in him. And Jeremiah Earby, the transfer from Cal who was intercepting throws left and right in spring football, has done none of that with the popcorn poppin’. Boise State faces another chucker this Saturday night at Hawaii, as Brandon Schager comes in as the third-leading passer in the Mountain West at 265.6 yards per game.
THIS REALLY IS DEGENHART’S SENIOR YEAR
Preseason practice is underway for Boise State basketball, and I can confirm that Tyson Degenhart, going into his senior year, is not going to petition the NCAA for two extra years of eligibility so he can face Gonzaga in early 2027. As if he would. But Degenhart thinks it’s incredible that the Zags are joining the PAC-12. “I think it’s really cool that the team I grew up watching and the team I play for will be in the same conference,” the Spokane native told me. Degenhart plans to be pretty close to the future rivalry. “I can’t wait to go to a Boise State game in the Kennel.” He’ll be wearing blue and orange, by the way. In other news, B.J. Rains of Bronco Nation News reported Friday that forward Emmanuel Ugbo had his waiver approved by the NCAA. Ugbo's immediately eligible to play. And he’s been getting great reviews.
VANDALS ON PRIME TIME TV
Idaho’s preparing for a rare national showcase Saturday night, as the Vandals take on Montana State in Bozeman on ESPN2. This will be Idaho’s fifth game in a row against a ranked FCS opponent, as the Bobcats are No. 3 in the nation, and the Vandals are No. 7. Idaho will need its defense against a potent MSU attack, and that’s what got it done last Saturday in the Kibbie Dome. The Vandals held the Lumberjacks to 314 total yards and came up with two important interceptions. Idaho, meanwhile, tallied just 313 yards as quarterbacks Jack Wagner and Nick Josifek attempted only 13 passes.
C OF I SHINES ON THE ROAD
College of Idaho is coming off a road explosion as the Coyotes return home Saturday against Arizona Christian. With quarterback Andy Peters throwing for 338 yards and four touchdowns, the Yotes rolled up 612 yards in a 49-31 win over Rocky Mountain College in Billings. C of I, which went into the game ranked No. 14 in the NAIA, improved to 4-2. One fellow Frontier Conference school, Southern Oregon (No. 7) was still ranked ahead of the Yotes. And don’t look now, but Idaho State is 3-3 after a thrilling 41-38 win at Cal Poly. The Bengals look to go over .500 for the first time since 2018 when they host Portland State Saturday in Holt Arena.
STEELIES SEASON IS OH-SO-CLOSE
The Idaho Steelheads opened training camp on Monday, and one name we’ll want to watch is newly-signed forward Hank Crone, who spent the past two years with the Allen Americans. Crone has a portfolio, as in, ECHL Most Valuable Player two seasons ago. As usual, though, the Steelies have lots of returnees, including A.J. White, going into his seventh season with Idaho and his sixth as the team’s captain. Things will happen quickly—the Steelies will again play two exhibition games against the Utah Grizzlies. The first one will be Saturday night in Boise, and the other will be Sunday in West Valley City.
MERRITT HOPES FOR THE BEST
Troy Merritt needs a good result this week as he plays the Black Desert Championship in Ivins, UT, just north of St. George. Merritt, set to be inducted into the Boise State Athletic Hall of Fame in less than four weeks, is No. 148 in the FedExCup fall standings and needs to get to No. 125 to earn his 2025 PGA Tour card. He’s missed the cut in his last five starts. This will, incidentally, be the first PGA Tour event in Utah in 60 years.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS…October 9, 2019, five years ago today:
The St. Louis Cardinals put together the highest-scoring first inning in MLB playoffs history, plating 10 runs in a National League Division Series matchup with Atlanta. The explosion was keyed by a trio of two-run doubles, and was helped by a potential double-play ground ball that was booted. It ended with one final run on a wild-pitch strikeout. The Cards went on to rout the Braves 13-1 to advance to the NLCS against the Washington Nationals (and it would be the Nationals who would win the World Series).
(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.
