BOISE, Idaho — Wednesday Weekly: December 7, 2022.
What’s the Scott Slant without a little history going into the Frisco Bowl next week? The Boise State-North Texas series is even at three wins apiece, but the teams haven’t played in 22 years. There are some interesting backstories, though. In reverse order, the last meeting was in 2000, with the Broncos obliterating the Mean Green 59-0 on the blue turf. The home team was motivated — it had lost in Denton, Texas, the previous season in ugly fashion 17-10. It was the prelude to a seminal moment in Boise State football. After that game, coach Dirk Koetter took the shackles off Bart Hendricks and the Broncos offense. The following week, Boise State stunned Nevada in a 52-17 rout, and you could say that’s when Boise State’s golden era began. The Broncos went on to their first of 17 10-win seasons as an FBS school.
Shuttle back to 1998, Dirk Koetter’s first season as coach, with the Broncos still trying to find their way. North Texas, leading 14-13, was deep in Boise State territory and running out the clock. Boise State’s only chance was to let the Mean Green score, so Koetter did. The Broncos lost 21-13. Boise State and North Texas split during their first two years in the Big West in 1996-97. The first meeting was in the 1994 Division I-AA Playoffs on the blue turf, with the Broncos rallying past the Mean Green 24-20. Key play: a fourth-quarter interception by Boise State’s one-armed cornerback, DaWuan Miller.
BRONCOS FRESHMEN REPRESENT
Three Boise State Broncos were named Tuesday to the College Football News Freshman All-America second team: quarterback Taylen Green, offensive guard Mason Randolph and punter James Ferguson-Reynolds. In the case of Green, inquiring minds want to know: who was the first-team All-Freshman QB? It was Drake Maye of North Carolina, who passed for over 4,000 yards with 35 touchdowns against seven interceptions. End of story. And why didn’t Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty make the list? He just didn’t have enough carries this season. Jeanty has had a great year: 126 carries, 632 yards, six touchdowns, five yards per carry. The four guys named to the two Freshman All-America teams ahead of him all saw a lot more action and put up big numbers.
LOOKING BACK ON GREEN’S FIRST OFF-DAY
You could tell from the get-go that Green was off last Saturday in the Mountain West championship game. Green did nail a 22-yard completion to Riley Smith on Boise State’s first drive of the day, but his other two throws weren’t close. During his fairytale run since debuting as starter the last day of September, he’s had some slow starts, but he was always able to crank it up. It didn’t go that way in the 28-16 loss to Fresno State. Green was just 17-of-38 for the game, and until his 52-yard touchdown pass to Davis Koetter late in the fourth quarter, he had thrown for just 123 yards. Every quarterback has on off-day, and Green was going to have one sooner or later. It’s unfortunate that it was on a big stage. Fortunately, he has a shot at redemption in the DFW Metroplex in two weeks.
IT DIDN’T FOLLOW THE SCRIPT
Boise State loses by 12 points to Fresno State in the Mountain West championship game. We knew that could happen, but it was supposed to be Bulldogs quarterback Jay Haener slicing and dicing the Broncos, camping out in the pocket against an injury-depleted defensive line and doing whatever he wanted. That’s not what happened. The Boise State defense did everything you could ask of it Saturday, holding Haener under 200 yards passing and sacking him three times. It was the other facets of the Broncos’ game that spelled doom: special-teams letdowns and a redshirt freshman-type game from their star quarterback. The defense was dictating in the second quarter, but game completely turned inside out on the Bulldogs’ 70-yard punt return touchdown and the interception three plays later on Boise State 17-yard line.
THEY’RE GOING IN – HOPE THEY COME OUT
Love it or hate it — and most people hate it — it’s transfer portal season. Boise State has already been affected. In addition to the departures earlier this season of quarterback Hank Bachmeier and edge Isaiah Bagnah, it’s now goodbye (as of this writing) to tight end Tyneil Hopper, edge Deven Wright and kicker-punter Will Ferrin. It’s tough to lose Hopper, a classic tight end with size, blocking ability and good hands. But there’s only one ball to go around, and tight ends don’t see it that much at Boise State. In three seasons, Hopper had 22 catches for 259 yards and three touchdowns. With the edge spot thinned by injuries and attrition, it sure seemed like Wright was going to be able to compete for a starting spot next year, but he’ll try to do that elsewhere now. Meanwhile, what will the Broncos find inside the portal?
SUPPORT IN THE STANDS WHEN IT COUNTS
The elephant in the room: Saturday’s attendance for the Mountain West title game. It was announced at 24,037, a third below capacity at Albertsons Stadium. For a fan base that fancies itself as Power 5, this was a setback. There was a lot more hype for this one, coming off an 8-0 conference season and with a rival coming to the Blue. And it was an afternoon game. But too many figured they’d let other people take care of the ticket-buying. I don’t know what can be done about it. Every time I think about this I remember the famous words of coach Dirk Koetter in November of 2000. “If we’re going to say Boise’s a football town, then let’s be a football town. If we’re not going to be a football town, let’s quit sayin’ we are.” Athletic director Jeramiah Dickey is relentlessly positive, but he has to be bummed.
FIRST-TIMERS WITH GOOD PORTFOLIOS
There aren’t many Mountain West and MAC schools that still haven’t played in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, but we’ll be checking two more off the list December 20 when San Jose State and Eastern Michigan tangle in Albertsons Stadium. When various college football scribes reveal their rankings of the bowls this year, I’d be surprised if this is too far down the list. The Spartans are 7-4, and we knew in September they were good. SJSU lost only 24-16 at Auburn — then routed Western Michigan at home and Wyoming on the road. The 8-4 Eagles of Eastern come in with momentum, having won three straight games. Their big feather this year: a 30-21 upset of Arizona State in Tempe that helped get Herm Edwards fired.
BRONCOS CRUISE, EVENTUALLY
Coming off a quality win over an SEC team, it took a while for Boise State to wake up Tuesday night. Almost nine minutes into the game, the Broncos and Eastern Oregon were tied at 15-15 at ExtraMile Arena. But Boise State outscored the Mountaineers 30-10 the rest of the half, and after the break it was a blowout. The lead got up to 40 points before the Broncos finished with a 90-54 victory. The main takeaways: prized recruit Sada Nganga showed he can score, putting up 13 points while pulling down six rebounds. Detroit Mercy transfer Mo Sylla did, too, scoring 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting. Tyson Degenhart led Boise State with 19 points and did not miss from the field, either, including a trio of three-pointers.
Boise State’s Max Rice has been pretty good in his first season as a starter, evidenced by his Mountain West Player of the Week award Monday. Rice scored a career-high 25 points in the Broncos’ 86-71 win over Texas A&M last Saturday night, going 8-for-12 from the field and making a dagger of a three with just over three minutes left. The Broncos made 29-of-36 free throws, and Rice went 6-for-6. Many wondered how Rice would transition to Division I hoops after a stellar career at Bishop Kelly. His role has increased and his skills have improved every season, and now he’s playing 33 minutes per game.
CANYON COUNTY RIVALRY, PART II
After being swept by Northwest Nazarene in the United Heritage Mayors Cup last year, College of Idaho returned the favor this season, winning 60-47 in Game 2 before a packed house Tuesday night in Caldwell. While C of I’s Samaje Morgan was leading all scorers with 17 points, the Yotes were clamping down on defense, holding the Nighthawks to 34 percent shooting from the field. Jake O’Neil, the one-time Boise State golfer from Fruitland, added 10 for the Coyotes, while Gabriel Murphy led NNU with 13. It was the lowest combined score in Idaho’s oldest college basketball rivalry in 63 years.
STEELIES GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO WORCESTER
The Idaho Steelheads make a rare cross-country trip this week, as they open a three-game series against Worcester tonight in Massachusetts. The Steelheads’ seven-game winning streak is over after last Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Utah, but Idaho still sits atop the ECHL Mountain Division with a 14-3-1 record and a healthy five-point lead. Take note, though: the Railers are even hotter, as they’re off to a 16-3-1 start. The Steelies will be without goalie Jake Kupsky, as he has signed with the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL. Kupsky deserves the look, as he is the reigning ECHL Goaltender of the Month for November after posting a 5-1-0 record with two shutouts, a 1.34 goals-against average and a save percentage of .948. Those are good numbers.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS…Dec. 7, 1996:
In the first-ever WAC championship game, BYU defeats Wyoming 28-25 in overtime in Las Vegas. The Cougars, led by quarterback Steve Sarkisian, would go on to beat Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl, finishing the season 14-1 and ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll. The WAC title game was established when the league expanded to 16 teams in 1996. But it would last only three years, abandoned following the 1998 season after eight mutineers had broken away and formed the new Mountain West Conference.
(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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