BOISE, Idaho — Wednesday Weekly: August 23, 2023:
What are we really thinking about Boise State’s chances of upsetting Washington a week from Saturday at Husky Stadium? First, with the kind of offense both teams are going to throw out there, and with the Broncos answering some questions on defense, there should be a lot of points scored. Boise State can do its part with a balanced attack, meaning George Holani and Ashton Jeanty will have to be effective in the running game. And that begins with the offensive line. The group, anchored by senior Cade Beresford, is fairly brimming with optimism. Beresford is slated to be pass-protecting at right tackle instead of left, where we thought he’d be with the graduation of John Ojukwu. But maybe right tackle is where the Broncos most need a road-grader to get Holani and Jeanty to the second level in Seattle.
The optimism over the Boise State O-line this season stems from the fact that the tide turned last year for the often-maligned group. You can see it in pass protection. The Broncos yielded 27 sacks in 2021, and that number dropped to just 14 in 2022. Now, the projected starting five of Beresford and Kage Casey at the tackles, Ben Dooley and Garrett Curran at the guards and Mason Randolph at center could be the best since—dare I say—the Kellen Moore era. They’ll have to go a long way to touch what Kellen’s compadres did, though. Here are some sack stats that will blow you away. In four years with Moore as the starting quarterback, Boise State allowed just 34 total sacks, including only five in 2009. In the four years after Kellen left, the total was 109.
ANOTHER RELIABLE LINEBACKER
With all the hype that comes with a new recruiting class, sometimes past recruits get lost. Heck, D.J. Schramm was off the radar for four years. Fellow linebacker Marco Notarainni from the 2021 class is certainly worth watching this year. Notarainni, the redshirt sophomore from San Diego, is having a solid fall camp. At last Saturday’s second scrimmage, coach Andy Avalos said he had a “big time” interception and praised his ability to bounce back from the torn ACL in Game 2 last year that ended his season. Notarainni provides that “dependable depth” Avalos likes so much.
THERE ARE SOME BULLISH ON THE BRONCOS
Chris Vannini of The Athletic has spent a lot of time covering the Group of 5 the past several years and has a good handle of that level. In his preseason rankings of all 133 FBS teams, Vannini has Boise State at No. 26, zeroing on in the Taylen Green factor. San Diego State is the second-highest Mountain West team at No. 56. Other nuggets of note: UCF, the formidable opponent in the Broncos’ home opener September 9, is No. 42. Tulane and UTSA are the top-ranked Group of 5 teams at Nos. 23 and 24. Tulane is interesting. The Green Wave have to prove they aren’t a one-hit wonder. They keep getting mentioned in a proposed rebuild of the Pac-12. Tulane was 12-2 last year and beat USC in the Cotton Bowl. But that was the first time the Green Wave have been more than one game over .500 in 20 years.
THE TRANSFER TALKS IN SEATTLE
With the Boise State-Washington countdown at 10 days, we’re getting to know the Huskies, and among them is UW’s most coveted player from the transfer portal, running back Dillon Johnson from Mississippi State. And Johnson’s key now with projected starter Cam Davis now injured and out for the season. Huskies running backs coach Lee Marks, the former Bronco, told Mike Vorel of the Seattle Times he got a hold of Johnson about 20 or 30 minutes after he entered the portal. Johnson had 1,198 rushing yards, 5.2 yards per carry, 149 catches, 864 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns at MSU. Now that he’s a Husky, he says, “I feel like we have the best offense in the country.” And he’s ready to provide the run-pass balance that will allow Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to thrive.
BRONCO TIES BY WAY OF FRESNO
Washington coach Kalen DeBoer’s staff is dotted by Boise State ties. When Chris Petersen went to Seattle in 2014, he did take a lot of Boise State staffers with him. There are four former Broncos on the UW staff now, but only one of them is a Coach Pete guy: offensive line coach Scott Huff. The other three all came with DeBoer from Fresno State. Running backs coach Lee Marks had joined the Bulldogs after being passed over for Boise State’s offensive coordinator’s job three years ago. Julius “Juice” Brown parted ways with the Broncos program in 2016 and made a couple stops before joining DeBoer at Fresno State. And grad assistant Tyson Maeva was dismissed at Boise State in 2018 and finished his career with the Bulldogs.
HOLE IN THE HUSKIES ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
Washington athletic director Jen Cohen stunned Husky Nation Monday by turning up at a USC press conference. Yes, Cohen is taking over the Trojans program. The natural inclination is to think UW will come after Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey. The always dialed-in Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News floats seven potential candidates, but one of them is not the Broncos’ Jeramiah Dickey. Wilner does, however, include Fresno State’s Terry Tumey and San Diego State’s John David Wicker. Some suggest he Huskies should go after Washington State AD Pat Chun, now that the rivals aren’t going to be in the same conference anymore.
Cohen has been the AD at Washington since 2016 and was there when the Huskies made it to the College Football Playoff that year under Chris Petersen. She didn’t hire Coach Pete (although she was on the staff then), but she did promote his replacement, Jimmy Lake. Cohen also fired Lake and hired Kalen DeBoer, so she’s 11-for-2 there. By the way, the Huskies have surely called Petersen, right? The former Boise State and UW coach would be a great fit there, but the AD’s job would not be a great fit for him.
‘SHOW ME THE MONEY’
One Pac-4 expansion nugget today. Adding Mountain West schools to resurrect the conference is problematic because of the $17 million exit fee ($34 mill if they want to join next year). But the remaining four refugees, Cal Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State, will control the NCAA Tournament money the departing schools earned through 2030. Wilner estimates that the total dollars, if they’re pooled, would be $44 million dollars. He suggests it could be available to “support the renovation.” Stanford and Cal hold the cards now. The Stanford/Cal thing has always perplexed me. In Boise State’s 55-year history as a four-year program, it has never played either school in football. In fact, the Broncos have never played the Bears in men’s hoops—and have faced the Cardinal only once.
TENSE TIMES TO TEE OFF AT HILLCREST
Here’s your thumbnail sketch of the 34th Albertsons Boise Open, which tees off Thursday morning at Hillcrest Country Club. The Boise Open is one of only four tournaments still existing from the original Ben Hogan Tour in 1990 (now the Korn Ferry Tour). This is the first stop in the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Finals, which is up to four events this year from three in previous seasons. The Boise Open doesn’t feature players Nos. 126-200 from the PGA Tour any longer. Instead, it’s a Korn Ferry field fighting for its golfing future. Only six players have clinched PGA Tour cards for next season. The top 30 players in season-long Korn Ferry points get their tour cards, so there are 24 to go during the Finals. There’ll be 156 players going at it at Hillcrest. This is going to pressure golf. (That’s an understatement.)
TIME RUNNING OUT FOR THE HAWKS
The good news: the Boise Hawks finished the first half of their Western Idaho road trip with a 14-1 pasting of the Missoula Paddleheads Sunday night, with pitchers Brayden Spears and Neil Boudreau scattering seven hits. The bad news: the Hawks had dropped the first five games of the set in Missoula. After last night’s 7-3 loss in the series opener against the Great Falls Voyagers, the Hawks remain in last place in the Pioneer League’s second half South Division standings at 11-20. They are still in the hunt for the playoffs, though, because of their overall season record. Simply put, Boise is six games out of a playoff spot with 15 to play.
THE BELL RINGS FOR THE YOTES
NAIA coaches are betting on an upward trajectory for College of Idaho. The Coyotes ended last season at No. 18, and they begin this season at No. 12 in the NAIA Preseason Coaches Poll. The Yotes, who finished 8-2 last season (one win short of a Frontier Conference title), play up in their season Saturday against Lincoln University, an NCAA Division II school from California. Timberline High grad Andy Peters enters his second season as C of I’s starting quarterback after transferring from Boise State. Peters threw for 1,638 yards and 11 touchdowns against 10 interceptions last season.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS…August 23, 2017:
For the first time in major league history, a no-hitter is broken up by a walk-off home run. And there was a former Boise Hawk at both ends of the story. Rich Hill of the L.A. Dodgers had taken the bid for his first no-hitter into the bottom of the 10th inning of a scoreless game in Pittsburgh after having a perfect game spoiled by an error in the ninth. The leadoff batter was Josh Harrison, who hit a homer into the first row of seats in left field, winning the game 1-0 for the Pirates in shocking fashion. Hill was the first pitcher in 22 years to take a no-hit bid into extra innings. He played in Boise in 2002 and 2003; Harrison was a Hawk in 2008.
(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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