BOISE, Idaho — Wednesday Weekly…November 20, 2024.
Somebody has to do the heavy lifting every time Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty carries the ball. That would be the offensive line (with an assist from the tight ends). The O-line has been scotch-taped together since center Mason Randolph was lost in Game 1 and left guard Roger Carreon right off the bat in Game 2. (Think about how well the Broncos ran the ball at Oregon after that happened, though.) Since then, Jason Steele and Zach Holmes have carried the flag at center, and at guard it’s been Tyler Kienath. Can the unit hold together for four more games—with each one getting more physical—starting Saturday at Wyoming? There were some grimaces when Kienath’s right leg was injured at San Jose State, so who will be the reinforcement? It has been floated out there that Carreon is close to returning.
LOOK WHO’S SEEDED FOURTH
The College Football Playoff rankings reveal Tuesday night placed a plum in Boise State’s lap. The Broncos landed at No. 12, up one spot from last week. But that was after we found out that Colorado was No. 16 and BYU No. 14, with no Big 12 team ranked higher than that. It’s the top four ranked conference champions that get first-round byes in the CFP, not automatically the four power conference champs. So there was Boise State, sitting on the four-seed line. If the season ended today (which it most certainly doesn’t), that would mean a bye, maybe into the Fiesta Bowl.
TRICK-FOT-TAT
Boise State’s 42-21 win at San Jose State last Saturday will not go down in the “Trick Play Hall of Fame.” Fortunately, the Spartans one-upped the Broncos on the botched trickery front. Kicker Jonah Dalmas’ career rushing stats at Boise State may forever be one carry for minus-2 yards after a failed fake field goal attempt. But SJSU then dialed up a pass to an offensive lineman instead of just settling for a chip-shot field goal and a 17-0 lead, and it was blown up. Then on a reverse to a wide receiver, the Spartans left the ball on the ground. To be fair, if any of those trick plays had worked, the coaches are geniuses. But they’re not being looked at that way today. Remember James Ferguson-Reynolds’ fake punt pass that covered 21 yards to Jayden Virgin-Morgan last November at Fresno State? It was great. But, if it hadn’t worked…
A BIG RECORD COMES INTO PLAY
Ashton Jeanty likely has four games left in his Boise State career: two regular-season, the Mountain West title game, and a bowl or CFP appearance. Tucked away in all the records Jeanty is chasing is the Broncos’ 44-year-old career rushing mark held by Cedric Minter. It is clearly in view now. This year the Boise State record book was changed to post Minter’s record as 4,550 yards instead of the 4,475 number that had been listed since 1980. Upon further review, it has been determined that 4,475 is correct. So here’s the deal. Jeanty went over the 4,000-yard mark in his career at San Jose State and is now sitting at 4,061. He is 414 yards short of Minter’s record, which seemed untouchable before the season. Jeanty needs to average just under 104 yards per game from here on out.
HUNTER SURGES IN HEISMAN RACE
Jeanty has been named a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award, and it would be a crime if he didn’t win that one. It goes to the nation’s best running back, after all. \But Jeanty’s not trending upward in the Heisman Trophy race. The Athletic’s Heisman Trophy Straw Poll has Colorado’s Travis Hunter as a solid No. 1. Jeanty is a solid No. 2, for what it’s worth. The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel observes: “Jeanty’s biggest hurdle isn’t his opponents. It’s that his team was playing San Jose State on CBS Sports Network, not Utah on Fox’s ‘Big Noon Saturday.’” This week it’s Wyoming—on CBS Sports Network.
MADSEN KEEPS MAKING HIS CASE
Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports puts out a weekly “Whoopsy Daisy Rate” for college football quarterbacks that measures fumbles and interceptions against snaps. The No. 1 QB in the country at taking care of the ball by this metric is Boise State’s Maddux Madsen—he turns the ball over on just 64 one-hundredths of his snaps. There have been just three interceptions and no fumbles. That tells you how impressively consistent Madsen has been this season. He may not be first-team All-Mountain West, as UNLV’s Hajj-Malik Williams seems ticketed for that honor. But as KTVB’s Jay Tust points out: of the 110 FBS QBs who have attempted at least 100 passes since October 1, Madsen is No. 13 with a pass efficiency rating of 161.0, even including the Nevada game. Did anyone think he wouldn’t bounce back from that?
SPECIAL SUNDAY IN EXTRAMILE
It took a while for Boise State to adjust to Clemson’s speed and its sticky man-to-man defense Sunday. But adjust the Broncos did, as they posted an 84-71 win over the first ACC team ever to face them in ExtraMile Arena. The Tigers scored the first seven points of the game and led 9-2 before Boise State settled down with a 10-0 run to take its first lead. Fast forward to the second half, and Tyson Degenhart gave the Broncos a lead they would not relinquish with 17:18 left in the game. The pull-away was gradual, but huge in this one was the fact that Boise State made its free throws, going 27-of-30 from the line. Andrew Meadow made all seven of his freebies, five of them in the final four minutes as he came of age with 18 points and nine rebounds on the day.
ELUSIVE HONOR FOR DEGENHART
Degenhart was named Mountain West Freshman of the Week nine times three years ago. But since then, nada. It’s hard to believe that Degenhart has never been the actual MW Player of the Week, but he is now after putting up a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double in the win over Clemson. Degenhart is the one Broncos coach Leon Rice does not take out, despite the team’s depth this year. In the second half against the Tigers, Degenhart subbed out at the 12:41 mark. He was back on the floor exactly 15 seconds later. He’ll need a little rest coming up, as Boise State plays three games in three days—albeit at an awesome site. The Broncos open the Cayman Islands Classic Sunday morning against Hampton.
A TROPHY FOR THE POTATO STATE
It’s playoff positioning time for Idaho as it wraps up the regular season Saturday with the Potato State Trophy game against Idaho State in Pocatello. The Vandals’ 31-24 win over Weber State last week bumped them to the eight victory-mark over Division I schools, a benchmark for the NCAA Playoff committee. Idaho’s three losses, all on the road, are to teams with a combined record of 31-2 on the year. The Vandals also closed out their regular home season with an undefeated record in the Kibbie Dome for the first time since 1996.
It’s an interesting time at ISU, though. Things were looking good after wins over Sacramento State and Weber State. But the Bengals took a historic walloping last week, 77-42 at Eastern Washington, and coach Cody Hawkins fired defensive coordinator Josh Runda. Idaho State has had some big moments this season—there would be none bigger than an upset of the Vandals on Saturday.
STEELIES TRY TO RIGHT THE SHIP IN RAPID CITY
It’s been a long time since the Idaho Steelheads have lost more games than they’ve won, but that’s the card they’ve been dealt. The good news: the season is only five weeks old. The Steelheads a 6-6-1 (with the “1” being an overtime loss). They were swept in Idaho Central Arena last week by Rapid City—last Saturday’s loss was especially frustrating, as the Steelies outshot the Rush 37-17 but were shut out 1-0. The Steelheads can try to atone for that as they now face Rapid City on the road Friday and Saturday.
MERRITT GETS SOME MOJO BACK
Coming off his induction to the Boise State Athletics Hall of Fame, Troy Merritt turned in his best performance of the PGA’s Fall Tour last week. Merritt tied for 12th at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, although it could have been much higher had it not been for a one-over 72 in the final round. He pocketed $136,965, but more importantly, he’s into the top 150 (146th) in the Fall FedExCup standings, which will give him conditional status on the PGA Tour next season if it holds.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS…November 20, 1999, 25 years ago today:
Boise State clinches its first Big West championship and first berth in a Division I-A bowl game with a 45-14 win over Idaho at Martin Stadium in Pullman. The Broncos broke the game open with a 21-point first quarter, including a 68-yard broken-play pass from Bart Hendricks to Gavin Reed. Linebacker Kareem Williams sealed it with a 44-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the third quarter. The victory launched Boise State’s 12-game winning streak over Idaho, currently on hold for the past 14 years.
(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.)
