BOISE, Idaho — This Day In Sports…October 10, 1970:
Boise State, just two years in to its status as a four-year program, was excited to be a new member of the NCAA and the Big Sky Conference, and the Broncos’ schedule changed dramatically in the transition. Because some previously-set schedules by Big Sky opponents couldn’t accommodate Boise State that year (including Idaho, Montana and Northern Arizona), the Broncos found an oddball conference game on their schedule about midway through the season.
A game at Long Beach State was designated a conference game, and it was a tough assignment. The Broncos fell 27-14 to the 49ers, who would end up the co-champion of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association, the forerunner of the Big West. Long Beach State was led by 28-year-old running back Leon Burns, an eventual first-round NFL Draft pick. Burns led the nation in rushing in 1969 with 1,659 yards while scoring 27 touchdowns. He was in the midst of a second 1,000-yard season when the Broncos had to deal with him.
Boise State officially finished 2-2 in Big Sky play in its debut season, with the other loss coming 41-7 at Weber State. But the two conference wins were big ones at the time. The week before the Long Beach trip, the Broncos upended Montana State 17-10 in Bozeman in their first-ever Big Sky contest. The final road trip of the season took them to Pocatello to try to win their third game in a row over the Bengals. In the first year of the Minidome (now Holt Arena), Boise State routed ISU 24-3. The Broncos finished the season 8-3 overall.
The page really turned for Boise State in 1971. The Broncos got to face Idaho for the first time and ambushed the Vandals 42-14. They also got their first shot at Montana and routed the perennial small-college power 47-24. Northern Arizona proved to be more pesky, but Boise State also won its debut against the Lumberjacks 22-17. The 1971 Broncos finished 10-2—the school’s first of 26 (so far) 10-win seasons—after taking the Camellia Bowl 32-28 over Chico State in Sacramento that December.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
