BOISE, Idaho β After leading the Boise State football team to a championship game and perfect 8-0 record in conference play, Andy Avalos was named Mountain West Coach of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday.
Avalos is the first Bronco to win conference coach of the year honors since Chris Petersen did so in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 2008 and 2009.
After a 7-5 season in his first campaign at the helm in the City of Trees, Avalos led the way as the Broncos secured a 9-3 regular season in 2022. Boise State is one of six FBS teams with an undefeated conference record.
Avalos, a former all-conference linebacker in the blue and orange, also stayed the course as Boise State started the season 2-2 with a brutal loss at UTEP at the end of September.
The Broncos' leader made the difficult decision to make a change at offensive coordinator one day later and kept the ship moving as his squad entered Mountain West competition. Since the loss in El Paso, Boise State is 7-1 and currently rides a three-game winning streak.
Boise State's second-year coach is undoubtedly a defensive-minded leader. Defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson served as the Broncos' STUD coach under Avalos as defensive coordinator before Avalos accepted the same position at Oregon.
Fast forward four years, and Danielson and Avalos have become two of the best defensive coaches in the Mountain West.
The Broncos currently rank in top 10 in the FBS in three of the four major defensive categories; total defense (No. 7), pass defense (No. 3) and scoring defense (No. 9). Boise State also ranks No. 32 in rushing defense.
Back on Nov. 15, Danielson was named a nominee for the 2022 Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top FBS assistant coach.
Boise State hosts Fresno State in the Mountain West Championship at Albertsons Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 3. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. MT on Fox.
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