BOISE, Idaho — The Boise State University Broncos football team is in full game-week mode ahead of the Saturday, September 3, season opener at Oregon State.
"We have a huge challenge in this first week with the opponent and traveling and going on the road," said Boise State Head Coach Andy Avalos as he opened a news conference Monday afternoon. "Coach (Jonathan) Smith has done an unbelievable job building that program; the growth over the years and what he's been able to do there, so we have a huge challenge on our hands."
Avalos, Defensive Coordinator Spencer Danielson and Offensive Coordinator Tim Plough were scheduled to speak in the news conference, which began at 1 p.m. Monday. KTVB is livestreaming it on KTVB.COM, the KTVB mobile app and the KTVB YouTube channel.
The Broncos wrapped up fall camp August 22 as the new semester began and are now five days away from the opening game of the 2022 season. They're looking to improve on a 2021 season in which Boise State finished with a 7-5 regular-season record and a bid to the Arizona Bowl, a game that was canceled because of COVID-19 cases within the program.
"We've put in a tremendous amount of work over the course of the year and through fall camp, and been able to make a ton of strides in different areas that we've pinpointed all the way from the beginning of the year. We have one week of prep left to go here, and we're excited to put that work in and get ourselves ready," Avalos said.
Boise State on Monday released its first depth chart of the season. Redshirt freshman Taylen Green is slotted as the number-two quarterback for Saturday, backing up senior starter Hank Bachmeier. At running back, redshirt junior George Holani and freshman Ashton Jeanty are one-two, respectively. Jeanty is the only true freshman listed on the two-deep for offense or defense, KTVB's Jay Tust reports. Punter James Ferguson-Reynolds is also a freshman.
Other takeaways from the depth chart: Caleb Biggers and Markel Reed are set to start at cornerback. Rodney Robinson is starting at free safety; Seyi Oladipo is slotted second at that position.
The starting five on offensive line are a very experienced bunch. As expected, they are, from left to right, John Ojukwu (LT), Garrett Curran (LG), Kekaniokoa Holomalia-Gonzalez (C), Ben Dooley (RG) and Washington State transfer Cade Beresford (RT). Dooley is a redshirt junior. The other four starters on o-line are redshirt seniors or, in the case of Ojukwu, on the Broncos' roster for a sixth season.
Saturday's game at Oregon State is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. MT. It will be televised on ESPN. It's expected to be a close game; the ESPN Pick Center last week listed the Broncos as a 3-point underdog -- nearly even considering the Beavers have the home-field advantage.
Like Boise State, Oregon State finished with the 2021 season with seven wins; it was the first winning season for the Beavers since 2013.
The game against the Beavers of the PAC-12 will be Boise State's only regular-season contest against a Power-5 foe this year. BYU (at Boise State on November 5) is set to join the Big 12 in 2023, but remains independent for the 2022 season.
"It's who we're playing and it's how they're coached; it's the personnel -- that's where the huge challenge lies," Avalos said of Oregon State. "They've done a good job recruiting on both sides of the ball, and they've got some really good coaches over there that have been very consistent over the course of the years, and from the offensive standpoint, it's been one of the most productive offenses in college football with the run schemes and the pass game that comes off of the run schemes, and then obviously the multiple formations and personnel that we'll get, we'll have our hands full... On the defensive side of the ball for them, Trent Bray is coming in. He finished last year as a defensive coordinator, so we have a bit of a preview as to what they want to do on defense, but I'm sure there's plenty of stuff that they've worked on in the offseason that we have not seen."
The Broncos' first two games are on the road. After Oregon State, they'll head to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for a Friday-night game against a Mountain West foe, the New Mexico Lobos, on September 9. Boise State's first home game is set for 2 p.m. September 17 against Tennessee-Martin.
KTVB sports director Jay Tust is at Monday's news conference. Updates from his Twitter feed are below:
This story will be updated during and after Monday afternoon's Boise State coaches news conference.
Watch more on Boise State Football:
See all of our Boise State football coverage in our YouTube playlist: