Pressure on the quarterback has been a point of emphasis for Boise State in recent weeks, and that certainly will be the case Saturday night at Fresno State. The Broncos logged a season-high six sacks against Utah State, with Lopez Sanusi, Madden Soliai, David Latu and Roman Caywood all getting their first of the season. That helped limit the explosives in the passing game against the much-scrutinized Boise State secondary. The Broncos don’t want Bulldogs quarterback Jayden Mandal to get comfortable this week. Mandal has been sacked seven times this season, but five of them were in the forgettable season opener at USC. He hasn’t gone deep much this season—outside of a rout of outmanned Sacramento State, his longest completion has been 38 yards.
ON THE OTHER SIDE, THERE’S MAD DOG
Maddux Madsen’s fifth-year excursion continued last Saturday with his best game yet, as he completed 81 percent of his throws for 244 yards and two touchdowns in Boise State’s 37-18 win over Utah State on the Blue. Highlights included beautiful touch on a 63-yard shot to Rasean Jones on the Broncos’ first drive, and perfect execution on Boise State’s second TD, looking off the defense to set up an 11-yard backside screen to tight end Matt Wagner. But what Madsen did with his legs stands out also, especially on that particular drive. On a fourth-and-one, he kept his feet and gained 23 yards—then scrambled for 11 on a third-and-seven. On the night, Madsen had six carries for 48 yards outside of the one sack he took. So far, it has all come together.
STILL A LONG TO-DO-LIST
The Boise State coaching staff recognizes as well as anybody that there’s plenty to work on despite the solid win over Utah State. The offense was treading water coming out of the locker room after halftime, gaining just 52 yards in the third quarter. The sledding will be a lot tougher this week at Fresno State, which sports the Pac-12’s best defense. And the Broncos defense? It was the return of the explosives. At halftime, the Aggies had exactly 200 yards of total offense, and 110 of it came on two plays: the runs of 64 and 46 yards by Javen Jacobs. There was also the 31-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter that could have made things interesting. And that’s your “glass half-empty” briefing for today.
IT WAS A BRIGHT, SUNNY, DARK AND STORMY DAY
If coach Spencer Danielson’s memories of last year’s game against Fresno State are any indication, he and Boise State are owning what happened on that beautiful November afternoon in Albertsons Stadium. The 30-7 Bulldogs victory was by far the low point of 2025 for the Broncos. They did, of course, rally to win the Mountain West championship, but that Fresno State game is a cloud. After Madsen was injured, Boise State didn’t appear ready for the eventuality when Max Cutforth came in. The Broncos were held to an unfathomable 191 yards of total offense on the Blue. The Bulldogs gained only 224 yards on the day. But that’s all they needed. To be clear, I don’t expect Boise State’s offense to face that same fate on Saturday night.
CAN THE RUN GAME REV UP?
Boise State’s Dylan Riley is currently the nation’s rushing leader, and that’s something to celebrate. But for Riley it’s all about the team this week and going 1-0 in the showdown. How did Riley do last year against Fresno State? About as well as the rest of the Broncos in the excruciating loss. Two weeks after nabbing his first 200-yard game on the Blue, Riley was held to 16 yards on six carries on that same field. Boise State’s run game was stifled—and it’s crucial that it gets established Saturday night in Fresno. And is Riley healthy? After being injured in the fourth quarter against Utah State? He did return, but still. Sire Gaines, meanwhile, has missed the past two games. Perish the thought if the keys to the car are left to Harry Stewart III and Juelz Goff.
HARBORING HOPE IN FRESNO
There’s Pac-12 championship talk in Fresno, thanks to the Fresno State defense and its dismantling of Washington State in a 26-6 win last Saturday night. The Bulldogs allowed just 182 yards, including 30 on the ground, logging five sacks, forcing two turnovers, and getting seven three-and-outs. That sounds eerily similar to the numbers on the Blue last November. The Broncos hope to avenge that loss Saturday night in Fresno. Not only that, but the losses in their last trip to the San Joaquin Valley in 2023—and in the Mountain West championship game in Boise in 2022. As bad as Fresno State looked in its 39-0 season-opening loss at USC, the Bulldogs defense has allowed only 10.8 per game since.
THE SURPRISE PAC-12 CONTENDER
With Pac-12 Week 1 in the books, Boise State and Fresno State are both 1-0 and headed for their pivotal tilt. But we’ve gotta talk about Oregon State, for cryin’ out loud, under Coach of the Year candidate Jamarcus Shepherd. The Beavers are also 1-0 and are just tearing it up on offense. In their 56-26 road rout of Colorado State, quarterback Braden Atkinson was 30-of-34 for 413 yards and five touchdowns. And the wide receiver revelation known as Jesse Legree had five catches for 156 yards and three TDs. Do the math. That’s over 30 yards per catch. That’s a pretty good recipe against the current state of the Broncos pass defense. But the game isn’t until November 14 on the Blue, so there’s still time to fortify those walls.
EXPECTED CHURN IN THE FCS RANKINGS
Idaho’s landmark upset of defending national champion Montana State in the Kibbie Dome last Friday sent the Bobcats from No. 1 to No. 6 in the FCS Top 25. South Dakota State is the new No. 1. And no, the Vandals didn’t receive any votes at 1-4, but what a tremendous buzz there is right now around the program after what had to be the most exciting nationally-televised game of last weekend, the 35-34 win after a Hail Mary and two-point conversion. Idaho tries to build on that at Weber State Saturday. Idaho State, down to No. 16 in the poll after being upset by Northern Arizona, has Cal Poly at home on Saturday. And College of Idaho, now all alone atop the NAIA Coaches Poll, is on the road at Montana Western.
DEGGIE GETS A REAL NBA SHOT
That was some kind of surprise Monday—when the Toronto Raptors announced they had signed Tyson Degenhart. Boise State’s career scoring leader is thereby on Toronto’s NBA roster, not the Raptors 905 G League team, where he spent last season. Degenhart still may end up there, but this can only be seen as a fantastic opportunity for him. He was okay in NBA Summer League in July, but he had a solid rookie year for Raptors 905 last season. Degenhart got high marks from the organization for playing efficient, mistake-free basketball. There are 21 players on the Raptors training camp roster. Will Degenhart see any action in preseason games? Toronto’s first one is this Saturday night against the L.A. Clippers.
NEW FACES EVERYWHERE
I hope they hand out rosters at the Boise State-Idaho men’s basketball exhibition game Saturday at Idaho Central Arena, because you’ll need one. The Broncos, thanks to graduation and the transfer portal, have undergone a near-complete overhaul this season. It’ll provide a first look at newcomers like guard Damari Wheeler-Thomas out of North Dakota State and Lithuanian forward Dovydas Butka out of Campbell. Idaho is coming off its first Big Sky title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 36 years, but the Vandals were gutted, too.
PLAYOFFS SECURED – OFF TO PORTLAND (MAINE)
I made it a doubleheader last Saturday, attending the AC Boise game before the Boise State-Utah State clash. And it was a gutsy effort on the home pitch. ACB clinched a playoff berth with its 1-0 victory over Greenville Triumph AC. Boise got the lone goal in the 11th minute from Josh Yaro, then lost coach Nate Miller to a second yellow card and—right at the end of the half—Jesus Barea to a red card. Most of the second half was played at AC Boise’s end as they were one man short, so Jonathan Kliewer’s clean sheet was impressive indeed. Boise now embarks on the ultimate USL League One road trip: to Maine to face the Portland Hearts of Pine on Saturday.
WHAT? NO UTAH GRIZZLIES?
Traditions change, including the long-standing one that had a pair of exhibition games between the Idaho Steelheads and Utah Grizzlies the week before the regular season. The Grizzlies, who had played in the ECHL since the 2005-06 season, are no more. The hockey calendar was a little too crowded on the Wasatch Front with the NHL’s Utah Mammoth taking root, and the Grizzlies have relocated to Trenton, NJ. Which is a long way of saying that the Steelheads will play their exhibition games this week against the Tahoe Knight Monsters—Friday night in Idaho Falls and Sunday afternoon in Idaho Central Arena.
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October 7, 2001, 25 years ago today: Having already broken the single-season record set just three years earlier by Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds hits his 73rd and final home run of the season to establish the tainted mark that stands today. Bonds, who had never hit as many as 50 homers in 15 previous seasons in the majors, went on a suspicious season-long tear at the age of 37. Six years later Bonds would break Hank Aaron’s record for career home runs, finishing with 762.
(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.)
