Having Sire Gaines back in the lineup may have been the key to Boise State’s 38-31 win at Fresno State last Saturday night. Defenses are keying on the nation’s rushing yards leader, Dylan Riley. And things go sideways for them when Gaines comes in. The Broncos missed that against Western Michigan and Utah State. After being out for two games, Gaines returned to gash the Bulldogs with 120 yards on 20 carries—six yards a pop. After Riley’s 72-yard touchdown scamper on the first possession last Saturday, he averaged 4.4 yards per carry. When Gaines rotated in, you could feel the heavy sigh from Fresno State. It went from dealing with Riley’s shiftiness and speed to Gaines’ power, and it was demoralizing. These backs complement one another and make each other better.
A FULL-ON OFFENSIVE EFFORT
You couldn’t ask much more from the Boise State offense at Fresno State. You could ask a lot more from the defense, but let’s talk about the offense. There wasn’t a single position group that was a liability, and that includes a wide receivers room that got down to four seldom-used players. Four of Maddux Madsen’s first five completions went to Terrious Favors and Quinton Brown, with Favors notching his first career touchdown. Riley and Gaines go without saying with their combined 270 yards on the ground. The offensive line was a machine. Matt Wagner was Matt Wagner. And Madsen? He now has 13 TD passes and no interceptions this season—the first quarterback in Boise State history to start six straight games without a pick.
THAT SOMETIMES MALIGNED STAT
Time of possession continues to be Boise State’s friend, and it’s there for all to see after last Saturday’s win. With the Broncos defense continuing to struggle, it was crucial to keep the ball out of the Bulldogs’ hands. How about four drives of seven minutes plus, all resulting in points, including the one that took the clock from 9:14 to 1:34 left in the fourth quarter? Fresno State had eight possessions in the game, and the longest was 5½ minutes. The Bulldogs’ ability to go through the Broncos like a knife through butter was concerning—they averaged more yards per play on the night. But Boise State still leads the nation in time of possession at 36 minutes, 41 seconds per game. It’s an often poo-pooed stat, but not around here right now.
BRONCOS USE BYE WEEKS WISELY
Boise State’s one and only bye week of the season is upon us, and those have been pretty good to the Broncos. A few times they’ve had two byes in a season, so there have been 13 of them over the past 10 years. And they’ve gone 12-1 in the games following bye weeks. Usually, it’s away from home, as it is next week at Washington State. Boise State has come out of a bye with a home game only twice the past decade, winning each one. The rest of the time they’ve gone on the road, going 10-1. And that one loss? It was last year, when the Broncos’ 12-game winning streak after bye weeks was broken as they lost in the slog at San Diego State. That was two weeks after the infamous loss to Fresno State on the blue (which is now water under the bridge).
KEEPING UP WITH THE DOWN TIME
With the bye week here, Boise State has some time to 1) get healthy, and 2) clean things up. Wide receivers Rasean Jones and Cam Bates are at the top of the health list. If Jones’ issue is concussion protocol, you have to feel good about his chances of playing in Pullman a week from Saturday. We know less about Bates. And, if the Broncos could have gotten out of more drives at Fresno State, their time of possession could have been 45 minutes. The best example was the fourth quarter drive that kept the Bulldogs in the game. There was a late hit on Derek Ganter Jr., an ill-advised strip attempt by Madden Soliai, a hands-to-the-face on Boen Phelps on a third-and-goal from the 15-yard line, and another third-and-goal from the 15—and still a TD.
C’MON, GEORGE & ASHTON
It’s best to avert your eyes this week when checking in on two former star Boise State running backs in the NFL. Times have not been good for George Holani and Ashton Jeanty. Holani had a very public gaffe in Sunday’s Seahawks loss to the 49ers, as he was stripped of the ball on his own goal line for a Niners touchdown. “Got to be better,” Holani told reporters after the game. He also fumbled on his own after catching a seven-yard pass (and recovered it) on what could have been a big play. As for Jeanty, he was held to 27 yards on 10 carries in the Raiders’ loss at New England. He’s fighting through pain that started with preseason ankle sprain. Jeanty’s only highlight against the Patriots was a 31-yard reception. He hasn’t reached 60 yards rushing since Week 1.
GEM STATE CFB CHECK
You wonder what the high-flying College of Idaho Coyotes will be like after an extra week of rest. A struggling Montana Western team is about to find out Saturday in Dillon. The Yotes are No. 1 in the nation in NAIA and are averaging 50 points per game. The bloom came off the rose quickly for Idaho, which followed the landmark win over Montana State with a 38-27 loss at Weber State last week. The 1-5 Vandals now have to travel to Missoula to face Montana. And Cal Poly kind of did to Idaho State what it did to Idaho in the season opener, scoring with 40 seconds left to beat the Bengals 25-24. ISU, which dropped to No. 21 in the FCS Top 25, now heads to Ogden Saturday to take on Weber State in the “Battle for the Train Bell”.
DEGENHART GETS SOME MINUTES
Tyson Degenhart has now worn a real NBA uniform in game action (not just Summer League duds). They’re just exhibition games, but Boise State’s career scoring leader played 12 minutes in the Toronto Raptors’ win over the L.A. Clippers last Saturday to open the preseason—then logged seven minutes last night in a 148-108 rout of the Knicks. Degenhart has gone 1-for-6 from the field (his only bucket is a three-pointer) and 3-for-4 from the free throw line and has pulled down three rebounds. It just has to feel good to make it this far. Tyson, by the way, turned 24 years old Tuesday.
BRONCOS FEELING THEIR WAY IN HOOPS
Boise State definitely finished against Idaho last Saturday, but there was plenty to unpack leading up to that point in the Broncos’ 82-72 win in their exhibition game. They had a 12-point lead with 8½ minutes left, but the Vandals got it down to one with 2:40 left before Julian Bowie and Dovydas Butka helped put it away. Bowie scored 21 points for the game and Butka 18 to go with 10 rebounds. After dreadful shooting in the first half, the Broncos ended up at 50 percent from the field. The three-point line was a problem, though—they were just 24 percent from deep. But the defense cooked, forcing 22 Idaho turnovers. Boise State tangles with Washington in its second exhibition tilt Saturday night back in Idaho Central Arena.
NAMES WE HAVE COME TO KNOW
Athletic Club Boise has had a lot of emerging stars this season. Early in the campaign it was Denys Kostyshyn and Nick Moon, but Tumi Moshobane has been a force all year. It was Moshobane who scored in the 54th minute last Saturday against Portland Hearts of Pine in Maine to break a scoreless tie, and AC Boise went on to earn a crucial three points behind a tally from Thomas Amang in stoppage time in a 2-1 win. The team is back this Saturday night for its final home game of the regular season versus AV Alta FC—key words being “regular season”. AC Boise has already qualified for the eight-team USL League One Playoffs, and the top four teams earn home games in the first round. ACB is currently 15-8-7 and in fourth place. Spokane Velocity FC could still sneak into the top four; they play tonight.
LET THE PUCK DROP
New names, new faces, new locations on the Idaho Steelheads schedule as the 2026-27 season opens Friday night. The Steelheads visit the expansion New Mexico Goatheads (every homeowners’ favorite invasive plant) for a three-game weekend series. The Goatheads are based in Rio Rancho in the Albuquerque metro area. The Steelies enter their 29th season—and their 23rd as members of the ECHL. The Steelheads, laden with veterans, won both of their preseason games last weekend over the Tahoe Knight Monsters. The home opener in Idaho Central Arena is a week from Friday against the Allen Americans in Idaho Central Arena.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by PINNACLE WINDOWS & DOORS and BOISE PREMIER BLINDS.
October 14, 2017: In a role reversal, Boise State spoils 19th-ranked San Diego State’s undefeated season with a stunning 31-14 victory before 49,053 fans in San Diego. The Broncos buried the two-time defending Mountain West champion with a 53-yard punt return for a touchdown by Avery Williams and a 34-yard scoop-and-score fumble return by Kekaula Kaniho in the first quarter. All the while, the Broncos defense was holding the nation’s second-leading rusher, the Aztecs’ Rashaad Penny, to 53 yards on 21 carries. It was Boise State’s first true road win over a Top 25 team in nine 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.)
