You know what happens when you assume (that old saying). I was one of them. Oh, what we don’t know about the inner workings of a player’s mind. So many thought that Ashton Jeanty was gone. But yes, one of the nation’s best running backs is staying at Boise State and will play in the LA Bowl against UCLA a week from Saturday. It’s been reported that boosters stepped up to find Jeanty $300,000, plus a place to live, plus a nice car. Those who are outraged can rest assured that’s a shadow of what he could have received at a major Power 5 school (and that’s where he could have ended up). Jeanty can come back to the Broncos, put up a solid 2024 season, and declare early for the NFL Draft. He’ll go to SoFi Stadium with 1,262 rushing yards, 552 receiving yards, and 19 total touchdowns.
SO YOU’RE TELLIN’ ME THERE’S A CHANCE
What Jeanty’s return tells us is that Boise State will not have to automatically roll over in the NIL and transfer portal era. The Broncos won’t be able to compete roster-wide with the Power 5s, but in unique scenarios they’ll be able to make their case. As of this writing I don’t know if Taylen Green is in that mold, but it ain’t over yet. What’s interesting is Green’s situation versus that of wide receiver Eric McAlister, who left the team one month ago. McAlister and Spencer Danielson and the team apparently decided mutually that it was best that McAlister not return to the squad. You could say it would set a bad precedent to bring Green back onto the roster. But Taylen’s dynamic is different, with his emotions having been on a swivel during this season.
HOPE THE GAME PROGRAM’S UP TO DATE
UCLA coach Chip Kelly said in his LA Bowl Zoom call Sunday that he wasn’t sure what his roster would look like for the game against Boise State a week from Saturday. First and foremost, his starting quarterback, Dante Moore, is in the transfer portal, and six other Bruins are in there with him. “Advantage Broncos,” many thought. Then came Green’s announcement Monday, and it became evident that no one is immune—even a roster that went berserk when Spencer Danielson was named head coach Sunday. Danielson did indicate on KTIK Tuesday that the door’s not closed with Green. Seems like he would be gone, but SD knows best.
ONE FORMER CANDIDATE NOW RUNS THE PACK
You’ve got two ends of the spectrum in Boise and Reno. Danielson is a great fit for Boise State, and the proof has been in the pudding the past month. The program’s in good shape. The Broncos are Mountain West champions, after all. Jeff Choate, the fiery former Boise State assistant and current co-D coordinator at Texas—and a candidate for Broncos head coaching job three years ago—seems like a good fit at Nevada, but man does he have his work cut out for him. The budget is smaller, and the support for the program has really eroded. Have you seen Wolf Pack home games on TV? A sea of empty seats—the polar opposite of what it looked like 20 and 30 years ago. Choate is up to the task. He’ll fire people up. But it’s not going to happen overnight.
BRONCOS COME TO LIFE LATE – VERY LATE
Boise State men’s hoops fell behind North Texas 8-0 right out of the gate Tuesday night. The Broncos recovered from that, but they looked stuck in the mud late in in the game. The Mean Green had the ball and a six-point lead with less than two minutes left. But the Broncos finished on an 11-0 run to beat UNT 69-64 and notch their 17th straight win in ExtraMile Arena. In the first half it was Chibuzo Agbo and everyone else. Agbo ended up with a career-high 27 points, including two four-point plays and a game-changing three-pointer with just under a minute left. Tyson Degenhart dug into the box score after halftime and added 19 on the night, including the two free throws with 42 seconds left that gave Boise State the lead for good.
FINDING THE RIGHT COMBO
Coach Leon Rice started O’Mar Stanley inside and Jace Whiting outside again in place of Cam Martin and Roddie Anderson III against North Texas. Rice is still trying to find a mix that will lead to consistency—and develop some moxie like that delivered by Marcus Shaver Jr. and Naje Smith last season. Tuesday night was about rhythm. The Mean Green were one of the best defensive teams in the country last year on their way to the NIT championship. UNT lost a lot of its scoring off that team, but it’s still formidable on the other end of the floor. It was reflected in the night the Boise State guards had. Whiting scored two points, Anderson had six turnovers, and Max Rice went 1-for-8 from the field.
MORE HOME-IN-THE-DOME
Southern Illinois had probably the best defense of any FCS Playoffs participant, and Idaho survived it in the thrilling 20-17 overtime victory last Saturday night. That earned the Vandals another home date in the Kibbie Dome this Saturday against 10-3 Albany. But the Great Danes defense will present its own problems, as it allows only 16.8 points and 296 yards per game and is coming off a 41-13 stifling of Richmond. Idaho’s offense is looking to get back on track after quarterback Gevani McCoy was limited to 183 yards passing with an interception against the Salukis. This is the latest the Vandals have played into December since their 2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl victory over Colorado State.
BIG CHANGE OF SCENERY FOR THE YOTES
What do we know about Keiser University? We know it’s about as far away as you can get for College of Idaho. The Coyotes will be in West Palm Beach, FL, Saturday for the semifinals of the NAIA Playoffs against Keiser. The third-seeded Seahawks, now 10-2, routed Bethel University 56-14 on their home field last Saturday to get into the NAIA’s final four. Keiser rode a couple of stout running backs—Andrew Burnette and Jaden Meizinger combined for 260 yards and five touchdowns. The Yotes are seeded 11th, so on the road they go again. The locale will be 180 degrees different from their first two playoff matchups in Montana and Iowa. And the thermometer differential will be almost as big. C of I is brimming with confidence after taking down previously undefeated Grand View last week. Buckle up.
LESSONS IN DECEMBER
It’s probably a good time for the Idaho Steelheads to go through this. After mostly blasting through their schedule the first seven weeks of the season, the Steelheads dropped two out of three games (one of them in a shootout) on home ice last weekend to Newfoundland. The Growlers wanted to take something home on their trip back to the east coast of Canada. The experience will steel the Steelies for the rest of the winter, though, and it doesn’t diminish the accomplishments of November—Wade Murphy was named ECHL Player of the Month, and Ty Pelton-Bice was tabbed the league’s Plus-Minus Performer of the Month. The Steelheads have a one-point lead in the division standings over the Kansas City Mavericks, and that’s who they face on the road in a three-game series beginning tonight.
IT WON’T BE THE HAWKS’ LONGEST TRIP
The Boise Hawks released their 2024 schedule Tuesday, and the new Oakland Ballers are on it—road games only. The Ballers, the new Pioneer League franchise that will keep some semblance of baseball in Oakland, will host Boise in August during the Hawks’ annual Western Idaho Fair road trip. How far is it as the bus drives? 634 miles. A journey to take on the Rocky Mountain Vibes in Colorado Springs covers 882 miles. The Bay Area is easy peasy.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by BACON BOISE…fresh breakfast and brunch every day!
December 6, 2018, five years ago today: Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans ties a nearly 36-year-old NFL record for longest run from scrimmage, eluding multiple Jacksonville tacklers and busting off a stiff-arming 99-yard touchdown run in a 38-9 win over the Jaguars. The TD was one of four on the night for Henry, who also broke the Titans’ single-game record with 238 yards on the ground. Tony Dorsett of the Dallas Cowboys was the first player with a 99-yard rush in January, 1983, against the Minnesota Vikings.
(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.)
