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Thursday Special…January 2, 2025.

Virtually any national media person with any shred of credibility has said it: Boise State belonged in the Fiesta Bowl. “Closer than the score indicated” is small consolation to the Broncos after their 31-14 loss to Penn State Tuesday, and the College Football Playoff format will no doubt be changed after next season. But when Boise State responded to Tyler Warren’s second touchdown of the night with Maddux Madsen’s 20-yard TD pass to Prince Strachan at the end of the third quarter—only to have it called back by the hands-to-the-face penalty—you could see that there could have been a path to an upset. That would have made the score 24-21. Not saying that the Broncos “shoulda won,” but could it have happened? Sure. Death blows prevented it—some delivered by the Nittany Lions, and some entirely self-inflicted.

A FLOOD OF FLAGS

Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said going into the Fiesta Bowl that too much was being made of the advantage the Broncos might have due to their 25-day layoff. Despite the rest it gave Ashton Jeanty and the extra healing time provided to guys like offensive linemen Mason Randolph and Roger Carreon, Koetter felt it could be a disadvantage.I can kind of see why now. Boise State committed a whopping 13 penalties, and seven came on false starts. Three of the false starts were by wide receivers, and two more came on punts. And there was an illegal formation fraction for five men lined up in the backfield. It did look like Boise State had lost some of its regular season rhythm.

THERE WAS STILL A ‘JEANTY FACTOR’

We’ve seen Jeanty bottled up before this season, but usually there was a mind-blowing explosive run waiting in the wings. Penn State would have none of that. It was a matter of pride to the Nittany Lions to not let Jeanty break Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record on their watch. But this is your Ashton Jeanty appreciation paragraph. He was held to 104 yards on the ground, but he was credited with 16 missed tackles forced on the night. About six of them came on one bruising 12-yard run in the first quarter. And when Boise State was faced with a third-and-21 at its own 13-yard line, well, Koetter doesn’t have many plays in his tool box for a situation like that. Unless he gives the ball to Jeanty, who happened to gain 26 yards.

JEANTY’S FINAL COUNT & AMOUNT

With Jeanty’s declaration for the NFL Draft just a formality now, here’s how his incomparable Boise State career finished. The new magic number is 4,769 yards, the total Jeanty rushed for, with 50 touchdowns, an average of 6.4 yards per carry and 119.2 yards per game. His total in all-purpose yards was 5,664, and he scored 56 total TDs. Jeanty did all that in just three seasons. This year, Jeanty piled up 2,601 yards on the ground, the second-most in college football history behind Sanders, and had 29 rushing touchdowns and 30 total. He averaged 7.0 yards per carry and a phenomenal 185.8 per game. A bunch of those numbers will last forever.

MADSEN ACQUITTED HIMSELF WELL

Quarterback Maddux Madsen takes an admirable performance with him into the offseason leading to his junior year. Madsen and Boise State were facing a Big Ten front seven, and they were at times overwhelmed. Madsen was sacked three times after having been taken down 10 times all season, but he shook those off to consistently move the ball downfield while the Nittany Lions were preoccupied with Jeanty. He topped 300 yards passing for only the second time in his career and completed 63 percent of his attempts. That number was considerably higher until the fourth quarter, when Madsen had to force things with the Broncos trying to get back in the game. That’s when two of his three interceptions occurred. Madsen will only be better next season for the experience.

SEMI-INVISIBLE HOOPS VICTORY

Tuesday was a difficult night to find friendly eyeballs if you were the Boise State men’s basketball team. In case you didn’t notice, the Broncos beat Wyoming in Laramie 67-58 behind 19 points from Alvaro Cardenas. The Spanish point guard also dished out six assists, which is actually below his season average. It was a good win in a low-energy Arena Auditorium on New Year’s Eve. It wasn’t particularly comfortable, as the Cowboys rallied from a six-point halftime deficit to take a brief lead midway through the second half. But, just as they did at San Jose State last Saturday, the Broncos found their own energy and finished.

NOW THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD

Bronco Nation needs to make the full-time adjustment to basketball season in a hurry. Boise State is 3-0 in the Mountain West after wins over three lower-echelon teams. Saturday afternoon is a real moment of truth, as San Diego State comes to ExtraMile Arena for a game on big-boy CBS. It was the Broncos who were picked to win the Mountain West this season, but it’s been the Aztecs and Utah State stealing all the thunder. Coach Brian Dutcher has had SDSU in the top 25 for most of the past month. The Aztecs were as high as No. 20—until they lost to Utah State on a three-pointer in the final seconds at Viejas Arena last Saturday. Boise State’s best wins this season have been over Clemson and Saint Mary’s. At this point, a victory over San Diego State would top those.

This Day In Sports…brought to you by HAMMER & HINGE CONSTRUCTION…why fix it yourself?

January 2, 2009: Two years after Boise State’s BCS-busting shocker at the Fiesta Bowl, Utah dominates Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl to complete a 13-0 season. The Utes scored the first 21 points of the game, cashing in on all three of their first quarter possessions behind the game’s MVP, quarterback Brian Johnson. The night didn’t have the drama of the Broncos’ overtime upset of the Sooners, but it did a lot for the mid-majors of the world—coming as it did one year after Hawaii was crushed by Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, 41-10.

(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)

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