Presented by BACON BOISE.
Wednesday Weekly…February 5, 2025.
There was a lot of balance in the box score for Boise State Tuesday night, but Alvaro Cardenas was on point, literally, especially after halftime. The Broncos point guard, after going just 1-for-7 in the first half, started the second with a three-pointer to launch a 9-0 run that gave Boise State a 13-point lead. Cardenas finished with 13 points, his standard six assists, and eight rebounds in a 71-62 win at UNLV. About those rebounds: the Broncos outboarded the Rebels by 10, and—for the second time in three games—R.J. Keene had 10 rebounds and zero points. Keene was also money defensively around the three-point line, helping Boise State hold UNLV to 1-for-16 shooting from beyond the arc.
NO EBB AND FLOW
A strange start to this one—seven minutes into the game, Boise State had just one field goal but was already 9-for-10 from the free throw line and led by three. For the game, the Broncos were 24-for-32 from the charity stripe. Then there was a 15-second sequence in the final minute of the first half that saw Boise State grab three offensive rebounds—and sandwich four missed field goal attempts around them. But the Broncos steadied themselves, got up by 14 in the second half, held off a late UNLV charge, and won it at the line. There was a big exhale after that one. They’re trying to say “it ain’t over yet” in the Mountain West race as they improve to 8-4 in conference.
BRONCOS GO FOR FOUR IN A ROW
Boise State returns home now to host San Jose State Friday night in ExtraMile Arena. The Broncos escaped with a 73-71 win on the Spartans’ home floor last month. Javan Buchanan’s season was summed up in the last seven seconds of that game. First, Buchanan connected on the layup that ultimately provided the winning points, giving Boise State a 73-70 lead. Then he committed a foul with five seconds remaining, and SJSU had a shot. The Spartans’ Will McClendon made the first three throw and missed the second—and San Jose State snared the rebound. Buchanan swatted away what first appeared to be an easy lay-in at the buzzer to end it.
KEENE’S INCREDIBLE BOX SCORE LINES
Hopefully Keene’s big moment a week ago will be remembered, because it deserves to be. Against Nevada, Keene started—and, like at UNLV, he didn’t score a point. He didn’t even take a shot. But his floor game was stupendous. Keene pulled down those 10 rebounds in the 66-56 win over the Wolf Pack, four on the offensive end, with three of those coming via contested balls that he batted back to teammates. Keene also made three steals, and all seemed to be game-changers, especially one that resulted in a downcourt pass to Andrew Meadow that gave the Broncos a 12-point lead with 11½ minutes left. It was the grit this team needed.
KEEPING THE PIECES IN PLACE
There’s roster retention—and then there’s staff retention. Boise State coach Spencer Danielson is a winner on both counts. Things could still change, but after losing just one starter to the transfer portal winter window, the Broncos are bringing their entire coaching staff back next season, with the exception of offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, of course. Last Friday, Danielson announced contract extensions for defensive coordinator Erik Chinander, linebackers coach Stacy Collins, EDGE coach Jabril Frazier, running backs coach James Montgomery, cornerbacks coach Demario Warren and safeties coach Tyler Stockton. Deals for newly-promoted O-coordinator Nate Potter, wide receivers coach Matt Miller and offensive line coach Tim Keane were already in the books. Amazing for a team coming off a Fiesta Bowl appearance.
CFP PREDICTIONS
A survey of 31 college football writers and editors at The Athletic regarding their early College Football Playoff picks for 2025 predicts a repeat appearance by Boise State. “No Ashton Jeanty, no problem,” says the synopsis. “Nearly half of voters like Boise State to return to the Playoff as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions despite the loss of the Heisman runner-up. Navy, UNLV and Memphis were the only other teams to receive multiple votes.” The Broncos had 15 of the 31 votes, by the way. The three runners-up in the survey had five apiece.
COULD BE KELLEN’S NEW HOME TOUR
If Kellen Moore is actually going to be the new head coach of the New Orleans Saints, he’s been getting an in-depth preview of his new home digs this week. The Philadelphia Eagles set up shop in the Saints’ facilities to prep for Super Bowl 59, as Philly is designated as the home team. Protocol says that the Saints are not supposed to communicate with Kellen during Super Bowl Week—as talking with him while he’s in their building might be considered tampering. So I suppose we wait until Monday an announcement? Moore would be the youngest NFL head coach currently.
There’s a couple things about the New Orleans situation that could give Moore pause. He’s probably not fazed by the Saints’ aging roster, because that can be changed (although the team is $51 million over the NFL salary cap). But there’s a disturbing turn of events that just came to light, as the Saints organization is accused of orchestrating a 2018 public relations damage control campaign to deal with a sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church in New Orleans.
KLAYTON & ASHTON?
You’ve gotta like all the talk of former Boise State center Klayton Adams taking over as Dallas offensive coordinator—and how it might tie into drafting Ashton Jeanty No. 12 overall, some of it coming from the team itself. After all, Adams’ two years as Arizona Cardinals offensive line coach set the table for this, as the Cardinals were seventh in the NFL in rushing this past season and second in yards per carry. But we have to remember that the slew of Boise State alums to come through Dallas the past decade was just a happy coincidence. They weren’t drafted because they were Broncos—they were just high on the Cowboys’ draft board. Jeanty wouldn’t be shown any favoritism by Adams, just like Cedrick Wilson didn’t have an advantage when Kellen Moore was O-coordinator. Jeanty just happens to be really, really good.
STEELIES WANT TO BOTTLE THAT ONE UP
One game does not turn the page on a season, but Monday night sure felt good for the Idaho Steelheads. They had their best night of the season in a 7-0 rout of Utah in West Valley City. Goaltender Ben Kraws made 34 saves for his first pro shutout while Brendan Hoffmann and Connor MacEachern each finished with two goals and one assist. The seven goals tied the Steelies’ season high, and it was their largest margin of victory this season. The Steelheads, who took two of three games from the Grizzlies, begin a three-game series against Rapid City tonight in Idaho Central Arena.
WHERE 20 WINS ARE AN AFTERTHOUGHT
For many college basketball teams, 20-win seasons are a benchmark. At College of Idaho, 30 wins is the target these days (C of I has six straight 30-win campaigns not counting the COVID year). But let’s mark the spot: the Coyotes reached 20 wins again with their 81-59 win last week at Corban. What’s more, that avenged the Yotes’ only Cascade Conference loss of the season, the 59-56 stunner at the hands of Corban five weeks earlier. C of I is 20-2 overall, and they could easily go deep enough into the postseason to get to 30 again. The Yotes are home against Lewis-Clark State on Friday and versus Walla Walla on Saturday. Northwest Nazarene, meanwhile, is 14-4 after a 91-88 overtime loss at Central Washington. The Nighthawks host Alaska-Anchorage on Thursday and Alaska-Fairbanks on Saturday.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by VETERANS PLUMBING…we care about your water!
February 5, 2012: Eli Manning leads the New York Giants on an 88-yard drive, capped by a six-yard Ahmad Bradshaw touchdown run that wasn’t supposed to be, to win Super Bowl XLVI 21-17 over the New England Patriots. The Giants had intended to run out the clock and kick a field goal to keep the Patriots from getting the ball back. But the Pats tried to let the Giants score—and despite trying to stop at the one-yard line, Bradshaw’s momentum caused him to fall into the end zone with 57 seconds left. Nevertheless, New England and Tom Brady couldn’t answer, and the game ended on a failed Hail Mary. The Giants became the first team to go 9-7 in the regular season and win the Super Bowl.
(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.)
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