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Monday Special…December 2, 2024.
As remarkable as anything about Boise State’s 34-18 win over Oregon State Friday was the crowd. It was the day after Thanksgiving (a work day for some and a shopping day for many), a 10 a.m. start with a 29-degree temperature at kickoff, and students had been out of school all week. And Albertsons Stadium was legitimately full. Attendance was 37,264, completing the six games/six sellouts home season. Now there’s one extra game on the blue turf: this Friday night’s Mountain West championship game. The biggest crowd in five previous title games in Boise has been 26,101. It’s just tough to sell any stadium from zero and get close to capacity. But there’s never been a bigger championship tilt than this one. The stakes for Boise State are historic. And word is, sales are brisk.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE TWO YEARS MAKE
This game against Oregon State bore no resemblance to the last one against the Beavers in 2022. Boise State jumped on OSU early, the same thing that happened the other way around in Corvallis. The scores were almost exactly flip-flopped: 34-17 for OSU at Reser Stadium two seasons ago, and 34-18 for the Broncos on the Blue this year. And so much has happened since then. In 2022, there was no clue the Pac-12 would implode less than nine months later, and there was no clue that Boise State coach Andy Avalos would be fired during the following season. Now the Broncos are headed to the Pac-12 in 2026, and this season they’re a decisive 2-0 against the two schools that invited them, Oregon State and Washington State. You’d think that OSU and WSU are happy to have them.
OH YEAH, THE OPPONENT…
We already knew Boise State was in—and we knew it would be on the blue turf. Now, the rest of the bill has been filled for the Mountain West championship game this Friday night with UNLV’s 38-14 win over Nevada for the Fremont Cannon. Not that the Broncos were relaxing over Thanksgiving weekend. Every win is crucial in their CFP quest, and the victory over Oregon State on Black Friday probably—probably—keeps them in position for a first-round bye. But not unless they beat the Rebels in what has become essentially a play-in game for the College Football Playoff. Boise State is up to No. 10 in the AP Poll and is 11-1 with a 10-game winning streak, and its only loss remains the one via a walk-off field goal to the No. 1 team in the country.
JEANTY’S RECORD BOOK ETCHINGS
THE NEED TO CASH IN
Boise State squandered some opportunities against Oregon State that they won’t be able to squander versus UNLV this week. There was the rare fumble on the Beavers eight-yard line by Jeanty (taking nothing away from his 226-yard day). The Broncos were turned over on downs in the fourth quarter on the OSU three-yard line. Their next possession began on the Beavers’ 45 after a failed onside kick, and they got zero points out of it, thanks to a holding call that negated a 25-yard run by Jeanty.
On the other hand, at the end of the first half, Boise State produced exactly the kind of drive it’ll need against the Rebels. The Broncos went 75 yards in a minute and a half to go up 21-7 at the break, and they depended on Maddux Madsen instead of Jeanty to do it. Madsen was 5-for-6 on that march for 69 yards and capped it with a three-yard touchdown pass to Latrell Caples. Madsen was just 12-of-27 the rest of the day, but that separation drive was a statement.
UTAH TECH: NEW NAME, OLD SCHOOL
Boise State has had a week to rest after three games in three days at the Cayman Islands Classic. The Broncos were two seconds away from winning the tournament before Boston College hit a three-pointer to win it 63-61. Boise State gets back into it Tuesday night against 2-9 Utah Tech in ExtraMile Arena. Who are these guys? If you haven’t been paying attention, it’s the former Dixie State from St. George. The school’s name was changed in 2021, resulting from a controversy over the term “Dixie”. Like Boise State, Utah Tech has junior college roots—it was Dixie College until 2000. In fact, the two schools met often in the Boise Junior College days.
LOOKING FOR O’MAR MOJO
After a 13-point game against Hampton to open the Cayman event, O’Mar Stanley logged only five points combined the rest of the way, including just one against Boston College. This is not the O’Mar who Bronco Nation has come to know and love—that’s the lowest two-game total since he joined Boise State as a transfer from St, John’s in 2023. Tuesday night’s game theoretically provides Stanley a chance to get back in a groove. Meanwhile, newcomer Javan Buchanan has zoomed up to No. 2 on the Broncos in scoring behind Tyson Degenhart after his big performances in the Caymans. Buchanan is now averaging 14.1 points per game.
STEELIES TRIP UP TAHOE
Things did not look good for the Idaho Steelheads after the opener of their three-game series against the Tahoe Knight Monsters. The ECHL’s newest franchise racked the Steelheads 7-3 last Wednesday in Idaho Central Arena. But what a finish over the weekend. The Steelies put it to the Knight Monsters 6-2 Friday night behind Connor MacEachern’s hat trick and two goals just 16 seconds apart from Brendan Hoffmann. They followed that with a 5-2 victory Saturday night that saw veteran goaltender Tomas Sholl make 38 saves. Idaho is now 10-7-1 on the still-young season.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by HAMMER & HINGE CONSTRUCTION…why fix it yourself?
December 2, 2019, five years ago today: Chris Petersen resigns after six seasons as head coach at Washington at the tender age of 54. Petersen had left Boise State after the 2013 season following one of the most remarkable runs in college football history, with a 92-12 record, four conference championships, two undefeated seasons and two Fiesta Bowl trophies. He would then revive the Huskies program, getting it into its first College Football Playoff in 2016, his third season. Petersen notched three straight 10-win seasons from 2016-18, and his overall career record would end at 147-38 after a 38-7 win over his former Broncos program in the Las Vegas Bowl three weeks after the announcement.
(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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