‘It’s championship week.’ Boise State heading to Utah State with eyes on big prizes
In the week leading up to Boise State’s visit to San Jose State on Nov. 2, football coach Bryan Harsin said his team needed to treat every game as if it’s the Super Bowl.
That sentiment is especially relevant for the Broncos this week.
With a win Saturday at Utah State (8:30 p.m., CBSSN), No. 20 Boise State would clinch the Mountain Division title and home-field advantage in the Mountain West Conference championship game. A win in Logan also would enhance the Broncos’ New Year’s Six bowl game hopes. The highest-ranked conference champion among the Group of Five leagues gets the bid to the Cotton Bowl.
Boise State would not be out of the conference race with a loss on Saturday, but the Broncos can appreciate this cliche: They control their own destiny.
“I think it’s a different feel when you get to the end of the year and you’re in it,” Harsin said Monday during his weekly press conference. “Some teams are just playing for pride. Some are playing for a championship, and we obviously have an opportunity to play for a championship. So we talked about it, and it’s championship week.”
If BSU falters at Utah State, it obviously would lose a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Aggies, but the most likely scenario atop the Mountain Division would be a three-way tie, with Boise State, Utah State and Air Force all finishing 7-1. Even in that case, the Broncos — who defeated Air Force — still could go to the title game. The list of tiebreakers eventually could whittle all the way down to the head-to-head result of the two highest-ranked teams in the College Football Playoff or computer rankings, but no one wants to think about that.
“It’s understanding that everything that we’ve worked for up to this point, this week is another opportunity to go out and clinch that,” Boise State safety Kekoa Nawahine said. “So we have to prepare the right way and work together the right way and bring the energy we need every day.”
Boise State found itself in a similar position last season at home. The Aggies came into Albertsons Stadium ranked higher than the Broncos, at No. 14, but running back Alexander Mattison racked up 200 yards on the ground and Boise clinched a berth in the MW title game with a 33-24 victory.
This year’s game won’t be on the blue turf, though. It will be in the Aggies’ Maverik Stadium, which Harsin said is a challenging place to play. Boise State and Utah State have played every season since 2013, and the Broncos’ only loss during that span was a 52-26 setback in Logan in 2015.
The “million-dollar question” for this key matchup, as Utah State head coach Gary Andersen put it in his weekly press conference, is who will start at quarterback for both teams?
Aggies QB Jordan Love exited last weekend’s win over Wyoming in the third quarter after taking a big hit near the goal line. He briefly re-entered the game but was unable to finish. Andersen wouldn’t comment on Love’s status on Monday, but Harsin knows what kind of challenge the 6-foot-4, 225-pound junior can present.
“First thing that stands out is his size. He’s developed himself very well,” Harsin said. “I know he can throw it really well. From seeing him last year, too, I know he can escape.”
Love entered the season with a lot of hype but has struggled, especially with turnovers. He has completed 224-of-363 passes for 2,684 yards and only 13 touchdowns, while throwing 14 interceptions.
If Love can’t go, the Aggies will turn to sophomore Henry Colombi, who took over last weekend with a 23-14 lead and helped Utah State become bowl-eligible with a 26-21 victory. He completed 3-of-6 passes and added 35 rushing yards, 19 of which he tallied on one carry.
“Henry understands those are big shoes to fill when the opportunity presents itself,” Andersen said. “It’s not easy to hop in there, especially in that tense of a game, in that scenario and against that defense, and he made some plays.”
Harsin has his own QB questions, and he was tight-lipped about the situation Monday. The availability of freshman starter Hank Bachmeier, who missed the past two games with injuries, and sophomore backup Chase Cord is still up in the air. Senior Jaylon Henderson got his first start last weekend against New Mexico and steered Boise State to an easy win.
Henderson opened the game with a 97-yard scoring drive, threw touchdown passes to three different receivers, and impressed Utah State’s coach with his athleticism and decision making.
“He had a special game and he let the players around him make plays when they had the opportunities, and it’s another great story in college football,” Andersen said. “We’ll have our hands full regardless of who plays quarterback.”
Boise State and Utah State were picked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in the Mountain Division in the preseason poll.
NO. 20 BOISE STATE AT UTAH STATE
When: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Maverik Stadium (25,100), Logan, Utah
TV: CBS Sports Network (carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor, AJ Ross)
Radio: KBOI 670 AM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State is 9-1 overall, 6-0 Mountain West; Utah State is 6-4, 5-1.
Series: Boise State leads 18-5 (last meeting: Boise State won 33-24 in 2018 in Albertsons Stadium)
Vegas line: Boise State by 7.5
Weather: 44 degrees, partly cloudy, 4 mph wind
