Who has the edge, players to watch as Boise State hosts Hawaii for Mountain West title
WHO HAS THE EDGE?
When the Broncos run the ball
In a regular-season meeting in Albertsons Stadium in October, which the Broncos won 59-37, Boise State put together its best rushing performance since the season opener at Florida State. As a team, the Broncos averaged 5.2 yards per carry and finished with 203 yards on the ground. Robert Mahone led the way with 74 yards and a touchdown, and freshman George Holani gained 40 of his 64 rushing yards on a late touchdown.
The Broncos couldn’t get the running game going in the regular-season finale at Colorado State, but they have improved in the latter half of the season. Boise State ranks No. 4 in the conference with 176.7 rushing yards a game, while Hawaii’s defense is giving up 205.2, which ranks No. 11. Only San Jose State (232.1) is giving up more rushing yards a game.
Boise State posted more than 200 yards on the ground in three of four games heading into last weekend’s 31-24 win at Colorado State, including a season-high 297 at Utah State. Especially facing a Hawaii offense that is No. 2 in the Mountain West with 35.4 points a game, the Broncos need another performance like that out of the running game, if for no other reason but to limit the chances the Warriors have to get into the end zone.
“I feel like we left a lot out on the field (at Colorado State), as far as hitting certain holes and opening up gaps that would be appropriate for a certain play,” Boise State offensive lineman John Molchon said Wednesday. “I think we just need to find that rhythm.”
Edge: Boise State
When the Broncos pass the ball
Boise State coach Bryan Harsin suggested Monday that Jaylon Henderson will be the Broncos’ starter at quarterback Saturday but Hank Bachmeier and Chase Cord also could play. Henderson wasn’t quite as accurate in his last two starts as in his first against New Mexico but, at Colorado State, he did deliver a pass to Khalil Shakir on a fourth-quarter scoring drive that was almost as pretty as his 51-yard touchdown strike to John Hightower against the Lobos.
“Jaylon has put himself in that position to keep things rolling and dive into another game,” Boise State offensive coordinator Zak Hill said Wednesday.
The Broncos are going to want to lean on the running game to keep Hawaii’s offense off the field, but with explosive receivers such as Hightower, Shakir, CT Thomas and Akilian Butler out there, they’re also going to find matchups to exploit in the passing game. Hightower put together his best game of the season against the Warriors in October, setting season highs in receptions (seven), receiving yards (141) and receiving touchdowns (two).
Hawaii is no slouch against the pass. The Warriors are giving up 225.7 passing yards a game, which ranks No. 5 in the Mountain West. Their 11 interceptions rank No. 3, but the secondary doesn’t get much help from the front seven, which has just 15 sacks in 13 games.
Edge: Boise State
When the Warriors run the ball
Hawaii isn’t known as a running back factory, but the Warriors have been running the ball better in the second half of the season. That’s in part due to quarterback Cole McDonald’s increased willingness to tuck it and run when plays break down. It’s also thanks to mobile backup Chevan Cordeiro seeing more snaps.
Mile Reed leads the Warriors with 804 yards and seven rushing touchdowns. McDonald is second with 404 yards and six scores.
The Warriors are going to spread the defense out with four- and five-receiver sets, which will create some running lanes, but Boise State’s defense has given up more than 123 rushing yards in a game just once this season, and that was against Air Force’s option. The Broncos are giving up 115.1 yards on the ground a game, which ranks No. 4 in the conference. They held Colorado State to 90.
“Obviously, our first job is stop the run. When it happens, we need to stop it because we need to make this team one-dimensional and help our DBs out,” Boise State linebacker Benton Wickersham said Tuesday.
Edge: Boise State
When the Warriors pass the ball
The passing game is Hawaii’s bread and butter. The Warriors have attempted a conference-leading 552 passes this season. San Jose State is the only team even close with 498. The Warriors also lead the Mountain West with 38 passing touchdowns.
McDonald is completing 64.8 of his passes, and he has thrown for 3,401 yards, 29 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He’s throwing to a stacked group of receivers, led by Cedric Byrd II, who leads the conference with 91 catches, is third with 1,049 yards and second with 10 touchdowns. His teammate JoJo Ward (55 catches, 906 yards) leads the Mountain West with 11 touchdown catches, and Hawaii’s Jared Smart ranks No. 4 in receptions (76) and receiving yards (915).
“It is a group that will challenge you, there’s no doubt about it,” Boise State defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding said Tuesday. “They’re not the biggest, longest, tallest guys, but they’re very good athletes and they understand the system.”
Boise State’s secondary only has nine interceptions on the season, but six of them have come in the past six games, including cornerback Jalen Walker’s pick-six at Utah State.
Edge: Push
Special teams
Boise State is home to the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year in Avery Williams, who has returned two punts for touchdowns this season and blocked two kicks. He joins TCU’s Jalen Reagor as one of only two players in the country with multiple punt returns for touchdowns. Hightower ranks No. 3 in the conference with 25.4 yards per kick return.
Hawaii kicker Ryan Meskell is 8-of-14 on field goals this season with a long of 50 yards. Boise State graduate transfer Eric Sachse is 13-of-15, including a game-winner in overtime against Wyoming.
Edge: Boise State
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BOISE STATE
David Moa, DT
“Grandpa Moa,” as STUD Curtis Weaver called him after the game, couldn’t have picked a better time for his first sack of the season last week at Colorado State. With less than 4 minutes to play and Boise State clinging to a seven-point lead, the Rams hit a 41-yard pass to move into Broncos territory and drove to the Boise State 36-yard line before Moa dropped quarterback Patrick O’Brien on second down. On third down, O’Brien was pressured by Weaver and threw an incompletion before the Rams punted the ball. They never got it back.
Moa, a native of San Diego with Polynesian roots, is a sixth-year senior who is playing his final game on the blue turf in Albertsons Stadium. It would be an understatement to say he’s motivated to make sure the Broncos end the night hoisting the Mountain West trophy.
“It’s everything that I’ve ever worked for and everything this team has worked for,” Moa said Wednesday. “It’s everything to us.”
Curtis Weaver, STUD
Speaking of Broncos who may be playing their last game on the Blue, Weaver has been one of the most vocal players on the team when it comes to the importance of making it back to this stage and finishing the job this time. Weaver was overcome with emotion after last season’s loss to Fresno State in the championship game.
“Curt is big on goals and a big goal for him is getting a Mountain West championship ring, and he wants to win every single game as bad as anybody,” Boise State defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding said.
Weaver is already the career sacks leader in the Mountain West, and he’s No. 2 all-time at Boise State with 34. On Wednesday, he was named the conference’s defensive player of the year, and Thursday he made the cut as a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award. He’s being projected by many as a first-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, and another impressive performance on national television can only help those odds.
CT Thomas, WR
With so many eyes on fellow receivers John Hightower and Khalil Shakir, Thomas is sure to find himself in some one-on-one matchups, and he proved against Colorado State that he can win those in clutch situations. On a fourth-quarter scoring drive with the Broncos clinging to a three-point lead, quarterback Jaylon Henderson fired a pass toward the sideline and Thomas managed to make the grab and tap both toes just in bounds. Two plays later, Henderson scored on a 1-yard keeper.
“CT finds ways to make big plays,” Boise State offensive coordinator Zak Hill said. “He’s got such good hands and such good body control, and even when the ball isn’t placed right, he can find a way to go make a catch.”
Thomas found himself in a bit of a slump in early November. He was held to one catch for 8 yards against Wyoming and one for 0 yards against New Mexico. But in the past two weeks, he has 10 grabs for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
HAWAII
Cole McDonald, QB
McDonald leads the Mountain West in completion percentage (64.8) and passing touchdowns (29), and his 3,401 passing yards are second only to the 3,923 yards put up by San Jose State’s Josh Love. McDonald has thrown at least four touchdowns in a game four times this season, and he’s coming off a three-touchdown performance against Army.
In three years (two as the starter), McDonald has thrown for 7,298 yards and 66 touchdowns, but these days he’s splitting snaps with backup Chevan Cordeiro, who threw three touchdowns and ran for two in a win at San Jose State and added two more scores on the ground last weekend against Army.
“It’s shown that nobody is bigger than the team, especially with the way both of them have handled it,” Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich said Tuesday. “If we’re going to do that at the quarterback position, which is a lot of times the highest-profile position, it sends a message to the rest of the guys that if I don’t handle my business, I could be replaced.”
Miles Reed, RB
Reed was held to minus-1 rushing yard in October when Hawaii lost 59-37 at Boise State, but he has rushed for at least 90 yards in four of the Warriors’ past six games, including a career-high 124 yards against San Jose State. The 185-pound sophomore leads the team with 804 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
As a senior at Centennial High in Corona, California, Reed rushed for 2,361 yards, averaged 8.2 yards per carry and scored 35 total touchdowns.
Khoury Bethley, S
One week after Hawaii’s regular-season loss to Boise State, the Warriors’ secondary took a hit when safety Kalen Hicks — the team’s leading tackler at the time — went down with a season-ending injury. But sophomore Khoury Bethley has picked up where he left off.
Bethley has 15 tackles in the past two games alone, and he’s second on the team with 66. He appeared in every game last season as a freshman and ended the year with at least nine tackles in three of the Warriors’ final four games.
“From the last time we played them, we have a chip on our shoulder,” Bethley said. “We have a lot of prove. We’re all excited because we know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
BOISE STATE DEPTH CHART
Quarterback
9 Jaylon Henderson, 6-1, 210 (RSr.)
19 Hank Bachmeier, 6-1, 202 (Fr.)
10 Chase Cord, 6-2, 208 (RSo.)
Running back
34 Robert Mahone, 5-10, 218 (RJr.)
21 Andrew Van Buren, 6-0, 223 (So.)
24 George Holani, 5-11, 192 (Fr.)
Wide receiver
16 John Hightower, 6-2, 172 (Sr.)
1 Octavius Evans, 6-1, 209 (Jr.)
Wide receiver
6 CT Thomas, 5-8, 182 (Jr.) OR
2 Khalil Shakir, 6-0, 186 (So.)
Wide receiver
7 Akilian Butler, 5-10, 182 (RSr.)
82 Stefan Cobbs, 6-0, 178 (RFr.)
18 Billy Bowens, 6-1, 187 (RFr.)
Tight end
85 John Bates, 6-6, 255 (RJr.)
5 Garrett Collingham, 6-4, 242 (RSr.)
47 Matt Pistone, 6-3, 246 (RSr.)
88 Tyneil Hopper, 6-2, 231 (RFr.)
Left tackle
76 Ezra Cleveland, 6-6, 310 (RJr.)
73 Nick Crabtree, 6-7, 295 (RJr.)
Left guard
77 John Molchon, 6-5, 318 (RSr.)
72 Dallas Holliday, 6-3, 306 (RFr.)
Center
67 Garrett Larson, 6-4, 303 (RSr.)
55 Kekaniokoa Holomalia-Gonzalez, 6-2, 293 (RFr.)
Right guard
79 Eric Quevedo, 6-4, 302 (RSr.)
68 Jake Stetz, 6-2, 294 (RSo.)
Right tackle
70 John Ojukwu, 6-6, 300 (RSo.)
69 Garrett Curran, 6-5, 292 (RFr.)
Defensive end
93 Chase Hatada, 6-3, 262 (Sr.)
54 Matt Locher, 6-2, 270 (RSr.) OR
40 Jabari Watson, 6-1, 269 (RJr.)
Nose tackle
98 Sonatane Lui, 6-1, 283 (Sr.)
57 Emmanuel Fesili, 6-2, 312 (Sr.) OR
90 Scale Igiehon, 6-2, 306 (So.)
Defensive tackle
55 David Moa, 6-3, 296 (6YSr.)
62 Scott Matlock, 6-4, 283 (RFr.)
STUD end
99 Curtis Weaver, 6-3, 265 (RJr.)
38 Demetri Washington, 6-3, 254 (RFr.)
Weak-side linebacker
44 Riley Whimpey, 6-1, 233 (Jr.)
3 Brandon Hawkins, 6-2, 217 (RFr.)
Middle linebacker
25 Benton Wickersham, 6-2, 230 (R.Jr.)
48 Bruno DeRose, 5-11, 223 (RJr.)
Nickel/strong-side LB
28 Kekaula Kaniho, 5-10, 182 (Jr.)
20 Roman Kafentzis, 6-1, 212 (RSo.)
Cornerback
26 Avery Williams, 5-9, 198 (RJr.)
8 Markel Reed, 6-0, 176 (Fr.)
Cornerback
15 Jalen Walker, 6-0, 179 (RJr.)
22 Tyric LeBeauf, 6-2, 180 (RFr.)
Boundary Safety
10 Kekoa Nawahine, 6-2, 207 (Sr.)
33 JL Skinner, 6-4, 213 (Fr.)
Field Safety
32 Jordan Happle, 5-11, 208 (RJr.)
21 Tyreque Jones, 6-2, 201 (RSo.)
Kicker
36 Eric Sachse, 5-10, 198 (RSr.)
46 Joel Velazquez, 6-0, 225 (RJr.)
Kick returner
16 John Hightower, 6-2, 172 (Sr.)
26 Avery Williams, 5-9, 198 (RJr.)
Punter
46 Joel Velazquez, 6-0, 225 (RJr.)
36 Eric Sachse, 5-10, 198 (RSr.)
Punt returner
26 Avery Williams, 5-9, 198 (RJr.)
2 Khalil Shakir, 6-0, 186 (So.)
HAWAII DEPTH CHART
Quarterback
13 Cole McDonald, 6-4, 220 (Jr.) OR
12 Chevan Cordeiro, 6-1, 190 (Fr.)
Running back
26 Miles Reed, 5-8, 190 (So.) OR
21 Fred Holly III, 6-0, 200 (Jr.)
Wide receiver
23 Jared Smart, 6-0, 190 (Jr.)
80 Mekel Ealy, 6-3, 180 (Fr.)
Wide receiver
3 Jason-Matthew Sharsh, 6-0, 190 (Sr.)
85 Lincoln Victor, 5-10, 165 (Fr.)
Wide receiver
6 Cedric Byrd II, 5-9, 175 (Sr.)
87 Robert Funkhouser, 5-11, 170 (Fr.)
Wide receiver
9 JoJo Ward, 5-9, 175 (Sr.)
84 Nick Mardner, 6-5, 190 (Fr.)
Left tackle
75 Ilm Manning, 6-4, 280 (So.)
78 Ernest Moore, 6-8, 300 (Jr.)
Left guard
76 Michael Eletise, 6-2, 325 (Jr.)
67 Bubba Wa’a, 6-2, 320 (Fr.)
Center
63 Taaga Tuulima, 6-2, 310 (Jr.)
61 Eliki Tanuvasa, 6-2, 320 (So.)
Right guard
52 Solo Vaipulu, 6-2, 300 (So.)
70 Arasi Mose, 6-5, 345 (Fr.)
Right tackle
74 Gene Pryor, 6-3, 305 (Jr.)
58 Joey Nu‘uanu-Kuhi‘iki, 6-3, 290 (Jr.)
Defensive end
49 Manly Williams, 6-2, 245 (Sr.)
48 Derek Thomas, 603, 225 (Jr.)
Nose tackle
69 Azia Se‘ei, 5-11, 275 (Sr.)
66 Eperone Moananu, 6-2, 290 (Sr.)
Defensive tackle
95 Kendall Hune, 6-3, 285 (Sr.)
55 Blessman Ta‘ala, 6-1, 300 (So.)
Defensive end
91 Samiuela Akoteu, 6-2, 280 (Sr.)
99 Jonah Laulu, 6-5, 280 (Fr.)
Linebacker
27 Solomon Matautia, 6-1, 230 (Sr.)
15 Paul Scott, 6-1, 210 (So.)
Linebacker
2 Jeremiah Pritchard, 6-0, 225 (Jr.)
53 Darius Muasau, 6-1, 225 (Fr.)
Nickel
8 Eugene Ford, 6-2, 200 (Jr.)
24 Kai Kaneshiro, 6-2, 180 (Fr.)
Cornerback
18 Cortez Davis, 5-11, 180 (Jr.)
7 Akil Francisco, 6-1, 170 (So.)
Safety
22 Ikem Okeke, 6-0, 200 (Sr.)
8 Eugene Ford, 6-2, 200 (Jr.)
Safety
5 Khoury Bethley, 5-10, 200 (So.)
29 Donovan Dalton, 6-4, 200 (So.)
Cornerback
4 Rojesterman Farris II, 6-1, 185 (Sr.)
20 Zach Wilson, 6-1, 185 (Jr.) OR
34 James Green III, 5-11, 175 (Fr.)
Kicker
17 Ryan Meskell, 6-0, 185 (Sr.)
52 Michael Boyle, 6-1, 175 (Fr.)
Kick returner
85 Lincoln Victor, 5-10, 165 (Fr.)
23 Jared Smart, 6-0, 190 (Jr.)
Punter
9 Stan Gaudion, 6-3, 210 (Jr.) OR
36 Ben Scruton, 6-1, 200 (Sr.)
Punt returner
6 Cedric Byrd II, 5-9, 175 (Sr.)
9 JoJo Ward, 5-9, 175 (Sr.)
HAWAII AT NO. 19 BOISE STATE
What: Mountain West championship game
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Albertsons Stadium (36,387), Boise
TV: ESPN (Roy Philpott, Kelly Stouffer, Lauren Sisler)
Radio: KBOI 670 AM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State is 11-1 overall, 8-0 Mountain West; Hawaii is 9-4, 6-2
Series: Boise State leads 13-3 (last meeting: Boise State won 59-37 on Oct. 12 in Albertsons Stadium)
Vegas line: Boise State by 14
Weather: 47 degrees, 35 percent chance of rain, 11 mph wind at kickoff. The forecast calls for rain all day.
