Boise State is in a must-win situation vs. unbeaten San Jose State; Marshall, WSU games rescheduled
Going 1-0 every week is a common cliche used by football coaches around the country, but it’s imperative this season for the Boise State football team thanks to COVID-19.
Along with shortening the regular season to eight games, the Mountain West opted to go without its usual two-division format this fall. Instead, the top two teams by conference winning percentage will play in the championship game on Dec. 19.
That means just one loss to a conference opponent could leave the Broncos on the outside looking in, which has created even more of a sense of urgency within the program heading into Saturday’s game against undefeated San Jose State (2 p.m., Fox).
“I don’t think you’re making the championship unless you win every game leading into it,” Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin told reporters during his weekly press conference on Monday.
Boise State (4-1, 4-0 MW), San Jose State (4-0, 4-0) and Nevada (5-0, 5-0) are the final three remaining undefeated teams in Mountain West play. The Broncos’ only loss of the season was against nonconference rival BYU.
The Spartans have wins over Air Force, New Mexico and San Diego State this fall, but their game against Fresno State was canceled last weekend because of COVID-19 contact tracing within the Bulldogs’ program.
The Wolf Pack has also knocked off New Mexico, and they held off San Diego State in a 26-21 win on Saturday. Nevada also has wins over Wyoming, Utah State and UNLV.
Nevada is scheduled to travel to San Jose State in the regular season finale on Dec. 11 — just eight days before the championship game. Boise State and Nevada will only meet if both make the title game, so if the Broncos want to remain in control of their own postseason fate, a win this weekend is a must.
“The best way to guarantee you’re in the championship is to win every game,” Harsin said. “ And we’ve got to find ways to be better than we were last game.”
The Broncos are coming off their ninth straight win over Mountain West rival Hawaii, but after building a 33-9 lead, they had to withstand a late rally by the Rainbow Warriors and hang on for a 40-32 win.
Boise State is 14-0 in its series with San Jose State, dating back to the teams’ first meeting in 1978, but the Spartans are off to one of their best starts in program history and win No. 15 is anything but guaranteed.
Defensively, the Spartans have given up more than 20 points in a game just once this season in a 38-21 win over New Mexico. San Jose State leads the Mountain West in scoring defense (15.3 points a game) and total defense (269.4 yards a game) — giving up 43.4 fewer yards a game than Nevada, which ranks No. 2 at 312.8 yards per contest.
Offensively, San Jose State is led by well-traveled quarterback Nick Starkel, who made stops at Texas A&M and Arkansas before joining the Spartans this season as a graduate transfer. He ranks No. 2 in the conference with a completion percentage of 70.1%, which trails only Nevada’s Carson Strong (70.2%).
Starkel has thrown for 980 yards, nine touchdowns and just two interceptions this season while splitting snaps with sophomore Nick Nash, who is the team’s leading rusher with just 177 yards. Both quarterbacks have targeted senior wide receiver Bailey Gaithers, who ranks No. 3 in the Mountain West with 432 receiving yards and is tied for third with four receiving touchdowns.
“That seems to be the place to be if you’re a transfer QB, and they do a very good job,” Harsin said. “They’ve got explosive players on the offensive side. Defensively, they have some experience back and that was a very tough game for us last season.”
With prolific passer Josh Love taking the snaps last fall, San Jose State led Boise State 17-7 in the first half of a game the Broncos rallied to win 52-42 on the road. That was Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier’s final regular season game. After suffering an apparent shoulder injury in the win, he didn’t return until the Broncos’ loss to Washington in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Williams among nation’s best
Boise State senior Avery Williams wasn’t named Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday. Instead, the conference opted to go with Nevada punter Julian Davis, who dropped four punts inside the 20-yard line in a win over San Diego State.
Williams’ continued dominance on special teams hasn’t gone unnoticed, though. He is just one of three players in the country with two kickoff returns for touchdowns this season, and he’s the only player who ranks in the top 10 nationally in both kickoff (No. 8, 29.6 yards per) and punt (No. 8, 13.3 yards per) returns.
The field position he gives the Broncos every week is a big reason they’re 4-1 right now, Harsin said after Saturday’s game at Hawaii.
“You look at the games that we’ve been successful in and you’re going to find that we win the field position battle in those games,” Harsin said. “That’s kind of the hidden yards nobody pays attention to.”
On Saturday, the former walk-on returned a kick 99 yards for a touchdown, which gave the Broncos a 26-9 lead in the third quarter. He already has two conference special teams player of the week awards to his credit this season after returning a kick 88 yards for a score on Oct. 31 at Air Force and blocking two punts — both of which resulted in touchdowns — on Nov. 12 at home against Colorado State.
Marshall, Washington State games rescheduled
Boise State has rescheduled one of the non-conference games that was canceled this fall because of COVID-19.
The Broncos will now travel to Huntington, West Virginia, to face Marshall in 2027, a team spokesperson confirmed on Monday morning. The game was originally scheduled for Sept. 26, and was moved to Sept. 25 in late April.
Boise State has also rescheduled a home-and-home series with Washington State, which was originally scheduled for 2026 and 2027, according to the university. The Cougars will now come to Boise in 2032, and the Broncos will head to Pullman, Washington, in 2033.
In July, former Boise State Athletic Director Curt Apsey said rescheduling what was supposed to be the Broncos’ season opener against Florida State was a priority, but a new date for that contest has yet to be set.
SAN JOSE STATE AT BOISE STATE
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Albertsons Stadium
TV: Fox (Tim Brando, Spencer Tillman).
Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State 4-1, 4-0 Mountain West; San Jose State 4-0, 4-0.
Series: Boise State leads 13-0 (last meeting: Boise State won 52-42 in 2019 in San Jose, California)
Vegas line: Boise State by 11
Weather: High of 41 degrees, partly cloudy, 5 mph wind
This story was originally published November 23, 2020 at 3:38 PM.
