Will Boise State-BYU rivalry survive Cougars’ move to Big 12? Bolt moving to defense?
BYU — an FBS independent since 2011 — is joining the ranks of Power Five programs, leaving many to question whether the Boise State football team’s annual rivalry game against the Cougars will continue or fall by the wayside.
BYU, Houston, UCF and Cincinnati accepted invitations to join the Big 12 last month after Texas and Oklahoma announced in July that they are leaving for the SEC. The Cougars will make the move in 2023, while UCF, Houston and Cincinnati are expected to join by 2024.
The Cougars soon will have to play at least eight Power Five teams a year as part of their conference schedule, and they aren’t likely to end in-state rivalry games against Utah State and Utah. It would be understandable if BYU wanted to fill the rest of its nonconference slots on future schedules with more easily winnable games — especially with the College Football Playoff potentially expanding to 12 teams.
Boise State and BYU are scheduled to play in 2022 and 2023, and then the rivals take a year off in 2024. Beginning in 2025, they’re scheduled to play every year until 2034. They also meet this Saturday (1:30 p.m., ABC) in Provo, Utah.
The game contract includes a $1 million payment if either team cancels. But it also includes a clause that allows either school to escape the series without penalty as long as it notifies the other within two years of joining a conference that includes at least four Power Five programs.
Assuming BYU doesn’t want to pay the penalty and wants to adjust its nonconference slate, 2023 could be the last time the Broncos and Cougars play on an annual basis.
The rivals have played every year since 2012, and BYU has won the past two meetings, including a 51-17 win at Albertsons Stadium last season. The Broncos are 7-4 in the series, though, and they won three straight from 2016 to 2018.
Neither BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe nor Boise State AD Jeramiah Dickey responded to requests for statements on the future of the series on Monday, but the coaches of both teams have said they’d like to see it continue on an annual basis.
Boise State football coach Andy Avalos called it a huge regional rivalry even though they’ve played just 11 times.
“There have been unbelievable games, and a lot that have come down to the last minute,” Avalos said. “It’s been an unbelievable series, and not just since we’ve been playing every year. It goes back to the early 2000s where it’s been that way.”
Boise State and BYU first played in 2003 — a game the Broncos won 50-12 in Provo.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake called Boise State a first-class operation during his weekly press conference on Monday. He said the schools are so close geographically that there’s a lot of crossover between the fan bases and rosters, which always makes for an interesting rivalry.
“I appreciate the consistency of playing Boise State every year, and I appreciate their fan base and their program,” Sitake said. “It’s a nice rivalry to have, and there are some times that I wish we could have some of those games back, just like I know they wish they could.”
Sitake said Monday that he’s especially grateful to Boise State for agreeing to play last season.
The Broncos’ regular season was initially shortened to eight games because of COVID-19, and two of those were canceled during the season. BYU, which has to schedule 12 games a year because it doesn’t have a set conference schedule, had to scramble to find games because most teams around the country had schedules that were altered in some way.
“That was awesome for them to do that when they didn’t have to,” Sitake said. “I respect them so much for doing that.”
Boise State was in a tough spot in last season’s game. The Broncos had just two games under their belt, while BYU had already played seven.
The Broncos were also beat up. They were without starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier, who was out because of COVID-19 protocols, and starting running back George Holani, who was injured the previous week at Air Force.
Things didn’t get any better once the game started. Backup quarterback Jack Sears left with a potential concussion during the Broncos’ first offensive series, and they were forced to turn to freshman walk-on Cade Fennegan — who transferred to BYU over the summer.
The Cougars rolled to a blowout victory, and the 51 points they scored were the most Boise State has surrendered in the history of the series. That lopsided score was an anomaly, though. The series has included some hotly contested games, including five that have been decided by three points or less.
Boise State won back-to-back one-point affairs at home early in the series, though years apart. The Broncos held on for a 28-27 win in 2004 and a 7-6 victory the next time the teams met, which was in 2012.
In 2015, former Eagle High quarterback Tanner Mangum flung a fourth-down Hail Mary to the end zone that Mitchell Juergens caught to put BYU ahead 28-24 with 45 seconds remaining. The Cougars won 35-24 after returning an interception for a score in the final seconds.
Boise State won a close one at home in 2016, when former Boise State defensive lineman David Moa blocked a field-goal attempt with 16 seconds left to seal another 28-27 victory.
In 2018, former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson led a late drive to Boise State’s 2-yard line, but the Broncos came up with a sack with 7 seconds left to preserve a 21-16 win at home. BSU is 5-1 against the Cougars at Albertsons Stadium.
In 2019, Boise State trimmed an 18-point deficit to three late in the fourth quarter, but BYU picked up a first down on fourth-and-inches with 2:17 to play and hung on for a 28-25 win in Provo, Utah, where the Broncos are 2-3.
Bolt on defense?
One of the top high school football players from Idaho in recent years might be in for a position change at Boise State.
Austin Bolt — a former star at Borah High — joined the Broncos last year as a tight end, but Boise State co-defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson confirmed Monday that Bolt has been working with the defense at practice, and he might have a future as a defensive end or edge rusher.
Danielson stopped short of saying that Bolt has made the move permanently, but he said he’s going to try to keep him on defense as long as possible.
“He is a phenomenal athlete and very coachable,” Danielson said. “It’s something I know we’re excited about him being able to learn it right now and grow in it, and learn the fundamentals and techniques that we teach at that position. But he definitely has a future there.”
Bolt is listed at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds on Boise State’s roster, so he’s going to have to pack on some pounds before he starts competing in the trenches on game day. But Danielson said Avalos has shown the coaches clips of Bolt doing some pretty impressive things as a defensive end on the scout team.
Bolt is a former Gatorade Player of the Year in Idaho in both football and basketball. He joined the Broncos as a three-star recruit in 2020 after also fielding scholarship offers from Utah State, UNLV, Idaho, Idaho State, Montana and Montana State.
He was a wide receiver early in his career at Borah, but he lined up at quarterback, wide receiver, safety, linebacker and punter as a senior. He also returned kicks and punts, and even held for the field-goal team. Bolt finished his senior season with 2,771 total yards and 36 touchdowns on offense, while he racked up 62 tackles and four interceptions on defense, including one he returned for a touchdown.
Bolt appeared in two games for Boise State last season, and he’s played in every game this season. Most of his snaps have come on special teams, but he posted three tackles and a half-tackle for loss during the Broncos’ win at Utah State.
BYU game on ABC
Boise State’s game at No. 10 BYU (5-0) will kick off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and air on ABC.
It will be the Broncos’ third game this season on a flagship channel. The season opener at UCF aired on ESPN, and Boise State’s Mountain West opener at Utah State was broadcast on CBS. Home games against UTEP, Oklahoma State and Nevada were on FS1.
BOISE STATE AT NO. 10 BYU
When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, Utah
TV: ABC (Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Tom Luginbill). That’s channel 6 on Sparklight and DirecTV and channel 6 or 5250 on Dish Network.
Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State 2-3; BYU 5-0
Series: Boise State is 7-4 all-time against BYU, but the Broncos have lost two in a row against the Cougars.
Vegas line: BYU by 5
Weather: High of 56 degrees, 47% chance of rain, 9 mph winds
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 5:45 PM.
