Boise State’s Avalos has history with Fresno State; revolving door continues at center
The Boise State football team hasn’t faced Fresno State since a loss in the Mountain West championship game in 2018, but Broncos coach Andy Avalos has plenty of history with the Bulldogs.
Avalos was a linebacker at Boise State from 2000 to 2004, and he played in what may be the Broncos’ most famous win over Fresno State in program history in 2001.
Boise State, which was unranked and had a 3-3 record, went on the road to face then-No. 8 Fresno State, which was undefeated after beating a couple of Power 5 teams and seemed destined for a Bowl Championship Series bid.
The Bulldogs were led by quarterback David Carr, who was earning hype as a Heisman candidate, and the Bulldogs jumped out of a 20-7 lead in front of a sold-out crowd at Bulldog Stadium. But Boise State roared back behind four touchdown passes from quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie and won, 35-30, ending Fresno State’s 17-game home winning streak.
It was one of the first road trips of Avalos’ playing career, and the Broncos sealed the win by tackling Carr at Boise State’s 5-yard line on fourth down with less than a minute to play.
“There were two or three plays on each side of the ball that changed the game, and that’s what it comes down to in games like this,” Avalos told reporters on Monday.
The win sparked the Broncos’ run of five straight Western Athletic Conference championships between 2002 and 2006. They’re hoping history repeats itself on Saturday.
Boise State (4-4, 2-2 MW) returns to Bulldog Stadium on Saturday (5 p.m. MT, CBS SN) to face Fresno State (7-2, 4-1), which is once again ranked — coming in at No. 25 in this week’s AP Top 25 Poll — in a game the Broncos need to win to improve their odds at earning a bid to a bowl game for the 19th season in a row.
The Broncos improved their chances of qualifying for a bowl game by winning six games with a win at Colorado State on Saturday.
Boise State’s final two home games of the season against Wyoming and New Mexico both seem winnable, but to guarantee themselves a bid to a bowl game with seven wins, the Broncos are going to have to go on the road and upset Fresno State or San Diego State, which suffered its first loss of the season against the Bulldogs on Saturday.
“Anytime these teams meet up, it is a physical game and it is a battle,” Avalos said of the Broncos’ series with Fresno State. “Both sides have very talented players. It means whole lot to both sides. There’s always a lot of pride, players play with passion and there’s usually a lot on the line as well.”
Boise State and Fresno State might play in front of a sellout crowd again on Saturday. The Bulldogs are expecting about 37,000 fans to attend the game, which leaves the program about 3,000 tickets shy of its first sellout since 2014, according to the Fresno Bee.
Revolving door continues at center
Boise State’s revolving door at center might keep spinning this weekend at Fresno State.
Redshirt junior Kekaniokoa Holomalia-Gonzalez, who won the starting job in fall camp, hasn’t played a snap and he won’t this season, Boise State announced on Monday.
Holomalia-Gonzalez hasn’t played because of an unspecified medical condition, according to Avalos. Although the Broncos said in a statement on Monday that he had begun participating in non-contact drills in recent weeks, he isn’t expected to return to the playing field until January, Avalos said.
Holomalia-Gonzalez’s condition did not require surgery.
“The plan always was to evaluate him during the bye week,” Avalos said on Monday. “The medical staff, trainers, coaches and his family decided it was best to get him healthy through the remainder of the year.”
Sixth-year senior Donte Harrington started the first four games of the season at center. He was replaced by Texas Tech transfer Will Farrar, who started the Broncos’ games against Nevada, BYU and Air Force.
Farrar missed the win at Colorado State on Saturday with an undisclosed injury and was replaced by fifth-year senior Jake Stetz, who opened the season at right guard and spent a couple games at left guard in place of an injured Garrett Curran.
Stetz put on the best performance by a Boise State center this season at Colorado State, Avalos said.
“The guy in the middle of the line of scrimmage there, that’s a big deal,” Avalos said. “Not only did he do a tremendous job with the operation and communication, but he also played very well and brought a certain mentality, too.”
Most notably, the Broncos didn’t have any of the errant snaps that have haunted them this season with Stetz at center on Saturday. Offensive coordinator Tim Plough said the team has found its center for now.
“As we try to navigate these injuries and figure out which five guys we’re going to show up on Saturday with, he’s been a real steady guy for us,” Plough said on Monday. “I think his best position is guard, and I think we had something really good going with Will at center. But the good thing about a guy like Jake is we have a lot of confidence in him, so we feel like we can put him anywhere and he’d be able to pull it off.”
Avalos said Monday that Farrar’s injury is not season ending. He even said the 322-pound redshirt senior could play as soon as this Saturday, despite not appearing on the Broncos’ weekly depth chart. Stetz is listed as the starter and Harrington is his backup.
Will Holani be unleashed?
Running back George Holani returned in a limited capacity in Boise State’s win at Colorado State on Saturday after missing the previous two games with the same leg injury that kept him out of the season opener at UCF.
Avalos confirmed after the win that he was on a snap count, but the Broncos’ coach said he hopes Holani will be able to play without limitations at Fresno State.
“Coming off the injury and in fairness to the player, you can’t throw him back in there and let him play 100% of what he would normally get,” Avalos said. “We would hope that pitch count goes away, but only this week will determine that. ... But we’re pretty confident that he is going to be back to full speed.”
Holani carried the ball 10 times for 43 yards and caught one pass at Colorado State. Oregon transfer Cyrus Habibi-Likio led the team with 19 carries for 62 yards, despite also missing the Broncos’ loss to Air Force after suffering an injury in the second half of their win at BYU on Oct. 9
BOISE STATE AT FRESNO STATE
When: 5 p.m. MT Saturday
Where: Bulldog Stadium, Fresno, California
TV: CBS Sports Network (John Sadak, Aaron Murray, Lindsay Rhodes). That’s channel 139 on Sparklight, 221 on DirecTV and 158 on Dish Network.
Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State 4-4, 2-2; Fresno State 7-2, 4-1.
Series: Boise State is 15-7 all-time against Fresno State, but the teams haven’t played since the 2018 Mountain West championship game, which the Bulldogs won, 19-16, in overtime.
Vegas line: Fresno State by 5
Weather: High of 71 degrees, 6% chance of rain, 7 mph winds
This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 5:40 PM.
