‘Broncos are dangerous’: Healthy Holani helps Boise State deliver huge road victory
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Boise State 40, Fresno State 14
Boise State running back George Holani played a full game without limitations for the first time this season and the defense forced three turnovers as the Broncos rolled at No. 25 Fresno State.
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‘Broncos are dangerous’: Healthy Holani helps Boise State deliver huge road victory
‘Defining moment’ win at Fresno State could be turning point for Boise State, Avalos
Kaniho brothers make rare list in Boise State’s upset of No. 25 Bulldogs
Instant analysis: RB Holani is big in return to full health as Boise State routs Fresno
Final: Boise State 40, No. 25 Fresno State 14; Broncos get five sacks, three picks
Boise State running back George Holani exorcised some demons on Saturday.
Holani — healthy and playing without limitations for the first time this season — racked up 117 rushing yards and added 69 receiving yards to help lead Boise State to a 40-14 upset of No. 25 Fresno State in front of a sellout crowd in Bulldog Stadium. It was his first 100-yard rushing game since he had exactly 100 yards in Boise State’s 2020 season opener against Utah State.
“It was good to be back out there and have those carries, which definitely got me in rhythm and let me go out there and do what I do,” Holani said. “I’m just trying to stay healthy and stay available for my team when they need me, and make the most out of every carry.”
Boise State (5-4, 3-2 Mountain West) recorded its first win at Fresno State since 2011 and its second win over a ranked team this season. The Broncos also beat then-No. 10 BYU on the road in October. Saturday’s win also marked Boise State’s 14th consecutive victory on the road against a team from the Mountain West.
Coach Andy Avalos couldn’t help but smile while watching his players hoist the Milk Can rivalry trophy after earning their fourth win on the road this season, but he said Saturday belonged to Holani.
“Everybody talks about his quickness, his change of direction, his burst, his size and all that, but his vision is pretty elite,” Avalos said. “His feel for how fronts are set and blocking schemes and being able to find the weakness in defenses, he’s extremely talented and he’s going to run behind his pads and his second effort is second to none.”
Holani — a redshirt sophomore who racked up 1,014 rushing yards as a true freshman in 2019 — has missed three games this season because of a hamstring injury, and he was on a snap count in the games he did play. That wasn’t the case Saturday. He posted a season-high 71 rushing yards in the first half and finished the game with a season-high 21 carries.
He led the way on the Broncos’ final drive of the first half. Holani carried the ball on three straight plays, picking up a first down each time and moving the ball into Fresno State territory. The drive ended with a 32-yard field goal by kicker Jonah Dalmas, and Boise State went into halftime with a 16-7 lead.
“That’s pretty huge, having that momentum on offense,” Holani said. “We were emphasizing tempo as an offense, and the O-line was out there getting a good push every play, and the defense didn’t really adjust to it.”
It was Dalmas’ third made field goal of the opening half. He also connected on one from 27 yards to give the Broncos a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter and finished the game a perfect 4-for-4 after being announced as a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award given to college football’s top kicker earlier this week.
“Everybody had to do their job to get this win, for sure,” Dalmas said. “When we all do our jobs and we’re all on the same page, the Broncos are dangerous for sure.”
After the first of many big plays by the Broncos’ defense, Holani set up Boise State’s first touchdown of the game.
Kekaula Kaniho ended Fresno State’s second drive of the game with an interception that gave the Broncos the ball on the Bulldogs’ 41-yard line. Holani caught a screen pass on the next play and stormed down the field for what was called a touchdown, but he was deemed down at the Bulldogs’ 1-yard line after review. Fellow running back Andrew Van Buren found the end zone on the next play to give the Broncos a 10-0 lead.
Van Buren had one other 1-yard touchdown run to give the Broncos a 33-7 lead with 7:41 to play, and the Broncos also got a late TD run from former walk-on Tyler Crowe.
“It was great all around, offense and defense,” Holani said. “We came out ready to go and having that mentality that we have to finish through all four quarters.”
Opportunistic defense
Fresno State’s defense set up its first touchdown of the game. After a fourth-down stop, the Bulldogs got on the scoreboard thanks to a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jake Haener to wide receiver Keric Wheatfall midway through the second quarter.
The Bulldogs (7-3, 4-2 MW) generally struggled on offense thanks to a BSU defense that racked up a season-high five sacks, limited Fresno State to 4-of-13 on third down and intercepted Haener three times. Safety JL Skinner nabbed his first interception of the season in the end zone, and redshirt freshman Kaonohi Kaniho had a pick in the fourth quarter, his second of the season.
It’s believed to be just the third time in NCAA history that a pair of brothers intercepted passes in the same game, and it was an even more memorable feat for the Kanihos because their parents, Jarrett and Misty, decided at the last minute to make the trip from Hawaii to Fresno for the game.
“It was fun to see both of us make big plays tonight,” Kekaula Kaniho said. “I think when the offense was running the clock out, we both kind of looked up there and they just kind of gave us the chest bump.”
The Broncos’ defense limited Fresno State to 77 rushing yards and held the Bulldogs without a first down on both of their fourth-down attempts. Their first drive of the game ended on fourth down when Skinner tackled Wheatfall a yard behind the line of scrimmage on a fourth-and-2 play.
“That fourth-down stop early in the game was an unbelievable play and it was an awesome play by JL to come through there and fit that thing up with the physicality he did and do it the right way,” said Avalos, referring to Skinner’s penchant for earning targeting penalties this season. He’s been called for three, but one was reviewed and overturned.
After going into halftime with a nine-point lead, Boise State gave itself a cushion with an 11-play scoring drive on its first possession of the second half. It was capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Hank Bachmeier (15-of-27, 283 yards) to wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who finished with a team-high seven catches for 67 yards.
Haener (22-of-38, 279 yards) got the Bulldogs on the scoreboard again with a five-yard touchdown pass to Zane Pope with just 1:10 left in regulation, but all that did was set the final score.
Boise State hosts Wyoming on Friday (7 p.m., FS1) and New Mexico the following week, and it ends the regular season on the road at San Diego State. The Broncos have a much better bowl outlook after the big win Saturday, needing just two wins in three games to guarantee a bowl appearance. The victory also keeps them alive for a berth in a fifth straight Mountain West title game.
Boise State and Air Force are both 3-2 in the Mountain Division, a game behind 4-1 Utah State.
“It just gives us momentum, seeing our potential and still being capable of doing a lot more as a team,” Kekaula Kaniho said.
This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 11:53 PM.
