Boise State went 4-2 away from home last fall. Here’s a look at its 2022 road schedule
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Your 2022 Boise State football guide
The Broncos open the 2022 football season at Oregon State on Sept. 3, and we’ve got all the info you need to get up to speed before kickoff — from potential storylines to bold predictions.
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Boise State went 4-2 away from home last fall. Here’s a look at its 2022 road schedule
The Broncos were road warriors last season.
Boise State finished with a 7-5 record but went 4-2 on the road — picking up wins at eventual Mountain West champion Utah State, No. 10 BYU, No. 25 Fresno State and Colorado State.
The Broncos’ two losses on the road were in the season opener against UCF in a game Boise State led at halftime, and the season finale at San Diego State.
Boise State opens this season on the road Saturday at Oregon State (8:30 p.m. MT, ESPN). Here’s a breakdown of the teams the Broncos will face on the road this fall.
Oregon State
Sept. 3, Reser Stadium, Corvallis, Oregon
Last season: 7-6 overall, 5-4 Pac 12. The Beavers ended last season with a 24-13 loss to Utah State in the inaugural Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl. It was the first time Oregon State played in a bowl game since 2013.
Players to watch
QB Chance Nolan, R-Jr. — Nolan was named the Beavers’ starter on Monday after beating out sixth-year senior Tristan Gebbia and redshirt freshman Ben Gulbranson in a camp battle. Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith is expected to announce the starter today, according to Oregon Live. Nolan started 12 games last season and posted 2,677 yards and 19 touchdowns through the air and 286 yards and three more scores on the ground.
RB Deshaun Fenwick, R-So. — B.J. Baylor signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent after putting up 1,337 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Fenwick and redshirt junior Trey Lowe are expected to get the first shot at replacing him. Fenwick averaged 5.7 yards a carry last season and finished second on the team with 448 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
Season outlook: Expectations are high in Corvallis. Last season — Smith’s fourth as head coach at his alma mater — marked the end of the Beavers’ eight-year bowl drought, and Oregon State has no shortage of returning starters on both sides of the ball. Defensively, they’re led by a pair of veterans in the secondary in Jaydon Grant and Rejzohn Wright. Offensively, a potent running game is powered by an experienced offensive line led by 2021 All-Pac 12 picks Joshua Gray and Brandon Kipper — a former standout at Columbia High in Nampa.
New Mexico
Sept. 17, University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Last season: 3-9 overall, 1-7 Mountain West. The Lobos shocked Wyoming with a 14-3 win in Laramie last season, but New Mexico wasn’t as successful in its invasion of Albertsons Stadium. Boise State shut the Lobos out, 37-0.
Players to watch
QB Miles Kendrick, Sr. — A transfer from Kansas, Kendrick won the job in a camp battle against redshirt freshman CJ Montes. Kendrick appeared in 17 games the past four seasons for the Jayhawks, starting two. This will be the second year in a row that the Lobos have started a quarterback who transferred in from a Power Five program. Former Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson started last season, but he was limited by injuries.
S Jerrick Reed II, R-Sr. — Reed is one of the top defensive backs in the Mountain West this year after posting a team-high 89 tackles and earning honorable mention all-conference honors last season. He’s heading into what is probably the final season of his college career with 173 tackles and six interceptions.
Season outlook: The Lobos’ offense was one of the worst in the nation last season, ranking No. 130 in total offense (234.9 yards per game) and scoring (12.2 points a game). The return of talented running back Nate Jones, who didn’t play last season for unspecified reasons, is promising, but he’ll be running behind an offensive line that is replacing all five starters.
UTEP
Sept. 23, Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas
Last season: 7-6 overall, 4-4 Conference USA. The Miners made the trip to Albertons Stadium and lost to the Broncos, 54-13. UTEP went on to end the season with a 31-24 loss to Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl.
Players to watch
QB Gavin Hardison, R-Jr. — Hardison started all 13 games last season and became the first UTEP quarterback to throw for more than 3,000 yards since 2009. His 3,217 passing yards rank No. 5 in single-season program history, and he added 18 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. He showed off his arm Saturday in the Miners’ season opener against North Texas, completing 21-of-48 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown.
RB Ronald Awatt, R-Sr. — Awatt led the Miners last season with 844 rushing yards and tied fellow returner Deion Hankins with a team-high six rushing touchdowns. Awatt was held to 36 yards in the season opener against North Texas on Saturday.
Season outlook: UTEP was held scoreless in the second half of a 31-13 loss to North Texas on Saturday. The Miners struggled to run the ball, managing just 107 yards. They leaned on the running game in most of their wins last season, but a rebuilt offensive line is going to have to gel quickly if that’s going to be the case this year.
Air Force
Oct. 22, Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Last season: 10-3 overall, 6-2 Mountain West. Air Force went into Albertsons Stadium and knocked off Boise State, 24-17, last fall and ended the season with a 31-28 win over Louisville in the First Responder Bowl.
Players to watch
QB Haaziq Daniels, Sr. — Daniels started 12 games last season and finished second on the team with 734 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. He added 1,184 yards and seven touchdowns through the air.
FB Brad Roberts, Sr. — Roberts led the Mountain West with 1,352 rushing yards last season and added 13 touchdowns on the ground. He posted seven 100-yard rushing games, which ranks No. 2 in single-season history at Air Force, and he needs just 187 yards to become the 11th player in program history to surpass 2,000 career rushing yards.
Season outlook: Air Force has produced the nation’s top rushing attack in each of the past two seasons. The Falcons averaged 327.7 rushing yards a game last season, and Daniels and Roberts are going to be a dangerous combination in the team’s triple-option scheme again this year. Both have a chance to put up all-conference numbers, especially since they’re running behind an experienced offensive line. Outside linebacker Vince Sanford, who posted 9.5 sacks last season, should be one of the top pass rushers in the Mountain West again this year.
Nevada
Last season: 8-5 overall, 5-3 Mountain West. The Wolf Pack knocked off Boise State in Albertsons Stadium last season for the first time since 1997. Nevada ended the season with a 52-24 loss to Western Michigan in the Quick Lane Bowl.
Players to watch
RB Toa Taua, 5-yr Sr. — Taua rushed for a team-high 732 yards last season, including a season-high 124 against Boise State. He began his final season of eligibility with 3,058 career rushing yards and led the Wold Pack with 109 yards on the ground Saturday in a 23-12 win over New Mexico State.
DT Dom Peterson, 5-yr Sr. — Peterson, one of the top interior defensive linemen in the Mountain West, has posted 16.5 sacks and 34 tackles for loss since 2018. He is the only returning starter on Nevada’s defensive line.
Season outlook: New head coach Ken Wilson has his work cut out for him. Nevada lost three starters to the NFL Draft this year: quarterback Carson Strong, wide receiver Romeo Doubs and tight end Cole Turner. The Wolf Pack is breaking in a new scheme on offense, transitioning from Jay Norvell’s air raid system to more of read-option scheme, and the team’s top six receivers from a year ago are gone. Former Oklahoma State quarterback Shane Illingworth (7-12, 51 yards) started the season opener for the Wolf Pack, but Nate Cox (7-11, 21 yards), who backed up Strong last season, also played.
Wyoming
Last season: 7-6 overall, 2-6 Mountain West. Wyoming’s 2021 season was a roller coaster. The Cowboys lost to Hawaii and New Mexico, but they beat eventual conference champion Utah State and ended the season with a 52-38 win over Kent State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
Players to watch
RB Titus Swen, Jr. — Swen will be the featured back in Wyoming’s run-heavy scheme after last season’s leading rusher, Xazavian Valladay, transferred to Arizona State. Swen was second on the team with 785 rushing yards last fall, and he led the Cowboys with seven rushing touchdowns.
LB Easton Gibbs, R-So. — Gibbs has big shoes to fill this season. He’s playing the position once manned by former Wyoming linebackers Logan Wilson and Chad Muma, both of whom are now playing in the NFL. Gibbs looks like a rising star after finishing second on the team with 90 tackles last season. He tied for second on the team with seven tackles for loss and added two sacks.
Season Outlook: Wyoming’s roster was decimated by the transfer portal this year. Valladay, starting quarterback Levi Williams (Utah State), top wide receiver Isaiah Neyor (Texas) and talented pass rusher Solomon Byrd (USC) are all playing elsewhere this season. The Cowboys did add former Utah State quarterback Andrew Peasley to the roster, but he struggled in the season opener against Illinois, completing 5-of-20 passes for 30 yards and an interception in a 38-6 loss.
This story was originally published August 29, 2022 at 9:00 AM.
