Broncos thrive on big plays from receiver, who lives the ‘dream’ in career-high day
Boise State quarterback Taylen Green threw for 188 yards Saturday on 18-of-29 passing, an average of just over 10 yards per completion.
Just five of those passes accounted for 129 yards, however, helping the average greatly in the Broncos’ 42-18 win over North Dakota.
And on four of those, wide receiver Eric McAlister was the target, proving his big-play capability.
McAlister entered the game with nine receptions for 95 yards. He exited with 15 catches for 238 yards on the season, courtesy of a stellar day: 143 yards receiving and two touchdowns, and five grabs that covered at least 20 yards.
“The message to him was, like, that’s what he’s capable of doing, and now how do we stay humble?” Boise State coach Andy Avalos said. “How do we stay hungry and continue to grow, because we’re going to need to keep doing that. We need to keep finding those opportunities, and it’s awesome to see him take advantage of them today.”
McAlister hauled in passes of 34, 28, 21 and 20 yards from Green, and also caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from backup QB Maddux Madsen in the fourth quarter. His TD reception from Green covered 28 yards, and his only other catch went for 13 yards and a first down.
He also drew a pass interference call in the end zone on a TD drive.
“It’s a dream to come in here and perform in front of your fans and for your team, especially when they need you,” said McAlister, a 6-foot-4 sophomore from Texas. “It’s been a long time coming. This is a dream of mine to be here.”
The yardage total was a career high for McAlister, far surpassing the 70 yards he had against Nevada last season.
In addition to his passing totals, Green had 35 yards rushing Saturday, with one scramble going for 21 yards. Ashton Jeanty scored three touchdowns for Boise State but also lost two fumbles. He had just 73 yards from scrimmage after busting out the first two games of the season.
Avalos said he liked how “aggressive” the offense was Saturday, trying a reverse, completing a lateral-pass play that went for 17 yards and using Jeanty in the wildcat formation a few times. Boise State had 394 yards of offense and six touchdown drives, but also lost three turnovers.
Schramm, Holani and Dooley all out
Boise State’s leading tackler from the 2022 season was not on the field against North Dakota.
Sixth-year senior linebacker DJ Schramm, who paced the Broncos with 107 tackles last season, was among four players out for Saturday’s game..
Joining Schramm on the injured list were starting left guard Ben Dooley, running back George Holani and egde Cortez Hogans, according to a Boise State spokesperson. Holani was out for the second straight game, with Hogans missing his third straight.
With Schramm out, redshirt sophomore Marco Notarainni started. He had a breakout game last week against UCF, registering his first sack as a Bronco and finishing with six total tackles. He followed that up with a whopping 13 tackles, including another sack, in the win.
Dooley briefly exited the UCF game last week with an injury but was able to return. He was replaced by redshirt junior Nathan Cardona, but true freshman Jason Steele is listed as Dooley’s backup on the depth chart. Senior Ethan Carde, a Texas Tech transfer, started in his place.
Iowa State transfer ruled ineligible
Redshirt sophomore nose tackle Howard Brown, a transfer from Iowa State, has been ruled ineligible indefinitely for the Broncos. Boise State is appealing the ruling.
The ineligibility stems from his actions while a member of the Iowa State football team, a Boise State spokesperson said.
“Howard Brown has been deemed ineligible for competition stemming from activities while he was a student-athlete at a previous institution,” Boise State Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey said in a statement. “The NCAA, which is now conducting its review, will make a determination regarding his eligibility for competition once that review is complete. We will not have any further comment on that matter until it is fully resolved.”
Howard, a high school quarterback who morphed into a 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive lineman, joined the Broncos on scholarship this season and has three years of eligibility remaining.
The native of Kansas City, Missouri, took a redshirt year in 2021. He played in six games for Iowa State last season, contributing mostly on special teams, and finished the year with two tackles.
Quick hits
The Broncos wore blue jerseys, white pants and white helmets. ... Team captains DJ Schramm and Riley Smith were joined by wide receiver Stefan Cobbs and cornerback Markel Reed as game captains. ... North Dakota won the coin toss and elected to defer. ... Boise State was led onto the field by safety Ty Benefield, who carried the Dan Paul Hammer. ... Left tackle Kage Casey carried the American flag and nose tackle Herbert Gums carried the Bleed Blue flag. ... Former Boise State defensive lineman Michel Borgeau, a member of the Broncos’ 1980 National Championship team, raised the Blue Chaos Flag prior to kickoff against North Dakota. ... True freshman Prince Strachan had his first career reception. It was a 26-yard catch in the second quarter.
This story was originally published September 16, 2023 at 9:24 AM.
