Boise State has a penalty problem. Could it be ‘performance anxiety’?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Boise State averages 8.8 penalties and 77.2 penalty yards per game.
- Penalties rose from 5.5 per game in 2024 to 8.8 through five games in 2025.
- Offensive pre-snap errors drive most penalties; staff cite accountability and practice fixes.
The Boise State football team has developed an unhealthy habit of taking one step forward and two steps back to start the 2025 season.
Or, more accurately, 5 yards forward and 10 yards back.
Through five games, Boise State has had 44 penalties (8.8 per game) accepted for a total of 386 yards (77.2 per game). Out of the 136 FBS teams, both the number of penalties and the yardage put the Broncos six spots from the bottom of the rankings. It came to a head last week in the 28-7 loss to Notre Dame, with 13 penalties for 112 yards.
“All penalties are a version of a lack of discipline,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said Monday. “No question, I’ve got to look at that, as a staff, with our players. How can we make sure we have high accountability to make sure that doesn’t happen?”
Those penalty numbers, not acceptable by any stretch, stand out because the Broncos normally show pretty good discipline. Last season they were called for 5.5 penalties per game, which ranked 52nd, easily putting them in the top half of the nation’s teams.
Across 13 games in 2024, Danielson’s team committed double-digit penalties on just one occasion — the final game of the season, when Boise State had 13 in the 31-14 loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. Through five games in 2025, the Broncos have hit double figures twice: 12 in the 49-37 win over Air Force, and the aforementioned 13 last weekend.
The uptick is puzzling when you consider there wasn’t some massive upheaval in the offseason.
The only coaching change saw tight ends coach Nate Potter replace Dirk Koetter as offensive coordinator, while Zak Hill returned to the program as the quarterbacks coach.
On the field, the offensive line has seen a slight shakeup, but it lost just one starter. The starting quarterback returned, as did a starting receiver and the tight end. The defensive line saw a little more change, but it’s been the offense that’s been problematic from a penalty standpoint.
In the loss to Notre Dame, 10 of the 13 penalties were committed on that side of the ball, and false starts and illegal motions are an issue.
“The presnap is continuing to be a problem, and we’re trying to find a lot of different solutions, but we have to be able to be dynamic in the presnap,” Potter said. “It’s given us an advantage a lot of times already this year, so we can’t shy away from that, but we have to get it fixed.”
Danielson brought up one interesting thing that could be affecting his team.
“Is it performance anxiety?” Danielson said. “Then we’ve got to turn the heat up more in practice. So when I get in the game, I’m not acting out of character. I’m doing exactly what I’m trying to do.”
While talk of “performance anxiety” halfway through the season for an experienced team might sound strange, Danielson could be on to something. In Boise State’s three road games, the totals were eight penalties at South Florida (34-7 loss) and the 25 combined at Air Force and Notre Dame.
In the two home games, the numbers were six penalties vs. Eastern Washington (51-14 win) and five against App State (47-14 win).
Redshirt junior edge rusher Jayden Virgin-Morgan, a leader on the defense, didn’t discount the idea that performance anxiety could play a role.
“I think playing in front of a bigger stage and a bigger crowd is going to affect a few players differently,” Virgin-Morgan said Tuesday. “I think that can somewhat make an impact on some players.”
Boise State vs New Mexico
- When: 7:45 p.m. Mountain time Saturday
- Where: Albertsons Stadium (33,000, turf)
- TV: FS1 (Noah Reed, Robert Smith)
- Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
- Records: Boise State 3-2; New Mexico 3-2
- Series: Boise State leads the series 13-1
- Vegas betting line: Boise State by 16.5
- Weather: 59 degrees, partly cloudy, 16% chance of rain
