Bruised, battered Broncos have one last obstacle before well-earned break
After seven grueling weeks, Boise State is just one game away from its second bye week of the season.
A bye week early, after just two games, provided rest that the Broncos didn’t necessarily need at the time. But when this one rolls around, the team will have played on seven straight weekends, including road trips to Indiana (Notre Dame), Colorado (Air Force) and Reno, Nevada.
“We knew this seven-game stretch was going to be an absolute battle,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said earlier this week.
And a battle it’s been. Heading into its conference matchup against Fresno State (5-3, 2-2 Mountain West) on Saturday, Boise State (6-2, 4-0) has seven players listed as out.
One of those is redshirt junior wide receiver Chris Marshall, who was suspended by the team this week for a disciplinary issue, but the Broncos have others injured, including redshirt senior receiver Ben Ford, who suffered a season-ending injury against UNLV two weeks ago.
Redshirt senior safety Zion Washington and redshirt junior right tackle Hall Schmidt are also out, as well as wide receiver Demetric Whitlock Jr., running back Seth Knothe and linebacker Chase Martin.
And that’s not counting the players battling through the knocks they get week by week.
Redshirt junior Maddux Madsen has been wearing a protective boot since picking up an injury against Air Force on Sept. 20. Redshirt sophomore safety Cole Miller is wearing a neck roll, while multiple defensive players, including Jayden Virgin-Morgan, Marco Notarainni and Braxton Fely, have been sporting “cowboy” neck collars.
“As a freshman, I’m young, my body can handle the pain that football brings,” said Fely, a senior defensive tackle. “But now, as I’ve gotten older and played a lot more, I’m starting to hurt more and more.”
It’s gotten to the point of the season where it’s difficult for the team to practice live tackling, defensive coordinator Erik Chinander has said several times over the past few weeks, in fear of banging up players further or aggravating injuries.
A seven-game gap between bye weeks isn’t unique to Boise State, but it’s unusual. For instance, conference rivals San Diego State and Hawaii had four games between their bye weeks this season, while UNLV had just one week.
The luxury of having two bye weeks is rare. A college football scheduling quirk that doesn’t allow games to start until the Thursday before Labor Day often means there’s only room in the calendar for one.
But when Labor Day falls early enough in the month — this year it was Sept. 1 — it can build in an extra bye week. There were also two bye weeks in 2024, ‘19, ‘14, ‘13 and ‘08.
“I don’t know if they’ll believe me anymore if I tell them that I did the same thing,” Boise State offensive coordinator Nate Potter, who played at Boise State from 2007 to 2011, said about having to play seven weeks in a row.
Potter’s experiences have positioned him to understand what his players are going through.
“The big thing is just understanding when I can push them at practice, when I need to back off, how many reps do they really need, what can we get done without putting stress on their body,” Potter said. “I think I have a good feel for that.”
If there’s one bright spot for the Broncos, it’s that their bye week comes ahead of what is now looking like the biggest game of the season.
After facing the Bulldogs at Albertsons Stadium, Boise State will travel to San Diego State (6-1, 3-0) on Saturday, Nov. 15. The Aztecs, who have won five in a row and blanked Fresno State 23-0 last weekend, still play Wyoming and Hawaii before welcoming the Broncos.
Boise State vs. Fresno State
- When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday
- Where: Albertsons Stadium (32,796, turf)
- TV: Fox Sports 1 (Noah Reed, Robert Smith)
- Radio: KBOI 670 AM / 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
- Records: Boise State is 6-2, 4-0 Mountain West; Fresno State 5-3, 2-2
- Series: Boise State leads the series 17-9
- Betting line: Boise State by 17.5
- Weather: 65 degrees, partly cloudy, 12% chance of rain
