LA Bowl preview: A big opt-out, SoCal recruits, and will Gronk race Blitz?
The last time Boise State football was competing in SoFi Stadium, running back Sire Gaines had just recently turned 17 years old and had committed to play football at Boise State about a week prior.
Gaines had made the approximate 80-mile drive west from his hometown in Perris, California, to Los Angeles to watch his future team take on UCLA in the LA Bowl. Unfortunately for the young Gaines, Boise State lost 35-22 in what also happened to be Spencer Danielson’s first game as permanent head coach.
But two years on, Gaines and Danielson have a chance to set the record straight when Boise State once again takes the field at SoFi Stadium on Saturday night. This time, the Broncos (9-4, 6-2 Mountain West) will take on the Washington Huskies (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten), and Gaines figures to play a big part in the game.
The LA Bowl begins at 6 p.m. Mountain on ABC.
“He was watching the game two years ago, not a part of our team yet, just got signed, and now he is a huge part of this family,” Danielson said Friday afternoon at a press conference at SoFi Stadium. “So it’s just really cool to have these moments with guys that have been here, some haven’t, it’s an awesome experience.”
Danielson was joined at the press conference table by Washington head coach Jedd Fisch and, in the middle, the host of the LA Bowl: future NFL Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Here’s what else was said at Friday’s press conference ahead of Saturday’s season finale.
A recruiting hotbed for Boise State
While Gaines was in attendance for Boise State’s last outing to the LA Bowl, he’s far from the only California native on the team.
Of the 98 players on Boise State’s roster, 33 hail from California. And of the 29 incoming freshmen who signed with Boise State on Dec. 3 as part of National Signing Day, 11 are from California, including quarterbacks Jackson Taylor and Cash Herrera.
“This is an area that we recruit a lot,” Danielson said. “And so it’ll be really cool for some recruits to watch and see it and be able to play big-time games on the West Coast.”
Fisch said Washington also recruits heavily in California and hopes the game’s timing will bring a lot of eyes to the two programs. The LA Bowl is the second-earliest game to kick off on the bowl calendar, and it starts on ABC immediately after the Heisman Trophy ceremony, meaning eyes across the nation will automatically be tuned into the game.
Boise State’s Kage Casey opts out
Danielson confirmed Friday that redshirt junior left tackle Kage Casey would be opting out of the LA Bowl to focus on the 2026 NFL Draft. Danielson said earlier this week he would be having conversations with multiple players regarding their availability for the weekend, but only Casey opted out.
“It’s something that me and him worked through,” Danielson said. “And we love Kage, he’s a Bronco forever, but he prayed about it and felt that his time had come to an end.”
Casey is projected as a Day 2 selection in the NFL Draft, having entered the season surrounded by draft buzz and projected as high as the first round.
Redshirt sophomore Kyle Cox is listed as the backup left tackle on Boise State’s depth chart and looks in line to start against Washington on Saturday evening.
Gronk makes his game prediction
Boise State may be coming into Saturday’s game as an underdog by over a touchdown, but Gronkowski fancies the Broncos’ chances. The former New England Patriot was hosting his first LA Bowl in 2023 when the Broncos fell to UCLA.
“I’m going with the Boise State Broncos. I think they’re going to win by three points, by just a field goal tomorrow, and they’ve got to redeem themselves,” Gronkowski said. “They lost to UCLA two years ago when they should have won that game. So I think Spencer and the Boise State Broncos are going to be prepared. They’re going to win this game 27 to 24.”
The ever-whimsical Gronkowski also said he was ready for a race rematch with Blitz, Boise State’s tee dog that garners cheers as loud as any Bronco when he’s announced at Albertsons Stadium.
Gronkowski said his race with Blitz was one of his favorite moments from the 2023 LA Bowl. Gronkowski won that race because Blitz got briefly confused and ran off to the sideline, but Gronk said he was ready to cheat if need be.
“I had steak in my pocket, and I was going to throw it to him so he slowed down,” Gronkowski explained. “But I didn’t need to, because he got distracted already.”
The tactic for the upcoming race? It’ll be Blitz’s final race before retirement, and Gronk seems to be feeling generous.
“This is Blitz’s final race. I love dogs. I’m a dog guy, I have a dog, I’m for the dog,” Gronkowski said. “So I might let him just win.”
