Boise State University (3-2,2-0) (-9) vs Fresno State University (1-3, 0-0)
Boise State University (-9) vs Fresno State University
Date: Saturday, October 8, 2021
Time: 7:45pm MT
Stadium: Albertsons “Bronco” Stadium (36,387)
TV:FS1
TV Commentators: Alex Foust and Petros Papadakis
Radio: KBOI 670 AM
Commentators: Bob Behler and Pete Cavender
Know Thy Enemy
It’s number #1 vs #3, in dairy production that is, as Boise State gets set to host Victor E. and the Bulldogs of Fresno State University on Saturday in the battle for the ‘Milk Can!’
The Bulldogs are coming into Albertsons Stadium looking more like poor puppies after their improbable loss to FBS cellar dweller UConn over the weekend. Fresno State comes into this game at 1-3 and is currently in the midst of a three game losing streak. Through four games (Cal Poly, Oregon State, USC, UConn) many expected the Bulldogs to be 3-1 at best, 2-2 at the very least, but at 1-3 the sky might be falling for the Red Wave. And to pour salt in their wounds, their star quarterback Jake Haener is week-to-week with a high ankle injury and did not play last week against UConn. But much like Boise State they still have their entire Mountain West schedule in front of them so the season is not a total bust…yet.
The Bulldog offense is orchestrated by an old familiar friend in Offensive Coordinator Kirby Moore. Moore has been on staff at Fresno State since 2017 and is in his first season as their OC. The success of the offense seems to rely heavily on the play of their quarterback. When that quarterback is Jake Haener, the sky's the limit, but when its anyone else, well it makes even the most suspect defenses look like the ‘85 Bears. Since Haener’s arrival on campus, when he is the starting quarterback the Bulldogs are 14-8 compared to 4-9 when he is not. Is clear that he makes them a better team. The Bulldogs are a well balanced offense in terms of run/pass numbers. In every game this season they have almost been 50/50. A lot of their success will come with establishing the run game and quick passing game.
The defense is still finding their grove this season. After giving up big numbers to Oregon State and USC they bounced back with a solid game last week against UConn. One could give a pass to the Bulldogs on that side of the ball this year as they are dealing with their fourth defensive coordinator in the past 6 seasons. They do return 7 starters with playmakers at every level. The players in the secondary are the stars of this unit, but have been playing without their top defender in Evan Williams the last couple of weeks.
Fresno State is coached by Jeff Tedford. His first tenure in Fresno began with a division title in 2017, with a team that only had one win the season prior, a conference title in 2018 and a Top 25 ranking. 2019 was plagued by injuries and one-possession losses, then coach Tedford stunned the Bulldog faithful by announcing his retirement due to health issues. After his successor changed breeds from Bulldog to Husky the natural choice for Bulldog fans and administrators was to get Jeff Tedford back. Luckily, his health has improved, and he was ready to take the reins again. In his four seasons at Fresno State Tedford is 27-17.
The Broncos vs Bulldogs rivalry began all the way back in 1977, but the heat really didn’t get turned up until these two teams played annually from 2001-20014.Once the Mountain West split their conference into divisions with a rotating schedule this game has been played three times in the regular season since 2014. However, in the 23 matchups, 10 games have featured a top-25 team, 5 have been decided by a touchdown or less, and 3 have been in the Mountain West Championship game. Boise State leads the all-time series 16-7, with a 10-2 home record.
What Happened Last Time
Hank Bachmeier passed for 283 yards and a touchdown and Boise State had five sacks and forced three turnovers to muzzle No. 25 Fresno State's high-scoring offense in a 40-14 victory Saturday night.
Boise State dominated in the rematch of the 2018 Mountain West championship game. The Broncos lost that snow-filled game in overtime and had to wait three years to get their revenge, but never trailed and took advantage of a sloppy night by the Bulldogs. George Holani rushed for 117 yards on 21 carries. Jonah Dalmas matched his career best with field goals. Fresno State’s Jake Haener passed for 279 yards and two touchdowns for Fresno State, but threw three interceptions — one in the end zone. Fresno State had all sorts of problems and was held to its lowest point total of the season while playing in front of its first sellout at home since 2017. The Bulldogs were limited to 356 yards of offense — well below their 480-yard average going in — and had 11 penalties including a holding call that negated a 97-yard interception return for touchdown in the first half. Dalmas kicked three field goals and Andrew Van Buren scored on a 1-yard run to get the Broncos off to a fast start, but Boise State's defense did the most damage with four sacks before halftime.
With 41 seconds remaining in the half, Bronco Jonah Dalmas kicked a 27-yard field goal to make it a two-possession game at 16-7. That started a stretch of 27 unanswered points to give the Broncos a 40-7 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game. Zane Pope added a touchdown for the Bulldogs in the final minutes. The Win marked Boise State's first win in Fresno since 2011.
Players to Watch
FRESNO STATE
SR., NIKKO REMIGIO, WR #1
SR., JORDAN MIMS, RB #7
Jordan Mims is one bad dude. So far this season, Mims has almost been unstoppable. He leads the team in carries (66), rushing yards (358), and rushing touchdowns (5). He also is averaging over five yards per carry on the season. Last week in the loss at UConn was the first time this season that Mims did not go over the century mark on the ground. Mims has had two decent performances against Boise State in his career, but has never cracked 100 yards on the ground in a game against the Broncos. The Broncos will have to kennel this Bulldog if they want to win on Saturday.
SR., LEVELLE BAILEY, LB #6
Bailey might be underappreciated, but not for long. Linebacker Levelle Bailey found his way onto the field as a freshman in 2019, starting five games and posting 30 tackles and six tackles for loss, and then he made five more starts the following year before breaking out in 2021. He finished third on the Bulldogs defense in total tackles, but he also contributed six pass breakups, eight tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and two interceptions. According to Pro Football Focus, he was the only linebacker in the Mountain West to finish with pass rush and coverage grades in the top ten.
Heading into this week, Bailey now has 35 career games, including 26 starts, on his resume. His ability to get things done both at the line of scrimmage and well behind it will be as important to the Bulldogs’ turning this season around in conference play.
BOISE STATE
Rs.SR., DJ SCHRAMM, WIL #52
It wouldn’t be right to not name the reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week as a player to watch the next week. DJ Schramm has done nothing but excel in his new role at weakside linebacker. Last week against the Aztec Schramm accounted for 11 total tackles, four tackles for loss and a forced fumble. He was a man on a mission last week and that trend looks to continue this week in a big game against Fresno State.
Rs.SO., KAONOHI KANIHO, CB #14
Boise State’s corners have had their share struggles so far this year giving up big plays to opposing receivers. This week they go up against two formidable receivers in Nikko Remigio and Jalen Moreno-Cropper. If Biggers takes the latter Kaniho will have the responsibility of the former. Remigio has shown he can be a handful so Kaniho will have to bring his “A” game Saturday Night
Rs.SR., BILLY BOWENS, WR #18
Last week Billy Bowens had a beautiful diving catch on a long 62-yard bomb that sparked some excitement for the Broncos in what was a lack luster first half. Bowens was a highly recruited player coming out of highschool with offers from multiple Mountain West schools as well as an offer from BYU and Arizona. Injuries have plagued his development, but Bowens is eyeing this season as a breakout one. Bronco Nation is desperate for a receiver who will take over a game and with this new offense and Bowens ability to stretch the field we could be in for some exciting moments this week as the Broncos go up against an injury riddled Bulldog secondary.
Focus Position Group: Wide Receivers
It has been a while since the Broncos did have a face of the program in the receiver room. You can go down the list of great pass catchers that have gone through the Boise State program. Just since 2000 you’ve had the likes of Tim Gilligain, TJ Acree, Billy Wingfield, Brisain James, Jerard Raab, Tyler Shoemaker, Vinny Perretta, Titus Young, Austin Pettis, Matt Miller, Thomas Sperbeck, Shane Williams-Rhodes, Jeremy Childs, Cedric Wilson, and Kalil Shakir… just to name a few! But this year’s receiver room is kind of a faceless group with no real leader. However this week the media did talk to Billy Bowens who had this to say after the rushing performance last week and the new role the receivers have to take, “If it aint broke don’t fix it. whatever’s working lets go. If that’s me going in there and making a big block to spring a big run let’s go…once again we all buy in and it’s a collective game…if I don’t get a pass the rest of the game so be it.” The receivers have to do their part this week to keep this offense going and when their number is called they have to make the most of it.
Rev's Route to a Bronco Win
Just like Novocaine
Legendary coach Herman Boone of the T.C. Williams High School, when challenged about the size of this playbook once said, “I run six plays, split vear, it's like novocaine, just give it time it always works. Well Dirk Koetter channeled his inner coach Boone last week because he said, “We were basically on a five play rotation and they couldn’t stop it.” At one point last week the Broncos ran 17 consecutive run plays and the Aztecs had no answer for it. This week Boise State needs to just keep doing what they were doing in the first half of last week and just like novocaine it will always work.
1-2 Punch
The Second half of last Friday proved to Bronco Nation that this Boise State team has a new rushing attack that nightmares are made of. The tandem of Holani and Jeanty is down right lethal. Against SDSU last week the Broncos had 12 carries of 10+ yards and 5 carries of 20+ yards. Something clicked in that backfield and it needs to continue this week for the Broncos.
Take it away
This week the recipe for success is tried and true; run the football and create turnovers. This week Boise State’s defense faces another backup quarterback. Last week Tyrique Jones’ interception in the second half changed the trajectory of the game and Boise State only allowed 12 yards in the second half against the Aztecs and their backup qb.Bulldogs backup Logan Fife struggled against the UConn Huskies a week ago, throwing two interceptions and being sacked twice. This week if the Broncos can force some early chaos, it could spell disaster for the Bulldogs.
Editor Note:
Adults In Charge
Last week on the post game show “Bronco Game Night” long time sports talk radio host Mike Prater said that a ‘former player’ texted him during the game when Boise State was making their comeback that “Adults were now in charge.” I’m not sure exactly how old the former OC was, but it does seem to me that the current OC has a leg up on his predecessor. The halftime adjustments were great and the offense seemingly has found its recipe for success with their three-headed rushing attack. For this ameture sports writer, the new regime is a breath of fresh air. Even the press conferences leave me with the feeling that these guys know what they are talking about and I am not waiting for some promise to be made that may or may not happen. The Broncos have found the right guys to lead this offense and I’m excited to see how it blossoms.
Green Machine
The dawn of a new ear of Bronco Football might be upon us and it comes via the legs of Taylen Green. There are only 3 quarterbacks in the FBS with multiple 100+ rushing yards and 2+ rushing touchdowns in a game this season. One of those is our man, TG10! With his performance last week Green was also named Mountain West Freshman of the Week. Last week Green dazzled the crowd with his speed and athleticism. It took Green a half to really get settled in, but after halftime Green played like a seasoned veteran. With another week to prepare and get comfortable with being, “the guy” Green will show out against the Bulldogs.
Wild Wild West
The Mountain West has been wild through two weeks of conference play. San Jose State and UNLV (these two teams play each other this week) have come on strong and are the darlings of the West Division. Which seems very odd that both the preseason 1 and 2 in San Diego State and Fresno State are not looking very strong. After Last week Boise State has jumped significantly in the Mountain West power rankings and outside of Air Force, seem to be the favorite when it comes to representing the Mountain side in the Conference championship. It’s crazy to think that two weeks ago, Boise State fired a coach and had a quarterback transfer and the season was going down the drain to now talking about championship or bust! Such is the world of college football!
Sunday Sermon Title:
GREEN MEANS GO- Fresno Has No Answer for Green and Three-Headed Monster
Boise State was cookin’ in the second half against the Aztecs and that will carry over to this week where the Broncos put two halves together and take advantage of a hobbled Fresno State team. Broncos Win BIG
Boise State 42, Fresno State 17
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