Boise State University at Fresno State University (-3)

Date: Saturday, November 4th, 2023

Time: 8:00pm MT

Stadium: Bulldog Stadium (40,727)

TV:CBS Sports Network

TV Commentators: Jordan Kent, Donte Whitner, and Brandon Baylor

Radio: KBOI 670 AM

Commentators: Bob Behler and Pete Cavender

Know Thy Enemy

November football is where champions are made, and this week it's the battle of “Not a State'' schools as Boise State heads to Fresno, California to battle the Bulldogs of Fresno State with an opportunity to keep pace in the Mountain West standings.

As the Broncos take the field on Saturday they will be met by the Red Wave and a Bulldogs team who is riding a 4-game home win streak. Last week against UNLV the Bulldogs found themselves down by 10-points heading into halftime, but used a huge 24-point third quarter to propel themselves to a 31-24 victory. That win kept their Mountain West title hopes alive as they now sit in a tie for second place at 7-1, 3-1 on the season. FSU has certainly had a really good season, but their path has not been easy with four of their seven wins being of the one-score variety.

Don’t be fooled by this Bulldog, because this team wants to go FAST. Fresno State has the third best passing offense in the Mountain West and 14th passing offense in all of college football. The Bulldogs are averaging almost 300 yards per game through the air and over 33 points per game. For quarterback Mikey Keene, it's a trio of receivers that have made the greatest impact this season. Erik Brooks, Jalen Moss, and Jaelen Gill all have over 36 catches and 4 touchdowns on the season. Both Brooks and Moss have 41 grabs so far. However, it's not just those three that have gotten involved. The Bulldogs have eight players who have double digit receptions this season and nine different players have caught a touchdown. The rushing attack for FSU isn’t specular but it has gotten the job done. Both Malik Sherrod and Elijah Gilliam share the load and both have over 80 carries a piece and combined have over 800 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns.

Defensively this Bulldogs team is a bunch of ball hawks and man eaters. Fresno State is third in the nation in turnovers gained, and fifth in the nation in passes intercepted. Right now they are averaging over 2 turnovers per game and are second in the nation in turnover margin. This secondary is scary, defensive backs coach J.D. Williams has his boys at the top of their game.

Fresno State is coached by Jeff Tedford. Tedford is in his second stint as head coach of his alma mater. He first coached the Bulldogs from 2017-2019. In his five seasons as head coach he has an overall record of 43-19. He’s also led the team to three conference title games and two conference championships.

Boise State and Fresno State are no strangers as Saturday will be the 26th meeting between the two schools. Boise State leads the all-time series 17-8. This matchup hasn’t been all that close in recent history with two of the three matches being decided by over 20 points.

What Happened Last Time

Boise State's quest for a Mountain West title was dashed after a 28-16 loss to Fresno State in the conference championship. The Broncos got on the board first with a 26-yard field goal from junior kicker Jonah Dalmas with 10:16 left in the second quarter. After two back-to-back Bulldog touchdowns late in the quarter, the Boise State offense drove 45-yards in 1:16 to set up a 47-yard field goal from Dalmas to cut Fresno State's halftime lead to eight.

In the second half, the Bronco defense forced a three and out, which then led to a 44-yard field goal from Dalmas with 10:04 left in the third quarter to make the score 14-9. However, the Bulldogs would then score touchdowns on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to 28-9 with just under 10 minutes left in the game.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Taylen Green connected with sixth-year senior wide receiver Davis Koetter on a 52-yard touchdown pass with 5:17 remaining, cutting the lead to 28-16. Boise State would attempt an onside kick but was unsuccessful. The Bronco defense was unable to stop the Bulldogs and Fresno State successfully held onto the ball for the final five minutes and were crowned the champions of the Mountain West.

Players to Watch

FRESNO STATE

SR., JAELEN GILL, WR #5

Jaelen Gill has been a touchdown machine for the Bulldogs this year whether it's been catching them or THROWING them. Gill has been responsible for seven Fresno State touchdowns, five receiving and two passing. Gill is in his first and only year with the program after spending time at both Boston College and Ohio State. Gill will be used in a variety of ways for FSU including being their “wildcat” quarterback. Gill has also been involved in the return game, averaging 21 yards per return.

SR., CARLTON JOHNSON, CB #2

Carlton Johnson has been lights out for the Bulldogs this year. His four interceptions leads the team, leads the conference, and is in a seven-way tie for third in the country! His year has been highlighted by his three pick day earlier this year against Arizona State. Even if he’s not catching the ball, Johnson is one of the best pass defenders in the county and he will presumably be tasked with shutting down the Bronco who wears #80.

SR.,DEAN CLARK, S #32

Boise State will have to account for the reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week in Dean Clark. Clark was responsible for two turnovers last week against UNLV in their come-from-behind victory. Clark has added 50 tackles this season and has had 8-plus tackles in each of the last three games.

BOISE STATE

Rs.FR., JAYDEN VIRGIN, DE #40

Jayden Virgin is getting his first real taste at playing time for the Broncos and it couldn’t be coming at a better time. The redshirt Freshman played a career-high 42 snaps against Wyoming last week which equates to over 93% of the total defensive snaps in the game. Simply put— Jayden didn’t come off the field. Last week he had five tackles and one tackle for loss. He’s really picked up the production the last three weeks and in those games he's combined for 10 tackles, and 2.5 tackles for loss. Boise State hasn’t had a real EDGE presence this season like they have had in the past, but Jayden Virgin is making a real case that he might be the next great one.

Rs.SO., ANDREW SIMPSON, LB #10

I have been really high on #10 of the defense for quite some time now. I just think he will be and already is a great linebacker. He’s got that nose for the football and the speed to play sideline to sideline. He had a bit of a slow start this season putting up just 19 tackes, 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks through the first five games, but in the last three he’s really turned it on, totally 16 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and 1 interception. The Boise State defense really came alive last week and impart was due to his play, as well as others.

Rs.SO., ERIC McALISTER, WR #80

There’s no way you don’t watch E-Mac on a Saturday, but what he’s done so far this season has really been remarkable, especially because we have no clue who will throw him the football! Eric McAlister was named to the Biletnikoff Award midseason watch list this last week. The Biletnikoff award is given to the top receiver in the country, which means the nation is taking notice of #80. Twice in the last three weeks McAlister has gone over the 150 yard mark. Coincidentally enough, Boise State won those games. The game he didn’t have those numbers was against Colorado State, and we want to forget what happened in that game. McAlister is 10th in the nation in receiving yards and receiving yards per game. Boise State’s got a true receiving weapon in E-Mac and the have to get him the ball.

Rev's Route to a Bronco Win

TAKE CARE OF THE FOOTBALL

The 2023 Fresno State defense is a turnover machine. Through 8 games they have forced 8 fumbles, recovering 6 of them and forcing 12 interceptions. Boise State has shown this season that they are more than willing to give the other team the football, having lost 8 fumbles and have thrown 7 interceptions. The reverse can be said about the Fresno offense and the Boise State defense. Fresno’s offense won’t turn the ball over and the Bronco defense hasn’t done a great job of creating turnovers. This week at the very least Boise State can’t give Fresno State extra possessions by giving up the football. Take care of the ball and good things will happen.

TRICKY TRICKY

Jaelen Gill has two touchdown passes this season on two different trick plays. One play he was in the backfield lined up in the “wildcat” and faked a run before finding a wide open teammate. The other came on a double pass where he caught the ball on a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage and then passed it to an open teammate. Boise State can’t fall for one of these trick plays and give the Bulldogs a cheap and easy touchdown. When #5 is behind the line of scrimmage they have to account for his ability to throw the ball.

Endzone for E-Mac

We’ve talked a bit about what kind of player Eric McAlister is and how invaluable he is for this Boise State offense. Well get this, Eric McAlister has caught touchdown passes in four games this season. The Broncos have won each of those games. I think you see where I’m going with this. Boise State has lost every time E-Mac hasn’t seen the endzone. No matter who is throwing the football they have to look #80’s way on Saturday.

Revs Rant and Prediction:

I’ll be the first to admit, I did not anticipate Boise State beating Wyoming by 23 points. I did think they would somehow lose that game, but even if they did manage to win it would have been close. But, the Broncos took the Cowboys down in epic fashion in an all-out beatdown and that's cool, I like it! Now it’s on to Fresno State. Despite having three more losses than the Bulldogs, the Broncos are going to Fresno State as only a 3 point or 3.5 point underdog which if you follow point spreads, three points is basically given to the home team automatically. So oddsmakers think this game is really up in the air as to who they think will win. All I know is it’s one of those games each season that you circle as a “must win!” It's a game where if you don’t win, no matter what happens the rest of the year, you don’t feel as great as if you do win. I want to win this game so badly and if we do win this game, it really ramps up the Mountain West championship talks and makes it a real possibility because it seems like this year if you lose two conference games there is no way you will find yourself in that championship game in early December.

Now to my prediction. I too think this game could go either way. I’m not totally convinced that the Bulldogs are playing their best football right now, and if last week is any indication, it seems like Boise State might be on the verge of playing its best football of the season. The two “if’s” for me and for really everybody is, 1.) Can Jeanty play? and 2.) Can the defense make enough stops? I have a feeling that Jeanty will do everything he possibly can to be out there on Saturday night and as for the defense, if they can hold them under 30 we have a shot. I’m back to drinking the kool-aid.

Boise State 32, Fresno State 27

Rev's Rundown

CFB: BOISE STATE (4-4, 3-1) AT FRESNO STATE (7-1,3-1) (-3)