The Broncos have had a rollercoaster of a season…
The team had a quarterback controversy, fired their head coach, suffered injuries to both of their star running backs and their quarterback, lost their top wide receiver to the transfer portal and yet somehow still has a clear shot at the Mountain West Championship game. Their future now completely relies on a computer.
After a 27-19 win over Air Force (7-5, 6-2 MWC), the Broncos did all they needed to do to qualify for the Mountain West Championship. The win meant Boise State only needed UNLV to win in order to qualify for the Mountain West Championship game. Since UNLV lost to San Jose State, the path to the Mountain West Championship game a little tricker.
Boise State, San Jose State, Air Force and UNLV all finished the regular season with a 6-2 conference record. Because of Boise State and UNLV never played each other this year, all three teams are caught in a three way tie.
In order to break this tie, the Mountain West Conference announced that the participant and host of the championship game will be determined by computer rankings. The results of the computer rankings will be announced Sunday morning.
Despite their route to the championship game being uncertain, the Broncos deserve credit for what they have been able to accomplish.
The Broncos buckled down over the last three weeks, stringing together three wins over conference opponents in what seemed like a throw away season.
Through all that noise, one man steadied the ship to close out the season. That man was none other than interim head coach Spencer Danielson.
There has been a noticeable difference in consistency on the field since Danielson took over. After the team fired Andy Avalos, he took the reins and had one message for the team: two more weeks.
“The resiliency of these leaders, this team, this staff, and that’s why they deserve all the credit because they never flinched,” Danielson said. “I asked for two weeks, they gave me that, they gave this place that, they gave Bronco Nation that, and now we have an opportunity to play in a championship.”
Here we are two weeks later. The Broncos beat the once No. 18 ranked Air Force Falcons in their last game on the blue turf, 27-19.
The game was a rough ground and pound match. Right from the get go, the Broncos established that they were going to beat Air Force at their own game by running the ball down their throats.
Running back duo Ashton Jeanty and George Holani played major roles in the matchup.
Jeanty had a career high 118 receiving yards on the day, tacked on 107 rushing yards and made two trips to the endzone.
Jeanty’s performance marks the first time a player rushed and received for over 100 yards since Jeremy McNichols did it in 2016.
“That’s the thing about Ashton, he has a really big skillset,” Danielson said. “Not only can he make you miss in space, he can absolutely run you over too which if you have that together, makes an elite running back which he is.”
Sophomore quarterback Taylen Green also probably had his best game of the season, He completed 13/17 passes for 228 yards, recording a touchdown and two interceptions, as well as rushing for 25 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Green led the offense the whole game, and the Broncos never trailed, maintaining a one or two score advantage through all four quarters.
“So proud of Taylen. And once again, this season has not gone exactly the way Taylen’s wanted it to go,” Danielson said. “Seeing him come back from a couple turnovers and continue to lead his team, make big time throws, step up in the pocket, so proud of him.”
The defense also played a great and complete game. Junior defensive end Ahmed Hassanein recorded a sack for his eighth straight game, which is the longest active streak in the nation.
In poetic fashion, redshirt junior cornerback Kaonohi Kaniho intercepted a deep ball on Air Force’s last chance to score, icing the game with 30 seconds left.
After the game, the players were ecstatic because of the win. Danielson was one of the last to enter the locker room, and when he got there, the players had their way with the coach.
“Was hoping they didn’t drop me,” Danielson said. “In those moments, seeing the smile on their face, all the work they’ve put in to get to that point, seeing that joy in their face, that’s just what is so rewarding for me.”
Every game this season has felt like a “must win”, but this game really was do or die as it had major implications for who’s going to the Mountain West Championship game.
With teams like Fresno State and Air Force previously losing easy games over the last three weeks, they’ve now been knocked out of contention, however Boise State handled business in that timespan and now has a real shot at being back in the game.
“It means everything. This is why we came to Boise State, to win championships,” redshirt sophomore linebacker Andrew Simpson said. “It hasn’t really gone our way the past few but we’re still out there every day and we believe every day, even after the tough ones, we believed and we’re happy to see that our goal is still right there in front of us and we’re going to do everything in our power to capture that.”
Boise State now has to wait for computer rankings to decide if they’ll get to go to the Mountain West championship.
Their odds of going are high as the Broncos hold a head to head advantage over San Jose State, so in the three-way tie at 6-2 in conference Boise State is very much alive.
