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Thursday, December 9, 2021.

Boise State star Khalil Shakir apparently had heard enough from well-meaning folks suggesting he skip the Arizona Bowl to preserve himself for the NFL Draft. He answered with an “I’m Playing.” tweet Tuesday night, and just like that, he had hundreds of likes. A couple of weeks ago, Shakir talked about his love for his “brothers” and the university and the city while indicating he’d play in the Broncos’ bowl game. Now it’s 100 percent. Credit Shakir’s character, as well as the strength of the culture within the program. He doesn’t have to do this. By the way, my colleague Jay Tust at KTVB clued me in on this: Shakir is one of just three players in the FBS with 1,100-plus receiving yards and 100-plus rushing yards this season. He’s the only player in Broncos history to hit those specific benchmarks in a single season.

KOETTER’S FINGERS ARE CROSSED

Wide receiver Davis Koetter and tight end Kurt Rafdal met with the media Wednesday, and what they said about using their extra COVID year of NCAA eligibility magnifies one of the subplots of the offseason. Both players said they’d like to return to Boise State in 2022, but Koetter acknowledged it’s not up to him. The Broncos have to fit any super-seniors into the 85-player scholarship limit, along with their 2022 recruiting class. My vote is: bring ‘em both back.  Koetter battled injuries off and on this fall, but we saw glimpses of what he can do as he has 14 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown. Rafdal bookended his season with a couple of nice performances—a couple of catches at UCF and his first career TD at San Diego State. And he was important in the run game.

EARLY LINES AND LEANINGS

We’ve seen a lot of college football betting lines blown up on game day this season. But here it goes any way. BetMGM has Boise State favored by 9.5 points over Central Michigan in the Arizona Bowl on New Year’s Eve. In part, that’s a nod to the difference between the Mountain West and the MAC, as the Chippewas are 8-4 and the Broncos are 7-5. But Boise State has two Top 25 wins. Along those lines, Chris Vannini of The Athletic has rolled out his new rankings of all 130 FBS teams. Vannini has Boise State at No. 56 and Central Michigan at No. 76.

SO YOU’RE TELLIN’ ME THERE WAS A CHANCE?

Yes, Boise State could have played in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl for the first time in 16 years, but the stars would have had to align. “Our model as a bowl game is not to have Boise State in our game,” executive director Kevin McDonald told KTVB’s Jay Tust. “We realize that the coaching staff and the players in most cases would prefer to hop on a plane and have their bowl experience elsewhere, not home.” The door was certainly open, especially after the Broncos lost to San Diego State. “I knew it was a long shot all the way,” said McDonald. “We thought over the past week that Wyoming was our team, and if something happened with Boise State, we would be here for it.” It didn’t, but the Arizona Bowl probably had something to say about that.

THE OLD FACE IS THE NEW FACE

Familiarity is Fresno State’s friend right now. The Bulldogs are bringing back Jeff Tedford as head coach to replace Kalen DeBoer, who left last week for Washington. Tedford had resigned at the end of the 2019 season due to health reasons, but he’s apparently healthy now and ready for more. He split four games and two Mountain West championships with Boise State during his first stint. This is as much stability as Fresno State can hope for. Tedford is the Bulldogs’ fifth different coach in the past seven years, but Wednesday night his return spurred quarterback Jake Haener to withdraw from the transfer portal after it was assumed he was following DeBoer to UW.

MR. BENCH POINTS?

Boise State has not been very prolific off the bench so far this season, so it needs a lot more of what Naje Smith did Tuesday night at Cal State Northridge. Smith went 7-for-7 from the field and canned a trio of three-pointers, totaling a career-high 17 points in the 74-48 win over the Matadors. It was Smith’s first game in double-figures since the season opener against Utah Valley. He had scored just five points combined in the Broncos’ previous four games. Put it all together, and Smith has averaged 5.6 points per game this season. And hey—he’s 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Smith should be productive again Friday night against Prairie View A&M, but next Tuesday versus Santa Clara is where the rubber will meet the road.

STEELIES STIFLE THE STING RAYS

Goaltender Jake Kupsky deserved a break after shutting out Kansas City on the road last Saturday night. So the Idaho Steelheads plugged in Matt Jurusik between the pipes in Idaho Central Arena against Carolina Wednesday night. And guess what? Jurusik blanked the Sting Rays 3-0 for his first professional shutout. He made 24 saves while Kyle Marino, Will Merchant and Luc Brown were scoring the goals. It’s the first time in almost four years Idaho has posted back-to-back shutouts—and the first time on home ice in 18 years. The win pushed the Steelheads into sole possession of first place in the ECHL Mountain Division.

This Day In Sports…brought to you by BBSI BOISE…payroll, process and prosperity for your business. 

December 9, 1961, 60 years ago today: In one of college football’s forgotten bowl games, Baylor upsets No. 10 Utah State 24-9 in the first Gotham Bowl in New York. The Aggies were led by future Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen, but he couldn’t draw a crowd all by himself—only about 15,000 fans showed up at the iconic Polo Grounds. The second and final Gotham Bowl was played a year later in Yankee Stadium. Utah State wouldn’t make another postseason game until the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl. Since then, the Aggies have played four bowls in Boise, the inaugural Humanitarian Bowl in 1997 and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in 2011, 2012 and 2015.

(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors five sports segments each weekday on 93.1 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.) 

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