Presented by BACON BOISE.
Wednesday Weekly…October 8, 2025.
Maddux Madsen now turns his attention to New Mexico this Saturday in the friendly confines of Albertsons Stadium. And they should be friendly confines. Nobody’s taking the loss at Notre Dame harder than Madsen. But it was a team defeat. For Madsen, it was all about the picks. There were times that he was in a rhythm against the Fighting Irish, especially in the Broncos’ last possession of the day. He was 4-of-4 for 36 yards, looking for a feel-good touchdown until that dreaded fourth interception. Not to bring Taylen Green, but Green’s numbers for Arkansas against the Irish were similar to Madsen’s: 17-of-32 for 207 yards and no touchdowns—but just one pick. Madsen is undefeated against the Mountain West as a starting quarterback. For the rest of this season, we can set the Power 5 issue aside.
CFP NO LONGER AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW
Chris Vannini’s rankings of all 136 FBS teams this week didn’t move Boise State down any after the loss at Notre Dame. Thing is, the Broncos are No. 62 (New Mexico is No. 75, if you’re keeping score). As it pertains to Boise State, that tells you that even with a running of the table in the Mountain West, it’s really difficult to imagine the Broncos—or whomever wins the league—rising high enough to sniff the College Football Playoff. The American conference has a huge advantage, with five teams in the running for the Group of 5 spot in the CFP. Navy, Memphis and North Texas are still undefeated, and South Florida and Tulane have only one loss. The Tigers are No. 23 in the AP Poll and the Bulls are No. 24. The recalibrated goal for Boise State has to be the LA Bowl.
THE ECK EFFECT IN ALBUQUERQUE
New Mexico coach Jason Eck, of course, never coached on the Blue during his three-year run at Idaho. So Saturday night’s game marks Eck’s first shot at Boise State. And right now he’s a Mountain West Coach of the Year candidate, despite the Lobos’ loss at San Jose State last week. UNM is 3-2, but the biggest effect Eck has had on the program in Albuquerque so far is attendance—which means community engagement, and consequently dollars. University Stadium has been known for huge swaths of empty seats for years. That’s one reason New Mexico wasn’t invited to the Pac-12. But after drawing less than 18,000 for Idaho State, Eck went after it following the Lobos’ victory at UCLA. For the rivalry win over New Mexico State two weeks ago, UNM filled the facility with 37,440.
NO PROMOTION FOR RYPIEN
When Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor hinted at a quarterback change after Jake Browning struggled mightily again in the Bengals’ loss to Detroit Sunday, we kind of figured this might happen. Former Boise State standout Brett Rypien has been Cincy’s backup, but would Taylor really elevate him to starting status this week? No. The Bengals traded on Tuesday to get 41-year-old Joe Flacco from Cleveland, and Rypien doesn’t even have a clipboard now, as he’s been waived. This is Rypien’s seventh season in the NFL, and the Bengals are the seventh team to cut him loose.
KELLEN MOORE’S LOCKER ROOM
Postgame locker room celebrations by winning teams have become a routine part of social media posting. So it was for the New Orleans Saints last Sunday after their coach, Kellen Moore, picked up his first NFL victory, 26-14 over the New York Giants. A lot of these videos are for show, but Moore’s players look like they genuinely care about him. After Kellen had thrown out all his game balls, star Saints running back Alvin Kamara interrupted him and gave him one of his own to commemorate the moment. “We got one—now we carry the momentum and start stacking ‘em,” shouted Moore. It’ll still be hard for this team to stack wins, but the guys are all-in. New Orleans is at home Sunday against the New England Patriots.
IN-STATE RIVAL ON THE BLUE
No, not that rival. But it is a step. Idaho State will visit Boise State on the blue turf in 2030 as part of the Broncos’ non-conference schedule. When the game arrives, it’ll be the first time Boise State and ISU have played in 15 years—since a 52-0 Broncos win in 2015 on the night Rypien made his college debut. Boise State leads the series 25-6. The other piece of the in-state puzzle is obviously Idaho, and I’m betting some kind of announcement will happen on that front sooner or later. And I’m betting the revival of that series, last played in 2010, will materialize before 2030.
ROAMING THE STATE
It’s not a good time to be playing Idaho, coming off a bye week during which it stewed about a 41-30 loss at Montana. The Vandals are back in the Kibbie Dome for homecoming as they host Northern Colorado, which is also coming out of a bye but isn’t suited to upsetting a rested, motivated and more talented team. Idaho is probably the best 2-3 team in the FCS. Idaho State gave Montana all it could handle in Holt Arena last week before falling 42-38. The Bengals go into a buzzsaw this Saturday at Montana State, though. And College of Idaho got back on track with a 48-7 road route of Simpson University last Saturday. The Yotes, now 4-1, are idle this week.
DEGGIE IS NORTH OF THE BORDER
Former Boise State star Tyson Degenhart, not unexpectedly, was waived by the Toronto Raptors out of rookie camp a couple weeks ago. But Degenhart’s Exhibit 10 contract is working the way it’s supposed to. Exhibit 10 contracts are non-guaranteed one-year deals that give players a signing bonus of up to $85,000 if they’re waived after spending at least 60 days on the team’s G League roster. And that’s where Degenhart is headed, Toronto’s Raptors 905 team in the G League. And Degenhart is excited about it. “Canada is great—I’ve enjoyed being here so far,” said Degenhart via email. “Toronto traffic is awful, so I’m glad I don’t have a car here! Uber is the way to go!”
ALMOST TIME FOR SERIOUS ICE
The Idaho Steelheads season is coming up on us quickly, with training camp underway now and the team’s first exhibition game set for Friday night at Idaho Central Arena. As is the case most of the time, hockey success starts with goaltending, and one name to watch is Nolan Maier, who’s under contract for the 2025-26 season. Maier enters his fourth pro season after spending the first three splitting time between the AHL and ECHL. The Steelies can be seen as Maier’s chance for a breakout. Last season he appeared in 22 games for the ECHL’s Maine Mariners, posting a 10-11-1 record with a 2.93 goals against average and .897 save percentage.
HUERTA’S AC BOISE COMMITMENT
Sofia Huerta, the most accomplished women’s soccer player ever to come out of the Treasure Valley, is keeping the ties alive. Huerta has joined AC Boise as a minority owner, seeing this is the avenue to give back to the community that she’s been looking for. She got ahold of AC Boise CEO Brad Stith and wanted to get involved. Now 32, the Centennial High grad has 2023 World Cup experience under her belt as well as setting the NWSL career assists record last August while playing for the Seattle Reign.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by CITIZENS AGAINST POACHING…protecting Idaho’s wildlife.
October 8, 1995, 30 years ago today: The most memorable moment in Seattle Mariners history to date, as Edgar Martinez beats the New York Yankees in the Kingdome with a dramatic double in the playoffs. Martinez brought home the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the 11th inning to rally the M’s to a 6-5 win, sending them to the American League Championship Series for the first time. Seattle would, however, lose the ALCS in six games to the Cleveland Indians. The Mariners have still never been to the World Series—will this be the year? This is only their second playoff appearance in the past 24 years.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
