Presented by ZAMZOWS.
This Day In Sports…October 31, 2020, five years ago today:
With starter Hank Bachmeier left home, possibly due to the coronavirus, USC graduate transfer Jack Sears makes his first start at quarterback for Boise State. And on his first snap at Air Force, Sears uncorked a 75-yard touchdown pass to CT Thomas. Sears would go on to throw for 280 yards and three TDs and add another score on the ground as the Broncos dropped the Falcons 49-30. It Boise State’s fourth straight win over Air Force.
Coach Bryan Harsin had preached it ever since the Mountain West announced a salvaged 2020 football season, which at this time was just a week old: every Boise State Bronco had better be ready to turn on a dime and enter the lineup amidst all the unknowns of a pandemic-altered fall. So it was with Sears, who went 17-of-20—his completion percentage of 85.0 was eighth-best in Boise State history.
Sears displayed great instinct, sensing pressure and spinning out of it—he rushed five times for 36 yards and another TD. Sears guided the offense to a very efficient evening. The Broncos took only 49 snaps but still racked up six touchdowns (they got a seventh on an Avery Williams kickoff return). Sears’ role became even more important after star running back George Holani was injured midway through the first quarter.
All the annual warnings about the triple-option were well-founded. Air Force ran for 415 yards, the fifth-most rushing yards ever allowed by Boise State. The Falcons had 167 yards on just 15 carries in the first quarter alone and 267 at the half. Things improved after the break, as the Broncos yielded “just” 148 rushing yards. But there was another category that saw Boise State keep Air Force in check. The Falcons were successful on three of their first four third down conversions but went just 1-for-9 thereafter. A key to the game.
Sears would start the next week against BYU on the blue turf, but he’d go down with an injury in the first quarter after going 4-for-4 for 41 yards. He didn’t play again that season. Sears stuck around in 2021, backing up Bachmeier again. He appeared in only three games, though, and attempted only six passes. Sears had an extra year of eligibility to use due to COVID and went into the transfer portal after that season—but he never came out.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
