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Wednesday Weekly…November 5, 2025.
What does leadership look like inside the Boise State locker room? Is it raw emotion? Is it quiet encouragement? Is it holding every teammate accountable? The latter would seem to be as important as anything right now after the wheels fell off against Fresno State last Saturday. There are some influential seniors on this team: Matt Lauter, Marco Notarainni, Braxton Fely, Latrell Caples, A’Marion McCoy and Jeremiah Earby, to name a few. But to hear Lauter tell it, there’s a little “Do as I say, not as I do” among those who see themselves as leaders. You can’t commit an egregious penalty and expect to lead by example (because that’s obviously not it).
Two things that Lauter said on the KBOI postgame show after the 30-7 shocker were intriguing, not in a good way. “There are guys on this team that need to prep more,” said Lauter. He tied that into the false starts, which weren’t all by offensive linemen. “Prep” is supposed to be what this team is all about. And, Lauter said, “We can’t have leaders on the field who make mistakes and then get all vocal in the locker room.” That does not sound like the Boise State culture as we’ve perceived it. That the Broncos have settled into a penalty-prone season is baffling, and they’re at a crossroads. Somebody has to take the bull by the horns. It’s a soul-searching bye week down there.
NO ’TRADE DEADLINE’ TO WATCH
Still trying to process what happened in that game. This was the same Boise State team that destroyed UNLV two weeks earlier—56 points on the same field, at the same time of day, with the same weather. Truth be told, the slide started at Nevada and continued before Maddux Madsen’s early injury against Fresno State. But it did get worse. If Boise State was in the NFL in this situation, it could trade for a No. 2 quarterback on another team—or pluck Brett Rypien from the Indianapolis Colts practice squad. The Broncos don’t have that option, of course.
So as they stare down the best defense in the Mountain West on the road in 10 days at San Diego State, they’ve gotta figure out a way to score. Outside of a second-quarter touchdown pass against Fresno State, Max Cutforth couldn’t do it, and he’s already in a massive cram session now to try to see the field better and make quick, instinctive decisions. Can that happen in such a short period of time? Cutforth averaged 3.7 yards per attempt versus the Bulldogs with two interceptions and two fumbles (one of them lost). Boise State has to get No. 3 QB Kaleb Annett ready, too.
I LOVE HISTORY – I HATE HISTORY
If you thought you witnessed history, well, you did. Boise State gained only 193 offensive yards on Fresno State. When was the last time the Broncos managed less than that? It’s only been three years since they had a worse offensive performance (177 yards at UTEP in 2022). But that’s as much lipstick as you can put on the performance. It was the ninth-worst total in school history. It was the fewest yards in a home game since 1980. And it was the fewest in a home conference game ever. Somebody asked me on social media about the last time Boise State scored only seven points in three different games in the same season. I had to look it up. I kept going and going, all the way back to 1968. The answer is never.
ON THE BRIGHTER SIDE
If you need something positive out of Boise State football this week, it’s the Broncos’ national ranking in pass defense. They were 85th in the country in passing yards allowed after the win at Air Force six weeks ago, when they in distress. Well, Boise State allowed just 35 yards through the air against Fresno State, as Bulldogs quarterback Carson Conklin struggled even more than the Broncos’ Cutforth did. Open up the NCAA stats, and Boise State is now up to 17th, giving up 168 yards per game. That’s a swing of 68 spots.
ONE FROM GOODING, ONE FROM HOMEDALE
The most viral highlights among local ties in NFL Week 9 didn’t come from Ashton Jeanty or Khalil Shakir, but from two true Idahoans. Gooding High grad Colston Loveland, the first round pick out of Michigan, scored his first two NFL touchdowns for the Bears, and the second was a jaw-dropping 58-yard catch-and-run that won a 47-42 shootout over Cincinnati. And Homedale’s Scott Matlock, the L.A. Charger, looked like his Boise State days, notching his first touchdown as he snuck out of the backfield and gathered in a four-yard pass from Justin Herbert in a 27-20 win at Tennessee. Matlock caught two TD passes as a Bronco out of the Clydesdale formation. He looked perfectly natural to us.
THEY COME IN TWOS?
It was a double-downer in three days’ time for Boise State sports. What was more embarrassing: the football loss to Fresno State, or Monday night’s 79-78 hoops loss to Division II Hawaii Pacific? Man oh man. What a way to open the season. The Sharks put everything into this game, urged on by Boise native and HPU associate head coach Cameron Flabel. It took almost 12 minutes for the Broncos to get a lead over HPU, and it was only temporary. The Sharks led most of the way. Is it a matter of missing the physicality of Tyson Degenhart? Because Hawaii Pacific took it to ‘em—a team that beat Washington in a closed scrimmage last week. Boise State should bring it against Utah Valley Saturday in ExtraMile Arena, keeping in mind that UVU beat West Coast Baptist by 81 points Monday night.
THE LAST TIME…
Boise State’s loss to Hawaii Pacific was its first to a non-Division I team since falling 67-54 to Lewis-Clark State at the BSU Pavilion in 1995 during a 2-6 start in Rod Jensen’s first season as coach. Two years before that, with Boise State Hall of Famer Bobby Dye at the helm, the Broncos lost 75-68 at home to Adams State and former Northwest Nazarene coach Terry Layton. That one has a footnote, though, as Boise State would later make a Cinderella run to a Big Sky Tournament championship and make the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season. So there’s that.
IDAHO, IDAHO STATE IN THRILLERS
Back to football, and this might not be a good time to be playing UC Davis. The Aggies are seething after being upset by Idaho State last Saturday in Holt Arena. Next up: Idaho in the Kibbie Dome. The Vandals have bounced back with two straight victories, the latest coming 35-32 at Northern Arizona on ESPN2 last Friday. Idaho looks to climb back to .500 against Davis. ISU is still reveling in what might be coach Cody Hawkins’ best win. Trajan Sinatra nailed a 50-yard field goal with 52 seconds left to win it. And basketball? Idaho stunned Washington State in Pullman Monday night, leading wire-to-wire in an 83-81 win.
YOTES HEADED FOR A SHOWDOWN
College of Idaho football is packing its defense for its trip to Carroll College on Saturday. Because the Yotes sure unpacked it against Arizona Christian last week at Simplot Stadium. C of I held ACU to just 116 yards on the day. The 15th-ranked Yotes improved to 7-1 and will have its hands full at Carroll, which is also 7-1. Both teams are 4-0 in the Frontier Conference. In hoops, defending NAIA champion College of Idaho is 1-1 after splitting games in Montana last weekend. The Yotes are home against Rocky Mountain College and Park University/Gilbert this weekend in the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
STEELIES IN K.C.
The Idaho Steelheads look for consistency as they hit the road for a three-day series against the Kansas City Mavericks, beginning with a “Kids Day” tilt this morning. The Steelheads are 4-4 in a tightly-bunched ECHL Mountain Division, tied for second in points with the Mavericks behind first-place Tahoe. It was the Knight Monsters who suffered a 5-2 loss in Idaho Central Arena last Wednesday before handing it right back to the Steelies with a pair of 5-2 victories over the weekend.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by BACON BOISE…fresh breakfast and brunch every day!
November 5, 1988: The Miami Heat play their first game in franchise history. The moribund L.A. Clippers were Miami’s Opening Night opponent, but it didn’t matter as the Heat were blown out, 111-91. The Heat would go on to lose their first 17 games before finally breaking through with their first victory on December 17—against the Clippers. Miami would go 15-67 in that first season. Seventeen seasons later, the Heat would win their first NBA championship in 2006 behind Dwyane Wade and league MVP Shaquille O’Neal.
(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.)
