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Monday Special…December 15, 2025.
Watching the LA Bowl Saturday night, well, it felt a lot like the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl. It was a helpless feeling as Boise State was overwhelmed 38-10 by Washington. The Broncos team six years ago finished 12-2 after its 38-7 loss to UW; this one ended 9-5. So what do we make of this season? I think successful but disappointing sums it up. Successful in that Boise State recovered from a disastrous first half of November to make the Mountain West championship game and win an unprecedented third straight title. Disappointing in that the Broncos managed only one touchdown in each of their five losses.
THE POWER 4 PROBLEM
Boise State’s 10-game losing streak to Power 4 schools includes a couple of games it should have won—Oregon last year and Oklahoma State in 2021, for example. But this one leaves a sour taste that the Broncos will have to live with the next 8½ months. The Huskies’ dominance demonstrated the widening gap between the Power 4 and the Group of 5 (soon to be Group of 5 with the re-formed Pac-12). That doesn’t excuse the lopsided result, but Washington is in the Big Ten and has what the Broncos don’t: a budget advantage that includes elite facilities and a massive bucket of NIL money, translating into talent and depth.
THE START & THE FINISH
It started well, with a 41-yard kickoff return by Malik Sherrod that led to a 52-yard field goal from Colton Boomer, the longest ever by a Bronco in the postseason, and the defense getting some stops. But the offense wasn’t much better than it was with CJ Tiller at quarterback in SoFi Stadium two years ago, switching from Maddux Madsen to Max Cutforth at halftime after an injury to Madsen. And defensive lapses eventually cost the Broncos, beginning with the demoralizing 78-yard touchdown pass from Demond Williams to wide-open Denzel Boston. There were two record book entries that made all the difference: the five interceptions thrown, tying a 37-year-old postseason mark, and the record-setting four TD passes allowed.
THE MISSING PERSON
It didn’t help that Kage Casey wasn’t lined up at left tackle. But it wouldn’t have changed the result much. It wasn’t announced until Friday, but Casey did opt out of the LA Bowl to prepare for the NFL Draft. As disappointing as it was, Casey’s move is commonplace in today’s college football environment. The only thing it didn’t include was a social media post from Casey, which would have helped. He ends his Boise State career with 2,762 career snaps, only seven sacks allowed and just three penalties. Against Power 4 teams, Casey didn’t give up a single sack, nor did he commit a penalty. Next April, he seeks to become the eighth Boise State left tackle to be drafted into the NFL this century.
SENIOR SAYONARAS
Among the Broncos who did play their final games as Broncos, Marco Notarainni tops the list. Notarainni led Boise State with eight tackles, two of them for loss with one sack. Six of his stops came in the first quarter. Props to Latrell Caples, the sixth-year Bronco, who grabbed five catches for 70 yards. Caples ended the season with 51 catches, 14 more than any other receiver. That also matched his team-leading total from 2022. Matt Lauter, a tight end, was Boise State’s second-leading receiver with 37. Lauter completed his uneven senior season with the eight-yard touchdown catch in the final minutes against Washington, only his second TD of the year. Caples had 144 career receptions and Lauter 97.
ANOTHER EEK-OUT OVER SAINT MARY’S
In its third neutral-court game in three years against Saint Mary’s in Idaho Falls, Boise State exhaled with an important one-point victory Sunday afternoon. The Gaels had come into the game ranked No. 17 in the NCAA NET ratings—so that, combined with the road win at Butler the week before, gives the Broncos’ profile a boost. It was a wacky game of ebbs and flows, as Boise State raced out to a 13-0 lead to start the contest. But Saint Mary’s is too good not to make a run, and it happened immediately, with the Gaels making a 13-0 run of their own to tie the game. The run at the end was tense. The Broncos led 66-52 with just over four minutes left before Saint Mary’s ran off 12 straight. A Gaels turnover with one second left prevented a dramatic comeback win. Boise State 68, Saint Mary’s 67.
Drew Fielder was money again, as the one-time Rocky Mountain standout and Georgetown transfer led Boise State with 22 points, going 10-for-17 from the field and adding six rebounds. Fielder did a solid job against Gaels seven-footers Andrew McKeever and Harry Wessels, helping hold them to a combined seven points. By the way, former Owyhee High star Liam Campbell, a true freshman for Saint Mary’s, scored seven points. The Gaels still have designs on joining the Pac-12 as a non-football member. Here’s hoping the door opens for them. I think it would be great.
Beginning next year, Boise State will be playing Washington State every year, and that now means facing former Bronco Kirby Moore. Yes, Kellen’s younger brother was named the new head coach of the Cougars Friday after a successful run as offensive coordinator at Missouri. A good reason for Moore to be at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl at Albertsons Stadium next Monday. My most vivid memory of Kirby as a player at Boise State was his first career touchdown catch as a true freshman in 2009. We were calling the game live on KTVB—it was the first brother-to-brother TD pass in Boise State history. It looked like Kellen had slightly overthrown another receiver, but the replay showed him laying it right over the top of a Spartans defender and into the arms of Kirby, who turned it into a 61-yard score.
YOTES WERE IN CONTROL, UNTIL THEY WEREN’T
College of Idaho (where, incidentally, Kirby Moore began his coaching career in 2014) saw its outstanding season come to an end at same place as it did two years ago: Keiser University in Florida in the NAIA semifinals. The Coyotes took a 21-9 halftime lead in West Palm Beach before Keiser picked away and captured a 36-27 victory to advance to the NAIA national championship game. Quarterback Caden Young, the junior from Emmett, finished his season in spectacular fashion, throwing for 281 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 131 and two more TDs. The Yotes end the season at 11-2.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by BIG BUN DRIVE-IN…old-time goodness you can grab on the run!
December 15, 1997: In an emotional ceremony at Candlestick Park, the San Francisco 49ers retire Joe Montana’s No. 16 jersey. Montana, considered by many to be the best quarterback of the 20th century, led the 49ers to four Super Bowl titles during his 14 seasons in San Francisco. The festivities began with a video replay of Montana’s most famous throw and an iconic moment in NFL history, “The Catch,” his six-yard touchdown pass off his back foot to Dwight Clark that beat Dallas 28-27 in the 1981 NFC championship game.
(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.)
