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Wednesday Weekly: January 14, 2026.
It was a good effort, coming as it did without the injured Javan Buchanan. And it wasn’t a blowout like the previous two games. But bad passes here and there and untimely missed free throws were enough to send Boise State to an 89-85 overtime loss at UNLV Tuesday night. It’s too bad, because in an up-and-down season, Drew Fielder had one of his up games, putting up 23 points and draining the three-pointer that sent the game to overtime. Andrew Meadow looked like his old self, contributing 21. The two key stats, through: the Rebels outrebounded the Broncos by seven, and UNLV scored 29 points off 15 Boise State turnovers, and a lot of those were careless. The Broncos had every opportunity to win it. As it is, their four-game losing streak is their longest in almost seven years.
THE LOSS OF THE CENTURY
Now that Boise State’s NCAA Tournament at-large bubble has been popped once and for all this season, the Broncos will have to win the Mountain West tournament to get into the Big Dance. It was a historic defeat that pretty much did it last Saturday night in ExtraMile Arena. Not only was the 93-68 loss to Utah State the worst at home during the Leon Rice era, it was the Broncos’ worst of the 21st century in that building. The last time they fell by more than 25 points at home was in a 78-46 loss to No. 3 Cincinnati on December 30, 1999. The Aggies put on a clinic, shooting 57 percent from the field and 44 percent from three-point range while dishing out 19 assists. It doesn’t get much better than that, and Utah State is now No. 23 in the AP Poll.
AGGIES FANS SAW BLOOD IN THE WATER
After coach Leon Rice’s pointed comments about the crowd after last Wednesday’s game, you knew one of the big storylines for the Utah State game would be the atmosphere. And it was. It was actually good despite the number of Aggies fans who made the trip. The crowd was into it early in the second half when the Broncos got the lead “down” to 16 points. Interesting that there was no booing during the many low points of the night. Good news or bad news? The last thing you want at this point is apathy. As for the USU contingent, it was a microcosm of what is the best student section in the Mountain West. Its presence was felt throughout the game, and it was an educated bunch, with taunts that dug right into the Broncos’ core issues. Unfortunately, Boise State has been unable to match that passion.
GOING BACK 7 DAYS…
There’s always a lull at some point for this Boise State basketball squad—and last Wednesday there were two against Grand Canyon. One was out of the gate as the Broncos went down 8-0. Then the knockout punch, as the Lopes wrapped a 25-6 run around halftime on the way to their 75-58 win in ExtraMile Arena. Boise State did get it down to four points but finally ran out of gas. The game didn’t tip off until 9:15. The crowd was decent at the outset, but it dissipated when GCU created that massive separation. It was at the end of that contest that Rice opened up about the empty seats.
BRONCOS RAKIN’ IT IN THE PORTAL
Boise State football has been uber-active in the transfer portal the past week. The Broncos have an oddly-stacked running backs room now with its two additions at that spot. They picked up Juelz Goff from Pittsburgh on Monday after getting Harry Stewart III from Kansas last week. Both Goff and Stewart were backups, but they look to be nice additions to Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines. Another new Power 4 face is safety Taebron Bennie-Powell out of Notre Dame. You have to wonder if former Fighting Irish defensive back Jaden Mickey gets an assist on that one. Bennie-Powell had just one tackle last season as a redshirt freshman—he’ll be hungry if nothing else.
The latest portal pickups are South Dakota safety Roman Tillmon and TCU cornerback Cam Jamerson. Tillmon, who led the Coyotes with 116 tackles and seven pass breakups last season, has two years of eligibility remaining. Jamerson redshirted last season for the Horned Frogs. Bottom line with those two: the Broncos have really addressed an area of need, the secondary. In addition to Bennie-Powell, they also have Kennesaw State corner JeRico Washington back there. Also in the past week, the Broncos secured a second linebacker, JC transfer Zyhaire Lewis out of Chaffey College. Lewis had just decommitted from Nevada. And the wide receivers room makeover continues, as Boise State brought aboard the nation’s leading junior college receiver of 2025, Akeem “Nitro” Wright of DeAnza College in California.
STAFF OPENINGS FILLED
Boise State could have done a lot worse than Frank Maile to fill the last available opening on its football staff. The respected veteran coach has been elevated to defensive line coach after spending last season as defensive analyst, a post he took after Jake Dickert’s departure from Washington State. Maile takes the job with the Broncos five years to the day after he accepted the same one under Andy Avalos. It doesn’t take much research to figure out that Maile is a players’ coach. He was the interim coach at Utah State in 2020 after Gary Andersen stepped down. And when Maile applied for the head coaching job, USU president Noelle Cockett allegedly made disparaging remarks about Maile’s Polynesian heritage and religious background. Players revolted, refusing to play in the Aggies’ season finale at Colorado State.
The pieces of Boise State’s 2026 football puzzle indeed came together. Since last Friday (in addition to Maile), the Broncos have officially announced Alvis Whitted as wide receivers coach to replace Matt Miller. That had been the rumor. Whitted, a former NFL receiver, comes from North Carolina State. And Boise State named former Cal staffer Terrence Brown as defensive backs coach. Brown will handle both cornerbacks and safeties, in effect replacing both Demario Warren and Tyler Stockton.
NFL NOTES
Ashton Jeanty was runner-up as The Athletic’s NFL All-Rookie running back, according to Dane Brugler. Jeanty led NFL rookies in rushing yards but his averages were low. Brugler notes that he was stuck on a bad Raiders offense and that fans “should put the career obituaries on hold.” Gooding High grad Colston Loveland tied for runner-up at tight end. Loveland is definitely saving his best for last in the playoffs with the Bears. Another Idaho tight end product, Kenyon Sadiq of Skyline High in Idaho Falls, could be in the mix for that honor next season. Sadiq is leaving Oregon and declaring for the NFL Draft, where he could be a first-round pick. And how about former Boise State star Khalil Shakir in Buffalo’s playoff win at Jacksonville, catching every one of his 12 targets from Josh Allen for 82 yards.
‘BIG RIG’ WILL TRUCK TO TEXAS MONDAY
After the Idaho Steelheads’ three-game road series against the Orlando Solar Bears, forward Brendan Hoffman will represent the team at the ECHL All-Star Classic on MLK Day in Allen, TX. Hoffman is in his second season with the Steelheads and leads the team with 19 goals and 32 points. The “Big Rig” was productive last week as the Steelies took two out of three games against the Greensboro Gargoyles in Idaho Central Arena. Hoffman scored three goals with an assist as Idaho improved to 21-10-3. The Steelheads are tied for second in the ECHL Mountain Division, five points behind Kansas City.
PERSKY TAKES OVER THE HAWKS
The Boise Hawks will have another new manager in this, their 39th year. Sean Persky has been promoted after serving as the Hawks’ hitting coach last season. Persky, a native of Pocatello, does have managerial experience, though—he skippered the Alpine Cowboys of the independent Pecos League in Texas for six seasons and won two championships. The Hawks finished 48-48 last year in their fifth Pioneer League season.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by BENCONNECTED…I-T and computer support, personified.
January 14, 2018: For the first time in NFL history, a playoff game ends with a winning touchdown scored on the final play of regulation when Minnesota’s Case Keenum throws a 61-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs to beat New Orleans 29-24 in the divisional round. They immediately called it the “Minneapolis Miracle.” The Saints had been miraculous themselves, rallying from a 17-0 deficit to take the lead with 25 seconds left. The effort must have taken everything out of the Vikings, as they were pounded by the Philadelphia Eagles 38-7 the following week in the 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.)
