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Wednesday Weekly: May 27, 2026.
The 100-day countdown to Boise State’s football season begins tomorrow, but we’ll start today (since it’s “column day” for the Scott Slant). And we’ll do it by zeroing in not on Oregon, but on Washington State, which is up to No. 2 behind Boise State in Jon Wilner’s latest Pac-12 projections in the San Jose Mercury News. Writes Wilner, “We have little sense for 35-year-old coach Kirby Moore’s ability to manage a program during the crucible of the regular season, but he deserves high marks for his decisions thus far. (Hiring former Oregon State head coach Trent Bray to run the defense was a shrewd move.) Moore’s task is substantially more manageable with arguably the best offensive line in the conference.”
As for the Broncos, Wilner focuses on Week 2 against Memphis as opposed to Week 1 at Oregon. “If the Pac-12 champion and the American champion are in a resume showdown for the CFP berth, the Sept. 12 result will loom large.” Wilner praises Boise State’s secret sauce: “a winning culture that dates back decades.” And really, that’s what it’s all about for this program.
RIGHT OUT OF IAN’S HIGH SCHOOL
If Boise State has become running backs university, or “RBU”—at the very least in the Group of 6 world—we were served another case-in-point last week in the form of Malachi McFarland, who committed to the Broncos for the 2027 recruiting class. According to Bronco Nation News, McFarland chose Boise State over offers from Oregon, Utah, Cal, UCLA and Arizona. He’s a 5-9, 180-pounder from Damian High School in LaVerne, CA, which happens to be the alma mater of one Ian Johnson. But, of course, it was watching Ashton Jeanty play that stuck with McFarland. He’s run a sub-10.5 in the 100-meter dash. ‘Nuff said. The Broncos’ running back tradition matters to McFarland. Boise State has produced a 1,000-yard rusher in 14 of the last 15 seasons (not counting the COVID year in 2020).
DALMAS DETERMINED TO FINISH STRONG
Jonah Dalmas’ third and final game of his brief stint in the United Football League is Sunday night, as the Columbus Aviators host the Louisville Kings to end the season (the Aviators did not make the UFL Playoffs). After booting a 47-yard field goal in his debut, the former Boise State standout was limited to three extra points last week in a 36-29 Columbus win over Birmingham. Dalmas was pressed into service as a punter in that game, averaging 43.7 yards on three boots. It was the first time he had punted since filling in for the injured Joel Velasquez as a true freshman in 2020. Dalmas said yesterday on Idaho SportsTalk that he hopes another good performance in Sunday night’s finale leads to a full-season UFL contract next year. And he certainly wouldn’t turn down an NFL tryout.
COOKIN’ WITH MORE RICE?
As of this recording, Boise State has not yet officially announced the return of Max Rice as an assistant men’s basketball coach. But it looks like it’s going to happen, and I (for one) am far from bothered by the head coach-and-son dynamic. Max has an uncanny competitive edge, and that will translate well to his dad Leon’s bench. He’d start by paying his dues—in Lexus Williams’ old job. I always liked to compare Leon and Max to former New Mexico head coach Craig Neal and his son Cullen, who played for him as a Lobo. It was a polarizing situation among fans—eventually Cullen transferred, and Craig was fired. It was never that way with Leon and Max at Boise State. In fact, it was ironic that Max’s best game of his career came in a victory at The Pit, when he was launching howitzer after howitzer—and scoring 35 points.
A MATCHUP THAT MAKES SENSE
The best scheduling opportunity for mid-majors in college basketball remains other top-tier mid-majors, unless your name is Gonzaga. I thought the home-and-home arranged between Boise State and Wichita State was great, and it started well with the Broncos winning a 62-59 thriller last November in ExtraMile Arena. The return game is now set, as Boise State will face the Shockers December 5 in Wichita. Wichita State went on to a 24-win season and made the quarterfinals of the NIT. The Shockers return 10 players from that team, including three starters, while the Broncos are piecing their roster together after an outflow of transfers and an inflow of portal additions. At least this rematch will be about four weeks into the season so Boise State can see what it’s got. This is a worthy matchup.
PAC-12 SHOULD BE GOOD WITH IT
The Pac-12/Mountain West settlement is yet to be revealed. Our two favorite West Coast college sports experts have slightly different estimates of what the dollar amount will be, but John Canzano and Jon Wilner agree that it will be less than half of the $155 million the Mountain West was seeking. Based on his sources, Canzano expects the number to be in the area of $70 million, while Wilner puts it closer to $60 million. Wilner cites legal experts unaffiliated with the case, who say the Pac-12 had a strong case that the $55 million in poaching fees was an antitrust violation—and precedent tells us exit fees usually settle for about 55 cents on the dollar. That would leave the Mountain West with $55 million from exit fees, and that’s it. Best-case scenario, says Wilner, is 60 mill.
PLAN B SURE SOUNDS BETTER THAN PLAN A
When a possible revival of the Poinsettia Bowl was floated out there, one rumor was that it could feature the champions of the new Pac-12 and the Mountain West. That wasn’t what the re-formed Pac-12 signed up for, but this might be. On3 Sports reports that the Poinsettia Bowl is finalizing a deal to pit the new Pac-12 champion, if it doesn’t qualify for the College Football Playoff, against a Pac-12 legacy team. The latter would include former Pac-12 members Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington. That sounds good, last year’s LA Bowl result notwithstanding. Sports San Diego, which would operate the bowl, hasn’t officially announced the return of the Poinsettia yet. It’s assumed it would be at Snapdragon Stadium.
DICKEY’S RIGHTHAND MAN CROSSES THE COUNTRY
Cody Gougler, Jeramiah Dickey’s lieutenant in the athletic department at Boise State, has “upwardly mobiled” himself to the University of Virginia. This was inevitable if you’ve watched Gougler’s increasingly important role evolve with the Broncos. Gougler’s official title was deputy athletic director, and he was a lot more effective than, say, Barney Fife. He connected with donors and fans the same way Dickey did and was a crucial part of Boise State’s revenue growth. Gougler will be Deputy Athletic Director for External Operations at Virginia. Next stop: an AD gig, undoubtedly.
MAYBE AC BOISE NEEDED THAT
Now that Athletic Club Boise has finally been knocked up ‘side the head on its home field, it has the good fortune of a quick turnaround to try to right the ship. The 3-1 loss to Fort Wayne FC last Saturday gives way tonight to the first rematch in team history. The Sarasota Paradise, who AC Boise upset 1-0 in Florida in the franchise’s debut in March, will visit ACB Stadium to try to get that one back. Safe to say practice has been pretty intense for AC Boise the past few days, as coach Nate Miller was none too happy with his club’s defensive effort against Fort Wayne. ACB will be looking for its seventh straight crowd of 7,200-plus.
AT THE OTHER END OF EXPO IDAHO…
The Boise Hawks ended their first series of the season 4-2 after taking four of six games from the Ogden Raptors—a good start for new manager Sean Persky. The final two victories over the weekend came in the “Knockout Round” home run competition that replaces extra innings. The Hawks opened a six-game series Tuesday night against the Modesto Roadsters at Memorial Stadium, and lo and behold, they’re now 5-2 after a 6-3 victory, with starter Andrew Baker going six innings to get the win.
ROBB’S FINISH & KIM’S OPPORTUNITY
Payette driver Sting Ray Robb did what he could last Sunday after starting in the back row at the Indianapolis 500. Robb finished 23rd in his fourth Indy start, one lap back of razor-thin winner Felix Rosenqvist. Also, belated congratulations to former Boise State golfer T.K. Kim, who qualified for next month’s U.S. Open through a qualifier last week in Dallas. Kim got there with a birdie on his final hole to finish four-under par in the 36-hole event. He played for the Broncos from 2009-13 and was All-Mountain West as a senior, advancing to the NCAA Regionals.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by TURN RIGHT SERVICES…building trust, one project at a time!
May 27, 1968: Chicago Bears owner George Halas retires as the coach of his team for the fourth and final time. The 73-year-old “Papa Bear” began his pro football career in the early 1920s when the team was the Decatur (IL) Staleys and he was its player-coach-owner. During his 40 years as coach, Halas won 324 games (an NFL record that wouldn’t be broken until 1994 by Don Shula) and seven championships. He continued as the Bears’ principal owner until he passed away in 1983 at the age of 88.
(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.)
