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Friday Special: September 4, 2026.
It might be a good game on Saturday. It might not be. But regardless of what happens, the Boise State-Oregon series will always occupy a special place in Broncos lore. So let’s enjoy (and wish Braxton Fely well at Oklahoma).
SEPTEMBER 20, 2008
Boise State picks up a landmark win, its first-ever over a BCS school on the road, with a 37-32 victory at Oregon. It was the one validation long-time naysayers had been looking for, and the Broncos made their season debut at No. 19 in the AP Poll and No. 20 in the Coaches Poll the following day. Redshirt freshman quarterback Kellen Moore was unfazed by the loud throng of 58,713 in sold-out Autzen Stadium, throwing for 386 yards—including a 73-yard bomb to Vinny Perretta—and three touchdowns in only his third college game. Moore keyed a wild 24-point second quarter that allowed Boise State to hold off a frantic fourth quarter Ducks rally.
SEPTEMBER 3, 2009
In what was billed as the biggest home game in Boise State history, the 14th-ranked Broncos smother 16th-ranked Oregon 19-8 before a record crowd of 34,127 and a national audience on ESPN. The night belonged to the Boise State defense, as the Ducks didn’t register a first down until midway through the third quarter and had only 152 yards for the game in the debut of new head coach Chip Kelly. An end zone takedown of LeGarrette Blount for a safety by the Broncos’ Billy Winn produced arguably the loudest single moment in Bronco Stadium history.
But it was the aftermath that was long remembered—marred when Blount sucker-punched Boise State’s Byron Hout after Hout trash-talked him, mocking a Blount quote in Sports Illustrated during the summer that said: “We owe that team an ass-kickin’.” The chaotic incident became an instant YouTube sensation and resulted in a season-long suspension for Blount (though he was reinstated that November).
DECEMBER 16, 2017
Boise State, a 7½-point underdog, thumps Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl 38-28 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The Broncos ambushed the Ducks, playing their first game under new coach Mario Cristobal, by forcing four first-half turnovers and outgaining Oregon 294-77 before the intermission. Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch constantly harassed Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert.
Brett Rypien threw for 362 yards, and Cedrick Wilson had 10 receptions for 221 yards, the most ever by a Bronco in an FBS bowl game. Boise State improved to 3-0 versus the Ducks and 4-0 all-time in the Las Vegas Bowl. It was the culmination of a Mountain West championship season that saw the Broncos recover from a 2-2 start and finish 11-3.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2024
Boise State takes No. 6 Oregon to the wire before falling 37-34 on a final-play field goal at Autzen Stadium. With the Ashton Jeanty legend building, people nationally wondered if the Broncos star could work his magic against a Power 4 blue blood playing its first FBS game as a member of the Big Ten. All Jeanty did was rush for 192 yards and three touchdowns, including a 70-yard dash that tied the game in the fourth quarter. He then had an eight-yard TD to give Boise State the lead.
But the Broncos will forever rue the two touchdowns they gave up on special teams—an 85-yard punt return and a 100-yard kickoff return. Still, the near-miss benefitted the Broncos all season, as they climbed the rankings while running the table to earn a spot in the first 12-team College Football Playoff.
SEPTEMBER 5, 2026?
How many superlatives do you want for Oregon? There’s this one: “The best college football program without a national championship.” Saturday the Ducks, No. 2 in the preseason AP Poll, become the highest-ranked team Boise State has ever faced. And, broken record time. So much has changed even in the two years since the Broncos nearly upset the Ducks. Increased NIL spending and the advent of revenue sharing last summer has made the gap between elite Power 4 programs and the Group of 6 exponentially larger. There’s a reason for the point spread of 24.5 points. Bill Connelly’s ESPN SP+ picks for Week 1 have the Ducks winning 40-13. Just be ready, Bronco Nation. Whatever happens, everything the Broncos want will still be in front of them.
A FORMIDABLE TASK, YES
Reverting back to Phil Steele’s magazine in the Boise State-Oregon talk. Steele says the Ducks have the second-best defensive line in the country behind Ohio State. And many disagree with him. They think Oregon is No. 1. All four starters are back, and at least two of them—Bear Alexander and A’Mauri Washington—are projected as high NFL Draft picks next spring. This is another example of how Saturday’s game probably won’t be representative of the Broncos’ true ability this season. Led by Roger Carreon, there’s continuity and experience on the Boise State offensive line despite the fact it’s replacing three starters. But will it be stout enough to hold up against what it’ll be dealing with at Autzen? This’ll be the best D-line the Broncos have ever faced.
GATLIN BAIR
It was May of 2023 during the district track and field prelims in Mountain Home. Burley’s Gatlin Bair, already a five-star football recruit, ran a 10.15-second 100-meter dash, the fastest-ever time by an Idaho high-schooler.It would also end up being the fifth-fastest time in the nation that year. Bair committed to Boise State in August of 2023 and decommitted three months later, eventually landing at Oregon. He then went on a two-year LDS mission and joined the Ducks program this January. Everyone’s been waiting to watch Bair, and now he’ll get to debut against his one-time college choice. Bair is some kind of true freshman, do ya think? Oregon neglected to release a depth chart for this game, but you know Bair’s on it somewhere at wide receiver.
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September 4, 2017: J.D. Martinez of the Arizona Diamondbacks becomes only the third player in major league history to hit four home runs in a game off four different pitchers in a 13-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Each of the 30-year-old outfielder’s homers traveled more than 400 feet, with the longest measured at 439. Martinez was the 18th big leaguer to hit four home runs in one contest, a feat more rare than a perfect 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.)
