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This Day In Sports…September 26, 1998:
We talked about Dirk Koetter’s head coaching debut at Boise State three weeks ago. It’s worth circling back to the subject of Koetter to revisit one of the most storied drives in Broncos history. It led to a 31-28 Boise State upset of Utah in Salt Lake City. With 2:08 left, quarterback Nate Sparks replaced Bart Hendricks, who had produced a pretty good night. But Koetter had a hunch. The Broncos had the ball on their own one-yard-line, trailing 28-24. Sparks marched Boise State 99 yards, capping the drive on an 11-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Smith with 45 seconds left on the clock.
It was a pivotal win for Boise State, coming as it did over a quality team from the WAC. And the Broncos were coming off two consecutive losing seasons wrapped around the death of beloved coach Pokey Allen. Without the upset of the Utes, there could have been a third in Koetter’s first year as head coach. But the Broncos posted a 6-5 record, and when they got win No. 6 in November, Koetter made sure everybody marked the spot, as he trumpeted the school’s first winning season as a Division I-A program. There hasn’t been a losing season since.
Boise State beat Utah again in 1999, 26-20 on the blue turf. It was actually the Broncos’ second victory over a Mountain West school in that conference’s inaugural season (they had also defeated New Mexico in Bronco Stadium a couple weeks earlier). That was the year Boise State won its final six games, capturing the Big West championship and winning its first bowl game in the Humanitarian Bowl. The Broncos repeated as champs and H-Bowl winners in 2000, and after the season Koetter headed to Arizona State. Of course, he’s been back with Boise State in various capacities since 2022 (currently an offensive analyst).
The Broncos have faced Utah twice since that crucial 1998 win. They stunned the Utes 36-3 in Rice-Eccles Stadium in 2006 in a game that kick-started their run to an undefeated season and a certain Fiesta Bowl win. The teams played again in the 2010 Las Vegas Bowl on a night when many thought they’d be preparing for a Rose Bowl. But a stunning overtime loss to Nevada in November sent Boise State into this matchup instead. The Broncos dominated the Utes 26-3 to up their advantage in the series to 5-2.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
