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Wednesday Weekly: July 22, 2026.
Now we can start thinking about former Boise State star George Holani’s chances of making an impact in his third year as a Seattle Seahawk. Veterans report Friday to Seahawks training camp in Renton (rookies are already there). With Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker off to Kansas City and Zach Charbonnet still rehabbing a torn ACL suffered in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, Holani got first-team reps in OTAs over Notre Dame rookie Jadarian Price. And although Price may be the favorite to start until Charbonnet returns, Seahawks observers have never been higher on Holani. When Charbonnet was lost last January, Holani was just recovering from an injury of his own and stepped in at the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl to make a significant contribution.
The fact that optimism is high on Holani’s chances of breaking through at running back this year is striking considering his stats on offense over his first two seasons in Seattle. He has 25 career carries for 83 yards and one touchdown, plus three receptions for 14 yards in the regular season. Holani’s playoff numbers are modest, too, but they came at crucial times last season in those two rather huge postseason games: five carries for 10 yards and a big first down, and four catches for 34 yards and another big first down.
LINE IN THE SAND FOR MADSEN
The Athletic’s second annual look at the tiers of FBS quarterbacks, ranking all 138 projected starters, has Boise State’s Maddux Madsen at No. 61. Madsen is in Tier 5, described as “a mix of some of the top Group of 6 QBs, Power 4 first-time starters and productive veterans with a lower ceiling or who are looking for a fresh start. These are quarterbacks teams can win with and who have distinct traits, but they are missing something that can vault them to the next level.” Madsen was at No. 23 a year ago. The Athletic says, “There’s no more accomplished quarterback in the Group of 6 than Madsen, but questions remain about his ceiling and whether he can carry an offense.” Fuel for Mad Dog. Madsen is second in the Pac-12 behind Texas State’s Brad Jackson, who’s in Tier 3, ranked No. 27.
BOISE STATE PROPS IN BLACK & WHITE
I’ve been tracking this stat since before it was considered a thing: Boise State’s streak of winning seasons. The number is currently 28, dating back to 1998. The Broncos have had that crown since 2018, when Florida State’s record of 41 straight winning seasons was broken. But I must say, I’ve never seen a current list of the top five (not that I couldn’t have these days through AI). Well, a social media group called College Football Zone posted one: Boise State 28, Alabama 19, Clemson and Georgia 15 and Ohio State 14. The Broncos have nine more consecutive winning seasons than the second-place Crimson Tide. Some would point to the level of competition. But if it was that easy, why isn’t any other Group of 6 team remotely in the ballpark?
BETTER THAN HE WAS GIVEN CREDIT FOR
I wanted to mention former Boise State coach Lyle Setencich, who recently passed away at the age of 81. He was the first Broncos coach ever to be fired (or rather, resign under pressure)—after the team’s first losing season, 5-6 in 1986. Setencich had been promoted from defensive coordinator in 1983, and you could say he was one of those assistants who was never cut out to be a head coach. But then he went on to a successful seven-year run at Cal Poly.
Setencich was a good guy who really cared about his players. And he knew defense. That was more than half the battle when Boise State won the Division I-AA national championship in 1980 in his first season as DC. And that was the story during Setencich’s ill-fated final year, the one that started with the 74-0 win over Humboldt State in the debut of the blue turf. A tough November cost him, with hard-fought 21-16 and 21-14 losses, respectively, to Nevada and Idaho, two of the best teams in the Big Sky during the 1980s.
BRONCOS-BENGALS RENEWAL
Idaho State has finalized its non-conference men’s basketball schedule and revealed it last week—and Boise State is on it. The Bengals will visit the Broncos in ExtraMile Arena on Tuesday, November 24 (Thanksgiving week). Boise State didn’t announce it because the Broncos still have a way to go to fill their non-con slate. This will be the first hoops game between the in-state foes in eight years, and it provides a chance for Boise State to avenge the last one, an embarrassing 72-70 loss on its home floor. It was not a good omen, as that was the Broncos’ last losing season at 13-20. They had won six in a row over the Bengals before that. Unlike last year’s exhibition win over Idaho, this game against ISU will be a regular season tilt and will count. More in-state stuff, please.
ZAGS EDGING BACK TO THE PACK?
Gonzaga’s loss of star guard Mario Saint-Supery to his native Spain has tilted the scales in Jon Wilner’s Pac-12 basketball projections in the San Jose Mercury News, but not in favor of Boise State. The Zags are now just a narrow favorite over Utah State, while the Broncos have dropped to sixth. Writes Wilner, “Our outlook for the Broncos has darkened due to heavy attrition—coach Leon Rice is essentially staring at a full rotation overhaul. The return of forwards Pearson Carmichael and Spencer Ahrens and the arrival of Jerquarius Stanback, a defensive ace from Alabama State, provide a foundation that is, alas, wobbly. We see a very real chance that one of the most consistent programs in the Mountain West loses competitive ground in its new conference. But as long as football thrives, all is well in Boise.”
DEGENHART WAITS FOR WHAT’S NEXT
Tyson Degenhart’s second stint in the NBA Summer League is in the books, and while he didn’t ace his exam, he gets a passing grade. Last Thursday, after a “Did Not Play” in the previous game, Degenhart logged a Summer League-high 13 minutes, scoring four points with two rebounds in Toronto’s 99-90 win over Miami. We’ll see what it all means now for the former Boise State star. A training camp invite? Another season with Raptors 905 in the G League? Something else? If it’s something else, Degenhart will have good options.
THRILLER GIVES ACB THREE IN A ROW
The game at Athletic Club Boise Stadium last Saturday night couldn’t have ended with much more drama. It looked like it was headed for a 1-1 draw with Portland Hearts of Pine, but Thomas Amang scored with just seconds left in stoppage time for a 2-1 AC Boise victory. ACB didn’t get its first goal until the 83rd minute, when local fave Blake Bodily scored for the first time in a Boise uniform. It’s the first three-game winning streak in franchise history, and AC Boise will take that on another cross-country trip when they meet the New York Cosmos this Saturday. Boise is tied for fifth in USL League 1 with an 8-6-3 record, while the Cosmos are in last at 3-10-2.
HAWKS HOPE TO REJUVENATE
Things were looking up for the Boise Hawks after a long slide, as they had just taken five of six games at Memorial Stadium from the Pioneer League’s vagabond travel team, the Red Pocket Mobiles. Then the Hawks ran into the Yuba-Sutter High Wheelers to open a three-game series in Northern California Tuesday night, and they had a 12-7 defeat pinned on them. After the Yuba-Sutter set, the Hawks head to Oakland to face the Ballers, the team trying to fill the baseball void left in the city by the A’s ugly departure. The Ballers dominated last year and won the Pioneer League championship, but they’re 22-33 this season, including an 0-7 start to the second half.
A DIFFERENT DYNAMIC FOR JORGENSON
The final five stages of the Tour de France will be interesting for Boise High grad Matteo Jorgenson, as his role has changed. Teammate Jonas Vingegaard, one of the Tour favorites, is out of the race after breaking his collarbone in a crash during a descent in Stage 15 last Sunday, so Jorgenson is basically freed up to compete for Stage victories. He no longer has to save his energy to protect a General Classification leader. Going into today’s event, Jorgenson was 30th overall after (by far) his best single day finish on Tuesday—14th in Stage 16. Let’s see how far he can climb the ladder in the run-up to Paris on Sunday.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by PINNACLE WINDOWS & DOORS and BOISE PREMIER BLINDS.
July 22, 2006, 20 years ago today: In an emotional ceremony at Memorial Stadium, the Boise Hawks retire long-time manager Tom Kotchman’s no. 11. Kotchman paid tribute to Boise as his “second home” and listed some of the favorite players he helped develop—Troy Percival, Garret Anderson, Scot Shields and John Lackey were all among the former Hawks who won World Series rings with the Angels in 2002. As skipper of the Hawks from 1990-2000, Kotchman won four Northwest League championships and seven division titles, becoming the winningest manager (by far) in NWL history with 501 victories.
(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.)
