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Wednesday Weekly: August 5, 2026.
Well, it’s the first day of fall camp. With a big exhale, as the Pac-12 and Mountain West have agreed to a settlement. And one month from today, it’s Boise State and Oregon at Autzen Stadium, with that point spread that doesn’t want to move—it’s still 24½ points. The over-under is hovering at around 52-53 points. So if you do the math, oddsmakers predict it to be about 38-14, Ducks. That, of course, would contrast with the 2024 game, which saw the Broncos go in as 19-point underdogs and come away with a 37-34 walk-off loss that featured seven lead changes. But the NIL world has changed the talent gap so much in even the last two years—it is huge. Boise State has lost 10 in a row to Power 4 schools, by an average of 17 points per game.
THE RUNNING GAME WILL HELP
Boise State coach Spencer Danielson is understandably excited about his running backs room going into fall camp today. Danielson’s specialty seems to be roster retention, and he retained both of his premiere running backs, Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines. Last season, the backs talked about producing two 1,000-yard rushers the year after Ashton Jeanty’s historic 2024. The combination was different, though—it was supposed to be some mix of Gaines, Breezy Dubar and/or Malik Sherrod. But it was Riley and Gaines who came close, with 1,125 yards and 811 yards, respectively. And Gaines appears to be poised for a breakout as a junior. The likelihood is that the duo will get off to a slow start in their quest, though. Oregon is just a different animal this year. If Riley and Gaines combine for 100 yards, that’ll be a positive.
SURPRISE RETURNEES AS FALL CAMP BEGINS?
The biggest surprise of coach Spencer Danielson’s pre-fall camp presser Monday was how far along the Braxton Fely-Jeramiah Earby discussions are. The two could return to Boise State for one more season if the court ruling last Friday in Denver holds, allowing players who began their careers in 2022 to retroactively take advantage of the five-for-five rule—and if Fely’s and Earby’s NFL tryouts don’t make them ineligible. Danielson is working on it, he said, and it sounds like roster spots would be cleared for them. There’s a lot to work through, especially the chemistry factor. Fely and Earby would displace a couple of starter candidates who have worked their way up the depth chart through the spring and summer.
THE ROSTER’S EASIER TO READ
No more redshirt freshmen and true freshmen, and on up the ladder. With the NCAA’s new five-in-five eligibility rule, five years to play five seasons—it’s going to be pretty straightforward. Boise State will list players as freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors and fifth-years. Just as importantly, the Broncos have confirmed that Tyler Ethridge, Max Stege, Akeem “Nitro” Wright, Matt Wagner and Oscar Doyle, among others, now have two years left to play instead of one, as each guy began his college career in 2023.
THOSE ELUSIVE PUNT RETURN YARDS
This facet of Boise State’s game kind of flies under the radar with all the talk of the wide receivers room and the overhaul of the secondary and Maddux Madsen’s chances of taking the next step. But special teams coach Stacy Collins was sure asked about it at Media Day: punt returns. Last year, Malik Sherrod came out of the portal from Fresno State to turn things around, and he averaged just 5.2 yards per runback. The Broncos were 111th in the country in punt returns. Collins is working out a slew of candidates at that spot: Cam Bates, Jayden Mickey, Quinton Brown, Jeremyah Lane, Terrious Favors. Not one of those guys has returned a punt in an FBS game. But the odds-on favorite is Bates, who has returned kickoffs and is in his third year in the program.
ONE PRESEASON POLL DOWN, ONE TO GO
The first real preseason poll is out. It’s the Coaches Poll, and once you count through the “also receiving votes” category, you’ll find Boise State is No. 36. That’s kind of “meh” until you consider that the Broncos are the highest-ranked Group of 6 team, which just magnifies that gap between the Power 4 and the G6. There are plenty of Group of 6 teams right behind them: UNLV is next, followed by Memphis, James Madison, New Mexico, Western Michigan, and—with one vote apiece—Hawaii and Jacksonville State. The first AP Poll comes August 17.
Now AP Poll voters are getting their preseason ballots ready for an August 17 release, and Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News revealed his yesterday. And there are two eye-opening spots on his list. One is at No. 18, where he has none other than Boise State. And how about this Broncos rationale: “an offensive line stouter than many in the power conferences.” Otherwise, the narrative is the same, as in, just be decent at Oregon. The only other Group of 6 team on Wilner’s ballot is not UNLV, but (drum roll) New Mexico at No. 22. If the Lobos can live up to that after all the years of frustration, what a story it would be. Former Idaho coach Jason Eck, in his second season in Albuquerque, making hay like that. His number would be on speed-dial for Power 4 athletic directors.
THE GROUP OF 6 RACE
ESPN lists 31 teams as having a shot at making the College Football Playoff this year, with Boise State and UNLV representing the Group of 6—but not necessarily in that order. The Broncos are favored by the computers, but ESPN likes the Rebels. Interestingly enough, one reason is they no longer have to face Boise State, to whom they’ve lost 11 straight games, including the last three Mountain West championship games. To ESPN, the measuring stick is in September. The Broncos will get a pass for the Oregon game, providing they don’t get boat-raced. Boise State faces Memphis in Game 2 on the Blue. UNLV plays Memphis in Week 1 in Las Vegas. Those results will go a long way in the CFP discussion if—and that’s a big if—both teams win their respective conference championships.
CAMPER’S 11TH-HOUR INVITE
It’s very unusual to nail an NFL training camp spot on the last day of July, but that’s what former Boise State wide receiver Cam Camper did last Friday. Camper got a tryout with the New York Jets last week, and they signed him. He played for Orlando in the UFL earlier this year and had a solid season: 23 catches for 340 yards and three touchdowns. Camper was kind of overshadowed in his one season with the Broncos after transferring from Indiana. That was the Ashton Jeanty year—Camper led the team in catches with 58 and flirted with a 1,000-yard season.
ONE ‘NIL’ IS PREFERRED
It had to happen sooner or later—the first nil-nil game in Athletic Club Boise franchise history. AC Boise and Corpus Christi FC battled right through seven-plus minutes of stoppage time and went scoreless last Saturday night. Boise outshot Corpus Christi 28-12 but couldn’t find the net, and each team came away with a point in the USL League One standings. ACB is in sixth place currently at 9-7-4. AC Boise will be home again this Saturday against Forward Madison FC, hoping to avenge 5-1 rout handed to them in mid-June in Wisconsin.
HAWKS: MORE GOOD THAN BAD
It was an interesting week for the Boise Hawks. After opening their series with the Glacier Range Riders by absorbing a 23-4 pounding, the Hawks beat the visitors five times in a row to move into fourth place in the Pioneer League second half standings. But all good things…well, you know. Boise resumed the battle for the Traffic Cone Trophy in Idaho Falls Tuesday night and fell 8-5 to the Chukars. The series against I.F. continues through Sunday. The Hawks are still over .500 for the season at 35-32.
O’BRIEN BACK IN A GROOVE
Former College of Idaho pitcher Riley O’Brien has settled down following a rough patch coming out of the All-Star break. The St. Louis Cardinals closer, who was a Yote in 2017 before being drafted in the eighth round by Tampa Bay, has allowed no runs and just one hit in his last four outings with one save. After throwing a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game, O’Brien had been walked off by the Angels two weeks ago, hitting a batter with the bases loaded to force in the winning run. He had a “What just happened?” look on his face. O’Brien remains near the top of the National League in saves with 26—two behind the Padres’ Mason Miller.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by PINNACLE WINDOWS & DOORS and BOISE PREMIER BLINDS.
August 5, 2020: The beginning of a chaotic conference scheduling whirlwind in less than a week’s time. The Mountain West announced a modified eight-game football schedule with an option to play two non-conference opponents. Just five days later, the Mountain West “indefinitely postpones” the 2020 campaign due to COVID-19 challenges. A season in the spring of 2021 would be considered. However, by late September other conferences were scrambling to save their football seasons, and the Mountain West would, too. The shortened 2020 campaign finally did begin on October 24.
(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.)
