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Saturday at Oregon, it’ll come down to Boise State punching above its weight on both sides of the ball. But that starts with the front seven, which made the biggest difference outside of Ashton Jeanty two years ago in a game the Broncos should have won at Autzen Stadium. The leader of the pack, edge Jayden Virgin-Morgan, is the only current Boise State player who registered a stat in the 2024 game, with two tackles. But JVM went on to record 10 sacks on the season, 14th-best in the country. And he’d like to return to that number this season. His teammates logged four sacks of the Ducks’ Dylan Gabriel in Eugene, and that neutralized the Oregon offense. Outside of Virgin-Morgan, though, this Broncos front seven is unproven.
THE QUARTERBACK NAMED MOORE
Since Oregon is not releasing a depth chart for the Boise State game, the Broncos aren’t either. So there. But if you listen to defensive backs coach Terrence Brown, you shouldn’t get too wrapped up in it at cornerback. With Jaden Mickey, Sherrod Smith and JeRico Washington, the transfer from Kennesaw State, Brown says he sees it as having “three starters.” Of course, Boise State will need all the help it can get against Ducks quarterback Dante Moore, the Heisman candidate. Moore’s numbers last year resembled another Moore that used to play on the Blue. Dante passed for 3,565 yards last year, completing 72 percent of his throws with 30 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. Moore will be more formidable than Dillon Gabriel was two years ago.
A LOOK AT MADSEN’S INTERCEPTIONS
Time to get down to the nitty gritty—five days left before Boise State and Oregon. Let’s talk about the interception narrative surrounding quarterback Maddux Madsen. He’s thrown 18 picks in his career, and nine of them have been in his six appearances against Power 4 programs. And six of those interceptions have come in the third and fourth quarters against Penn State and Notre Dame when the Broncos were pressing for points. Madsen didn’t throw a pick two years ago at Oregon, although he did complete only 43 percent of his attempts. I’ll leave it with this: open up the Boise State record book, and you’ll find that Madsen’s career interception ratio is 2.16 percent. That’s currently the fourth-lowest mark in school history, trailing only Kellen Moore, Brett Rypien and Ryan Dinwiddie.
SADIQ’S CAPABLE SUCCESSOR
No Kenyon Sadiq? No problem for Oregon. Boise State will be very familiar with Ducks tight end Jamari Johnson, Dante Moore’s new target with Sadiq, the Idaho Falls product, off to the New York Jets. Johnson was just listed as one of the top 20 NFL Draft prospects next spring by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, who says, “Johnson doesn’t have the speed or explosiveness of Sadiq, but he is a dependable target (only two drops in 2025). He can be the type of weapon that earns first-round consideration on draft weekend.” Did he say “target”? Johnson is listed at 6-5, 255 pounds and will prove to be a real stress test for the Broncos defense—from Boen Phelps (and whoever the other linebacker is) to nickel Roman Tillmon. Not an attractive matchup. But that’s why they play the game.
NO FELY, NO EARBY
Well, that storyline disappeared quickly. Without saying as much, Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey put any thoughts of Braxton Fely and Jeremiah Earby returning to the Broncos to rest last weekend. Coach Spencer Danielson had, in essence, kept the subject alive in mid-August. But Dickey said in an X post: “We will not recruit or sign former student-athletes who participated in the NFL (camps, signed contracts, etc.) and those who have done the same in the NBA.” Fely and Earby both had NFL rookie minicamp tryouts. It’s a mess nationally, as judges constantly rule players eligible while the weakened NCAA appeals—and LSU’s Lane Kiffin invites them all over for dinner. But this never felt like a fit for Boise State and its culture. The Broncos roster is as it was meant to be.
SURVIVAL DAY IN THE NFL
Sunday was NFL cutdown day, as each team had to trim its roster from 90 players to 53. On the Boise State front, Houston released Brett Rypien, who played in all three Texans preseason games but was not sharp. Philadelphia waived John Ojukwu (and signed him to the practice squad). And Minnesota cut Matt Lauter, who had just been there a few days and made one catch for one yard in the Vikings’ preseason finale. They can’t take that away from him. But Ahmed Hassanein made it in Detroit after waiting a year for this opportunity. Man is he going to be fun to follow. Oh, and you may have heard: one-time Boise State quarterback Taylen Green made the Browns roster.
Trivia question: Who had Boise State’s only touchdown catch in the 37-34 loss at Oregon two years ago? It was wide receiver Cam Camper, who—as a pleasant surprise—was named to the New York Jets practice squad Monday. Camper wasn’t signed by the Jets until a month ago, yet here he is. Another late signee who really wasn’t on the radar was defensive end Malakai Williams, who joined Kellen Moore’s Saints on August 8. Williams is now on the New Orleans practice squad. And undrafted free agent safety Zion Washington earned his keep in Cleveland and is on the Browns’ practice unit.
THE NON-CON LINEUP IS OUT
The non-conference schedule is set for Boise State men’s hoops. It is laden with good mid-majors, including Butler in ExtraMile Arena in the second game of the season in November—plus a major, Nebraska in a neutral-site game and Santa Clara and New Mexico at a tournament in San Juan Capistrano, CA, in December. Compare that with new Pac-12 mate Gonzaga, which faces Purdue, LSU and Kansas State at home and UCLA, Michigan State and Duke on the road. The Zags have long-term equity in the sport, and that’s the payoff. I wondered why there were no exhibition games on Boise State’s schedule when the non-conference slate was released. But we found out Tuesday that there will be one—against Washington in Idaho Central Arena on October 17.
STATE OF IDAHO 2-FOR-3 IN WEEK 0
Week 0 ended in heartbreak for Idaho last Friday night, as a 34-yard Cal Poly prayer of a touchdown pass on fourth down with nine seconds left in the game sent the Vandals to a 38-34 defeat. Idaho had rallied from a 21-10 deficit, but the Mustangs had the last laugh while picking up their first-ever victory over the Vandals. Idaho faces Utah Thursday night in Salt Lake City. Idaho State cruised past VMI 38-10 after erupting with a 28-point third quarter. ISU looks to give Utah State a tussle Saturday in Logan. And College of Idaho debuted with a 37-7 romp at Eastern Oregon in the I-84 rivalry game. The Yotes’ home opener is on Saturday versus Rocky Mountain College at Simplot Stadium.
AC BOISE MOXIE MATERIALIZES AGAIN
It was Week 26 in USL League One, and Athletic Club Boise picked up a huge 3-2 road win last Saturday night over the Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. AC Boise fell behind 2-1 early in the second half, but they rallied with goals from Nick Moon in the 71st minute and Thomas Amang in the 81st. ACB is now 11-7-5 on the season and is tied for fourth place in USL One with the Spokane Velocity (Spokane has the advantage in goal differential). Next stop: Florida, as AC Boise takes on FC Naples Saturday night. Boise blanked Naples 2-0 back in mid-May.
HAWKS COOL OFF AFTER AN EPIC OUTBURST
After going 5-7 on their annual Western Idaho Fair road trip, the Boise Hawks returned home Tuesday night to open their final series of the 2026 season. And it didn’t start well, as the Idaho Falls Chukars racked up a 16-2 victory. The WIF road trip ended Sunday in stunning fashion in Great Falls, with the Hawks winning not 16-10, not 26-10, but 36-10. Boise put up two nine-run innings in the game and collected 33 hits, only three of them home runs. Three players knocked in six runs and two more batted in five. The 36 runs would be a team record I’d expect, but that information isn’t readily available.
THERE’S ANOTHER NEW BLUE
Boise State’s first women’s volleyball match on the new Blue Court in ExtraMile Arena is set for Thursday at 6 p.m. against North Dakota State. It’ll also mark the Broncos’ first match in the facility since 2002. Timing would seem to be good, as Boise State would like to capitalize on women’s volleyball momentum as an emerging growth sport on the national stage. ESPN and Fox are ramping up live coverage this year. If Boise State is going to strike while the iron is hot, winning will help—the Broncos dropped two of three matches last week at the season-opening tournament in Asheville, NC.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by POOL SCOUTS…perfect pools, scout’s honor!
September 2, 2006, 20 years ago today: Dennis Erickson makes his much-celebrated return to the University of Idaho in the season opener at Michigan State—against his former Vandal defensive coordinator and one-time Idaho head coach John L. Smith. The Vandals, 29-point underdogs, stayed with the Spartans to the end of a 27-17 loss. Erickson, however, would be Idaho’s coach for less than a year, bolting to Arizona State in December of that year as Dirk Koetter’s replacement.
(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.)
