Boise State puts 21-game streak on the line; Mountain West’s Thompson on realignment

When Boise State’s game at Utah State kicks off Saturday (10 a.m., CBS), it will be the earliest local start time for the Broncos since 2004 when they traveled to San Jose State for a game that started at 9:02 a.m.

Boise State football coach Andy Avalos, a former linebacker for the Broncos, played in that game. He doesn’t have many fond memories of it — despite the Broncos winning in double overtime — and he’s not concerned about the early start in this weekend’s game in Logan, Utah.

“We’re a morning operation, and this is where it comes into play,” he told reporters Monday, adding that the Broncos practice at 9 a.m. most days. “It’s going to be pretty close to what we normally do on a Tuesday or Wednesday practice.”

Avalos is much more concerned about opening Mountain West play on the right foot and getting back in the win column.

Boise State (1-2) is coming off a 21-20 loss to Oklahoma State, which came down to a game-winning field-goal attempt that was missed by Broncos kicker Jonah Dalmas after it was partially blocked.

The Broncos are off to their worst start to a season since going 0-2 in 2005, and they’ve lost three of their past four games — dating back to a loss to San Jose State in last season’s Mountain West championship game.

“We understand what the standard is here, and we’re about meeting that standard each and every day,” Avalos said. “There are no moral victories. It’s all about what did we learn and how do we move forward? And how do we apply that to our process?”

The Broncos have a long history of success in conference openers. They’ve won 21 straight — dating back to a loss to North Texas in 1999, when they were members of the Big West.

Boise State has a long history of success in conference games in general, too. The Broncos are 144-17 in conference games since 2000. The Broncos’ four Mountain West titles since joining the league in 2011 are the most of any current member and tied for the most all-time with BYU, Utah and TCU.

“The beautiful thing is our goal is always about the conference and that’s what’s right in front of us now, so it’s time to lock in on that,” Avalos said. “This is a really good conference, and it’s hard to go on the road and play. That’s college football.”

The Broncos haven’t lost to Utah State since a 52-26 setback in Logan, Utah, in 2015. Boise State has won five straight against the Aggies, including a 42-13 victory last fall in the season opener.

Revamped Aggies

This isn’t the same Utah State team Boise State has faced in recent years.

The Aggies (3-0) are breaking in a new coaching staff, including head coach Blake Anderson, who left Arkansas State to replace Gary Andersen, who was fired midway through last season. Anderson hired former UCF co-offensive coordinator Anthony Tucker to run the offense and former Miami (Fla.) co-defensive coordinator Ephraim Banda to handle the defense.

The Aggies don’t look like they’ve experienced many growing pains this fall, though. They opened the season with a win over Pac-12 program Washington State, and they held on to beat Air Force 49-45 on Saturday.

Utah State ranks No. 1 in the Mountain West and No. 3 nationally with 563.3 yards of offense per game. The Aggies are No. 2 in the conference with 41 points a game. Only Fresno State is scoring more points with 43 per contest.

Utah State also ranks No. 3 in the conference with 206.3 rushing yards a game, and No. 2 with 357 through the air. Avalos said the Aggies’ success on offense has a lot to do with their uptempo attack.

“They go fast and they run the ball effectively,” Avalos said. “They’re going to use all 53 yards of the field, in terms of the width, and expand their splits with their outside wide receivers to pull players out of the box. … We’re going to have to do a great job understanding our spacing on the field and playing with good eye control and good leverage within the run game.”

Utah State also added 14 transfers this season — most of whom are immediately eligible to play because of the NCAA’s one-time transfer rule — including starting quarterback Logan Bonner. He also started for Anderson at Arkansas State, and Bonner has posted 786 yards and seven touchdowns through the air this season.

“They’re explosive on offense,” Boise State co-defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson said. “They’re going to use tempo, and they’ve got weapons that are going to create space for them throughout the game.”

Well-traveled tackler

One transfer who has made a huge impact on defense for Utah State is linebacker Justin Rice — the team’s leader in tackles (30), tackles for loss (4), interceptions (3) and forced fumbles (1).

Like Bonner, the sixth-year senior followed Anderson from Arkansas State after Rice began his college career at Fresno State. He spent four years with the Bulldogs and was a first-team All-Mountain West pick in 2019 after leading the team with 112 tackles and finishing the season tied for No. 4 in the country with four forced fumbles.

He earned first-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors last season at Arkansas State after he led the Red Wolves with 76 tackles and seven sacks and led the nation with 18.5 tackles for loss.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound native of Modesto, California, hasn’t slowed down since landing at Utah State. Rice was named Mountain West Player of the Week for the second week in a row on Monday. He tied his career high with 14 tackles against Air Force and added an interception and a forced fumble.

Rice’s interception was in the end zone, ending a potential scoring opportunity for the Falcons, and the fumble he forced came on Air Force’s final drive of the game, with the Aggies clinging to a 49-45 lead. They got the ball back on their 25-yard line and ran out the clock.

Rice snagged a career-high two interceptions and posted nine tackles Sept. 10 in Utah State’s 48-24 win over North Dakota. He certainly has the attention of Boise State offensive coordinator Tim Plough.

“He’s a really talented guy and does everything you want a linebacker to do,” Plough said. “He’s great in the run game, and I think he’s got a couple of interceptions.”

Kickoff time set for Boise State’s home tilt vs. Nevada, featuring preseason favorites

Thompkins leads nation’s receivers

Utah State has a player on the other side of the ball that is making waves nationally. Wide receiver Deven Thompkins leads the country with 454 receiving yards this season. He has a team-high 25 catches, he’s tied for the team lead with three touchdown catches and he averages 151.3 receiving yards a game.

The 5-8, 155-pound native of Fort Myers, Florida, led the Aggies with 20 catches and 214 receiving yards last season. In 2019, he was third on the team with 40 receptions for 536 yards and tied for second with four receiving touchdowns.

Arkansas State transfer Brandon Bowling is second on the team with 16 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns this season. Former junior college transfer Justin McGriff is third with 12 catches for 130 yards and a touchdown.

“They’re explosive on the perimeter, and there’s a lot of space out there,” Avalos said. “We’re going to have to be diligent in our coverage techniques. And we’re going to have to do an unbelievable job of finishing, whether that’s in coverage or in pursuit and tackling. There’s going to be a a lot of open-field tackles.”

Are they staying or going?

Talk about conference realignment has been pretty nonstop since Oklahoma and Texas announced in July that they were leaving Big 12.

The latest reports, which surfaced last week in a story from CBS Sports, suggest the American Athletic Conference is targeting Mountain West schools in an effort to replace UCF, Cincinnati and Houston — all of whom joined BYU in accepting invitations to the Big 12.

“I would be naïve if I didn’t think there are conversations between any of our institutions and other people,” Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I think that’s their fiduciary responsibility and due diligence to their fan bases and season-ticket holders.”

Thompson feels confident that if the Mountain West remains intact, it will be included in what American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco called “the Power Six” — not the AAC.

“I keep saying it like a broken record: If the 12 Mountain West institutions stay together, we’re the sixth-best conference,” Thompson told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Circle the wagons, stay together, while simultaneously looking to see if there are institutions out there that make us even stronger.”

A spokesperson for the conference declined a request from the Idaho Statesman for a comment on Monday.

BOISE STATE AT UTAH STATE

When: 10 a.m. Saturday

Where: Maverik Stadium, Logan, Utah

TV: CBS (Rich Waltz, Aaron Taylor, Sherree Burris). That’s channel 2 on Sparklight and DirecTV and channel 2 or 5251 on Dish Network.

Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)

Records: Boise State 1-2; Utah State 3-0

Series: Boise State is 20-5 all-time against Utah State. The Broncos have won the last five in a row, including a 42-13 victory last fall in the season opener.

Vegas line: Boise State by 9

Weather: High of 80 degrees, 1% chance of rain, 5 mph winds