Morning, Bronco Nation. Thatcher Bluestem here, writing from my back porch in the North End with a cup of coffee, a blue flannel and a blue dog named Turf. He's not actually blue. He's a heeler. But in my heart, he's blue. Everything is, if you squint. My rule for life is simple: if it's worth doing, paint it blue.
The Broncos had an open date on Saturday, Oct. 17, so there's no new game to review this week. That means we get to go back and savor the last one one more time, because it was a sweet one. Then we'll talk about the trip to Pullman.
Part 1: Boise State 38, Fresno State 31 (Oct. 10)
On Oct. 10 at Valley Children's Stadium, the Broncos beat Fresno State 38-31. Per the AP, it ended a three-game losing streak against the Bulldogs. Three in a row! I'd been carrying that one around like a rock in my boot.
Dylan Riley set the tone right away. On Boise State's second play from scrimmage, he ripped off a 72-yard touchdown run. Zeke Martinez ran in the two-point conversion, and the Broncos led 8-7 less than five minutes in. They never trailed again.
Maddux Madsen hit Terrious Favors for a 22-yard touchdown. Sire Gaines, back after missing two games, ran in from the 2. Canaan Moore kicked a 49-yard field goal with two seconds left in the half for a 25-20 lead, then a 38-yarder in the third. And on the first play of the fourth quarter, Madsen found Riley on a 44-yard catch-and-run touchdown for a 35-20 lead. Moore added a 39-yarder with 1:34 left, and that sealed it.
The box score, painted blue: Riley ran 19 times for 150 yards and caught four passes for 64. Gaines ran 20 times for 120. Madsen completed 23 of 34 passes for 238 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Boise State ran for 274 yards at 6.1 per carry, piled up 512 yards of offense, went 4-for-4 on fourth down, didn't turn it over once and held the ball for 38:56. Per the AP, the Broncos scored on seven of their eight real drives.
The honest part. Boise State committed nine penalties for 83 yards, and Fresno State's Jayden Mandal and Ezekiel Avit made some big plays. Avit had six catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns. The Bulldogs kicked a field goal with 36 seconds left to make it a one-score game. Too close for my blood pressure.
That made it five straight wins since a 34-27 loss at Oregon to open the year. The Broncos beat Memphis 38-20 and South Dakota 38-24, won 32-7 at Western Michigan, beat Utah State 37-18 and then won at Fresno. They're 5-1 and 2-0 in the Pac-12, and they're No. 21 in the AP poll, per the AP.
Part 2: Boise State at Washington State
Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern, which is 4 p.m. here in Mountain time and 3 p.m. in Pullman, at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. It's on USA Network, per the AP. No. 21 Boise State (5-1, 2-0 Pac-12) at Washington State (1-6, 0-3).
The Broncos
Boise State runs for 234.5 yards per game, ninth in FBS, and scores 35 points per game. It converts 50.6 percent of third downs, 16th. And it leads the entire country in time of possession at 36:41 per game. That's not a game plan. That's the football moving in with us and changing its mailing address.
Riley has 835 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 127 carries. Madsen has thrown for 1,296 yards with 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Zero! I'd paint that number blue too, but it's already perfect. Rasean Jones leads the receivers with 23 catches for 359 yards.
The honest note: Boise State's pass defense allows 261.3 yards per game, 126th in FBS. That's the one wall in the house that needs a fresh coat.
The Cougars
Washington State is 1-6. Its offense ranks 130th in FBS at 308.3 yards per game, its passing attack is 119th and its scoring offense is 120th at 20.1 points per game. Its turnover margin is minus-7, 131st. And it averages 65.6 penalty yards per game, 102nd.
To be fair, the Cougars made a quarterback change last week, and redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman made his first career start against Oregon State, per the AP. He threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 136 yards and a touchdown. That's a real performance, and the Broncos' pass defense needs to take it seriously. Branden Ganashamoorthy caught 11 passes for 147 yards in that game.
But Oregon State still won 48-30. The Beavers led 17-0 after one quarter and 27-10 at the half, and Braden Atkinson threw for 347 yards. And the Broncos have the nation's best clock-eating offense.
The Series
CollegeFootballData.com lists seven previous meetings, and Washington State leads the series 5-2. The Broncos won the last one, 45-24, in 2024. The Cougars won 47-44 in 2017. Time to paint the series blue.
Town Report: Boise vs. Pullman
Boise. Boise had 235,685 people at the 2020 census, per Wikipedia, the capital and largest city in Idaho. The name comes from French trappers, who called the area "la rivière boisée," the wooded river. We're the City of Trees, and the nickname goes back to the 1860s, when Thomas J. Davis planted several thousand fruit trees. The Boise River runs right through town. We have the Idaho State Capitol, the Boise Art Museum, Zoo Boise, the Egyptian Theatre and the Basque Block, where you can learn about Boise's Basque heritage and eat very well while you do it. And every March, the Treefort Music Fest takes over the place.
And Albertsons Stadium? Its blue playing surface went in in 1986, and Wikipedia calls it the first non-green playing surface in football history. People call it Smurf Turf. Players just call it "The Blue." We didn't follow a trend. We painted one.
Pullman. Pullman is a nice little town of 32,901, per the 2020 census, in the rolling wheat hills of the Palouse. It was originally called Three Forks, and in 1881 it was renamed after an industrialist named George Pullman. So the town traded a perfectly good river name for a railroad-car guy's last name. Boise got its name from French trappers admiring trees. Pullman got its name from a man who made sleeping cars.
Pullman is also, per Wikipedia, home to the National Lentil Festival, which has been held since 1989 and includes a lentil cook-off. I like a lentil. Turf likes a lentil. But Boise has a music festival named after a tree, and Pullman has a festival named after a legume.
And here's my go-to stat of the week. Wikipedia says Martin Stadium's field sits at about 2,510 feet, once the highest in the old Pac-10. Downtown Boise sits at 2,704. So the Broncos are actually coming down to Pullman. We're bringing the thin air with us.
Final Brushstroke
Here's the plan. Run Riley and Gaines. Keep the clock. Make the pass defense earn that fresh coat of paint against a talented young quarterback. And don't give the Cougars any turnovers, because they've had a tough enough time creating them.
Wave the flag, Pullman. We'll paint it blue.
My call: Boise State Broncos 31, Washington State Cougars 20.