Spit in the Ocean: Boise State rises to the occasion on Senior Day, beats Colorado State 49-21

“There’s no place like home.

There’s no place like home.

There’s no place like home.“

Wizard of Oz for the win.

Boise State had looked terrible on offense during the last two games before Saturday’s bout.

Head coach Spencer Danielson and offensive coordinator Nate Potter were grilled at Monday’s presser about the lack of strategy change during the Broncos’ loss to San Diego State, and rightly so.

The message was received as quarterback Max Cutforth attempted 34 passes and completed 22 of them for 239 yards. And frankly, it should have been more as his receivers had a case of the drops.

He didn’t put the ball in harm’s way, and while he didn’t find his way into the endzone, his ability to move the chains and serve as a tangible threat opened up the ground game for all four running backs – Sire Gaines (22 carries for 149 yards and two TDs), Dylan Riley (14 carries for 72 yards and one TD), Malik Sherrod (seven carries for 56 yards and two TDs), and Boise native Seth Knothe (five carries for 25 yards and one TD).

No single receiver blew the box score open, but in a sign of steady progression, Cutforth managed to find five different targets for three or more receptions each.

Latrell Caples led the way with seven catches for 70 yards, followed by sophomore Cameron Bates with 54 yards.

A pleasant sight was seeing the tight ends working their way back into the offensive game plan. Matt Lauter and Matt Wagner combined for 70 yards on seven catches, including a gnarly one-handed snag by the latter via a double-pass trick play thrown by Bates.

And while all of the attention was paid towards Nate Potter and the offense, Erik Chinander’s defense stole the show and, in particular, Jeremiah Earby.

No. 6 had a career day that will undoubtedly serve as good tape for NFL scouts when he makes his way towards the big leagues.

Earby collected two interceptions and recovered a fumble.

A single player actively being involved in three turnovers is practically unheard of.

Zion Washington got in on the action too with an interception of his own.

The defensive line didn’t record any sacks despite breaking into the backfield on numerous occasions. However, the Broncos were an ironclad wall against the Rams’ rushing attack, holding them to just 39 team rushing yards.

Now, it wasn’t an A+ outing by any means, as Boise State racked up multiple personal foul penalties in the first half that prolonged drives further than they should have.

They finished with nine penalties for 95 yards.

And after the Broncos scored 27 straight points to lead 34-7, they let off the gas much too soon and nearly let the Rams storm back to make it a one-possession game. It didn’t bite them in the end, but there is always something to improve on, even in a four-touchdown victory.

Alas, the biggest headline wasn’t a turnover or touchdown.

It was what took place in the second half between Colorado State QB Darius Curry and Boise State DE Jayden Virgin-Morgan.

After a play ended in the second half, Curry walked past JVM and, plain and simple, spit into the face of the Bronco.

Amazingly, Virgin-Morgan did not retaliate physically as the quarterback sauntered away and no penalty flag was thrown.

Offensive lineman Liam Wortmann was also caught spitting on a Bronco in a separate incident.

Both Rams have been suspended for the final game of the regular season against Air Force.

Curry did post an apology on X/Twitter Sunday evening towards Virgin-Morgan and the Boise State program for his actions.

But more importantly, with the win on The Blue, Boise State keeps itself in the running for another appearance in the Mountain West title game, and thanks to a late-night upset of Fresno State by Utah State, that dream looks even more attainable.

There are a myriad of scenarios still at play with five teams still mathematically alive: San Diego State, Boise State, New Mexico, UNLV, and Fresno State.

The cleanest path for Boise State is a win against Utah State next Friday and an Aztec win over New Mexico. This would clinch a spot for both teams and a rematch in San Diego on December 5th.

However, if the Broncos win and San Diego State loses, then there would be at least a three-way tie and, in all likelihood, a four-way tie if UNLV takes care of business against Nevada.

That is where the computers get involved and massive uncertainty would loom over Thanksgiving weekend.

The four metrics used if head-to-head is unable to suffice are Connelly SP+, SportSource, ESPN’s Strength-Of-Record (SOR), and the KPI Rankings.

But more than anything, Boise State must win in Logan on Friday for any of this to matter.

And the Aggies are no pushover with Bronco Mendenhall heading the program and quarterback Bryson Barnes bulldozing his way to first downs and touchdowns.

The Broncos are going to play meaningful football over the Thanksgiving holiday, and that was not a given by any stretch, considering the last month.

That… is something to be thankful for, Bronco Nation.