The 2010s: The players, moments and games that defined Boise State football (2024)

Boise State is one of just five FBS teams to win more than 100 games this decade. The Broncos’ 105 with three games left in the 2019 season trails only Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma.

And yet, Boise State still won’t match the 112 it racked up from 2000 to 2009.

Expectations on the blue turf are outrageously high compared to those at most schools across the country, regardless of conference affiliation— and for good reason.

But even if the Broncos haven’t quite reached the heights they did in the 2000s, the 2010s showed they could continue to maintain those double-digit win hopes every year, through a major coaching change and another move into a new conference.

In the 2010s, Boise State has been ranked No. 22 or higher at least once every season, reaching as high as No. 2. As one of the early BCS busters, the Broncos still have maintained their reputation as the standard-bearer for the Group of 5 conferences, with no other school within a dozen wins of Boise State during the decade.

Although the Mountain West has proven to be more of a challenge than the WAC — the Broncos made the move in 2011 and have one conference title since 2015 — Boise State has been as solid as any program in the nation.

All-Decade Team

Offense

Quarterback: Kellen Moore

The undersized, underestimated lefty’s final two seasons, in 2010 and 2011, were among the finest. He was a combined 599 of 822 for 7,645 yards with 78 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. Both seasons ranked among the top 25 in FBS history in completion percentage at the start of 2019; at 74.3 percent, his senior season ranked second. In those two seasons, his total number of touchdown passes would rank tied for fourth in school history over an entire career.

Running backs: Jay Ajayi, Jeremy McNichols

Boise State entered 2019 having produced a 1,000-yard back in each of the past 10 seasons, so there is no shortage of choices. Ajayi gets the nod for his two monster seasons as the primary ball carrier, rushing for 1,425 yards in 2013 and a school-record 1,823 in 2014. In the latter, he scored 32 total touchdowns with 50 receptions. McNichols flashed a similar versatility, with his 2015 and 2016 campaigns ranked eighth and third in school history in rushing yards. He had 88 catches in those two seasons, racking up 3,980 yards from scrimmage and scoring 53 touchdowns.

Wide receiver: Thomas Sperbeck, Cedrick Wilson

Boise State has had plenty of great wide receivers in the last decade, but none were as consistently productive as Sperbeck and Wilson. Sperbeck’s 15 100-yard receiving games from 2013 to 2016 are a school record, as are his 3,601 career yards. A junior college transfer, Wilson turned in two stellar seasons on the blue turf: His 18.99 yards per catch are third in Boise State history and his 1,511 yards in 2017 as a senior are No. 1. He still stands No. 7 in school history with 2,640 yards despite playing only 27 games.

Tight end: Jake Roh

An injury-plagued junior year limited Roh to 10 catches in 2016, but in his other three, he averaged 35.7 receptions per season. He capped off his career with a team-best nine touchdown receptions in 2017 and ran for two touchdowns as a goal-line running option.

Tackle: Nate Potter, Ezra Cleveland

Potter was a consensus All-American as a senior in 2011 and was a first-team Academic All-American. He anchored a line that allowed just 16 sacks in 26 games during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Cleveland started at left tackle as a redshirt freshman in 2017 and has started 37 of the last 38 games.Pro Football Focus ranked him the No. 1 offensive lineman in the conference last season.

Guard: John Molchon, Travis Averill

Molchon has started 39 games in his career, and after earning first-team All-Mountain West honors last season, he is showing his versatility as a senior as he’s started at both tackle spots and at left guard. A starter in 41 of the 42 games he played from 2013 to 2016, Averill was first-team All-Mountain West as a senior.

Center: Marcus Henry

Although Matt Paradis has achieved NFL success, Henry earned more accolades while at Boise State. He started at guard next to Paradis in 2013, then started his final 27 games at center, earning first-team All-Mountain West honors both seasons and serving as one of two captains in 2015.

Defense

Defensive line: DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyrone Crawford, Shea McClellin, Kamalei Correa

Before they teamed up on the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive line, Lawrence and Crawford dominated for Boise State. Lawrence had 20 sacks in his two seasons (2012-13); Crawford had 13.5 in his two (2010-11). McClellin, the No. 19 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, had 16.5 sacks and three interceptions in 2010 and 2011. Correa had 12 sacks as a sophom*ore in 2014 and seven as a junior.

Linebacker: Leighton Vander Esch, Tanner Vallejo, Curtis Weaver

Vander Esch was a starter for just one season, but it was an incredible one that earned him Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. As a junior in 2017, the former walk-on had 141 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and four forced fumbles. Vallejo had 36 tackles for loss from 2013 to 2016 and once blocked two kicks in a game. Weaver, a junior this season, is already the Mountain West’s all-time sack leader with 34 and has a career-best 13.5 through the first 11 games of 2019.

Cornerback: Donte Deayon, Tyler Horton

A perfectly Boise State player, Deayon, at 5-foot-9 and 155 pounds, had 17 interceptions in 40 games from 2012 to 2015, 16 of them over his last three seasons — yet he was never named first-team All-Mountain West, earning second-team honors three times. Though not as prolific as his mentor, Horton still had a nose for the ball, with six fumble recoveries in addition to his four interceptions. Horton scored five touchdowns, including three in 2018 as a senior.

Safety: Darian Thompson, George Iloka

Thompson left as the Mountain West’s all-time interceptions leader with 19, five of them as a senior in 2015 en route to third-team AP All-American honors. Iloka was first-team All-WAC and All-Mountain West in 2010 and 2011, respectively. He was part of defenses that finished second and 12th in points allowed his final two seasons.

Special Teams

Punter: Sean Wale

Owner of three of the top 10 seasons in school history for punting average, Wale is No. 2 all-time at Boise State with a 42.7-yard average from 2013 to 2016. His 45.0-yard average in 2016 ranked No. 7 in the FBS.

Kicker: Tyler Rausa

It hasn’t always been a smooth road for Boise State kickers, but Rausa’s 2015 was a high point. His 25 field goals set a school record, and his 134 points set a Mountain West record for points by a kicker.

Returner/all-purpose: Doug Martin

Martin, who played on both sides of the ball as a freshman and sophom*ore, holds the Boise State record with his 33.8-yard average on kickoff returns in 2011 as a senior. In 2010 and 2011, he rushed for a combined 2,599 yards and scored 32 touchdowns.

Most memorable moments

1. Should we stay or should we go?

Boise State joined the Mountain West in 2011 and was met with a step up in competition. It also was met with a strange reception: The Broncos weren’t allowed to wear their all-blue uniforms at home for conference games. A year after joining the conference, Boise State announced it would join the Big East for the 2013 season, but that plan fell apart. The Broncos announced on New Year’s Eve 2012 they would remain in the Mountain West, along with a TV deal more lucrative for them than for any other team in the league. And they got to bring the all-blue look back, too.

2. Someone finally lures away Chris Petersen

After putting up an astounding 92-12 record at Boise State, coach Chris Petersen left to take the vacancy at Washington on Dec. 6, 2013, after years of turning down interest from across the country. Five days later, Petersen was replaced by former protege Bryan Harsin, a Boise native, ex-Boise State quarterback and Petersen’s offensive coordinator from 2006 to 2010. The Broncos’ 78.4 winning percentage since Harsin was hired (62-16) is No. 5 in the FBS.

3. An injury alters two quarterback careers

A bit of a “Sliding Doors” scenario for Boise State: On Sept. 18, 2015, starting quarterback Ryan Finley broke an ankle in the second quarter of a game against Idaho State. Backup Tommy Stuart played about a quarter before the Broncos burned Brett Rypien’s redshirt, making him the first true freshman to play at the position in more than 20 years. Rypien started 49 of the next 50 games and Finley never appeared again for Boise State, transferring to N.C. State after the following spring. Rypien finished as the Mountain West’s all-time leading passer with 13,581 yards, while Finley had 10,501 yards in three seasons at N.C. State.

4. Hank Bachmeier commits to Boise State

Boise State has churned out some impressive passers, and that reputation culminated with Murrieta Valley (Calif.) High quarterback Hank Bachmeier’s commitment on May 9, 2018. Bachmeier had offers from a dozen Power 5 schools and was the 247Sports Composite’s No. 6 pro-style passer in the country. He enrolled in January to compete for the vacancy left by Rypien and won the starting job as a true freshman. He backed up the hype with 407 yards passing in his debut Aug. 31 at Florida State.

Top games

1. Sept. 6, 2010, vs. Virginia Tech (Landover, Md.)

Boise State proved it was national title caliber by beating the Hokies 33-30 at FedEx Field thanks to Moore’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Austin Pettis with 1:09 left. As an ESPN audience of 9.9 million watched on Labor Day night, the No. 3 Broncos took down the No. 10 Hokies for their 15th consecutive win, continuing a streak that would stretch to 24 before an overtime loss at Nevada the day after Thanksgiving.

2. Dec. 31, 2014, vs. Arizona (Glendale, Ariz.)

In the Fiesta Bowl, which Boise State had already won twice, the Broncos capped off Harsin’s first season at the helm with a 38-30 win over the Wildcats for its ninth win in a row. Ajayi rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns and Sperbeck had 199 yards receiving. Ajayi’s first touchdown was on a tribute to the program’s first Fiesta Bowl: a Statue of Liberty play called “’Murica.”

3. Nov. 11, 2017, at Colorado State

Trailing 35-10 late in the second quarter, the Broncos recovered and scored two touchdowns in the last 101 seconds to force overtime before winning 59-52. Alexander Mattison rushed for 242 yards and three touchdowns, and Vander Esch forced a game-ending fumble in overtime. Boise State won its second Mountain West championship game three weeks later.

Player of the decade

Quarterback Kellen Moore

Only half of his career was played in the 2010s, but his sublime junior and senior years represent some of the Broncos’ glory days, never falling out of the top 10 in that span. Moore is the only player in school history to be a Heisman Trophy finalist, finishing fourth in the 2010 voting.

When the Broncos’ $22 million football facility opened in 2013, 33 different photos of Moore were displayed around the 68,000-square foot complex.

Moore is now the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive coordinator, none around Boise State are surprised by his rise through the coaching ranks — even if it means the dream of his triumphant return to lead the Broncos from the sidelines is less likely.

(Top photo of Kellen Moore: Geoff Burke / Getty Images)