Boise State Football

To hear outgoing Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter tell it, it's not easy to be Cinderella in the current age of college football.

Bob Lundeberg of Sports Illustrated relayed comments from Koetter's Monday appearance on Boise Sports Talk Radio (KTIK 95.3 FM) in which the outgoing OC said Oregon offered one of the team's players $700,000 in a tampering effort to get him into the transfer portal.

"I know for a fact that just last week, after the Fiesta Bowl, one of the key starters on defense got a call from the Oregon Ducks offering him $700,000," he said. "(Offensive tackle) Kage Casey, Casey's probably going to be a first-round pick. He would've probably been a high pick this year, but I do think he needs another year to develop … I'm sure he could've got close to a million dollars in the portal."

Casey has not publicly declared whether he is entering the 2025 NFL draft, transferring or returning to Boise State.

To put the $700,000 figure for one player in perspective, Koetter said Boise State's "salary cap is $2 million" for the entire roster. "But the people we're competing against, maybe not in our current conference, but where we're going and who we're expected to compete against, it's as high as $20 million."

There has been some speculation that Oregon had a roster budget of approximately $23 million for this season in the age of transfer portal movement and name, image and likeness opportunities for college athletes.

Ultimately, the Ducks advanced as far as the Broncos did in the College Football Playoff. Oregon lost to Ohio State in the quarterfinals, while Boise State lost to Penn State in the same round.

The Broncos also lost a head-to-head showdown with the Ducks by just three points in September and then won 10 straight to take the Mountain West title and earn a spot in the 12-team CFP field.

That success is partially a credit to head coach Spencer Danielson's ability to keep important players such as star running back Ashton Jeanty on the roster. Jeanty was a Heisman finalist and ran for a stunning 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns on the season.

As for Koetter, he is stepping down as the offensive coordinator this offseason but said he will still remain with the team as a senior analyst. Co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Nate Potter was promoted to the full-time OC role.

Koetter is a longtime coach who was most notably the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for three seasons from 2016 through 2018. He was also the head coach of Boise State from 1998-2000 and Arizona State from 2001-06 in addition to stops as the OC for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons.

In the age of the portal and increased roster movement, the richest teams in college football are going to do what they can to make sure the best players are suiting up for them in a given season. That doesn't mean tampering is the correct thing to do, but it is surely an undeniable reality in the modern age of the sport.

It is just another thing for Boise State and other teams that often find themselves in the underdog role from a national perspective to deal with, which makes the team's efforts in 2024 all the more impressive.

The best running back in college football is taking his talents to the NFL.

Boise State star Ashton Jeanty declared for the 2025 NFL draft on Tuesday, forgoing his senior season. B/R's NFL Scouting Department ranks him as the No. 1 running back and No. 7 overall player in the 2025 class.

After a sensational sophomore season in 2023 in which he ran for 1,347 yards, Jeanty reached even greater heights this year and became one of the most promising future superstars in football. He finished second in the voting for the Heisman Trophy behind Colorado star Travis Hunter and rushed for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns, shattering the Boise State program record of 1,823 yards set by Jay Ajayi in 2014 and falling shy of Barry Sanders' single-season FBS rushing record of 2,628 yards set in 1988.

Jeanty's spectacular season propelled the Broncos to a 12-2 finish and their first Mountain West title since 2019. Boise State earned the No. 3 spot in the College Football Playoff and lost to Penn State 31-14 in the quarterfinals. Jeanty had 30 carries for 104 yards in the loss with no touchdowns and fumbled the ball twice, losing one of them.

It's easy to predict that Jeanty will have a successful career at the pro level thanks to his incredible array of skills. As B/R NFL scout Dame Parson stated:

"Overall, Ashton Jeanty is a high-volume and playmaking running back. Between his bowling ball-esque frame and innate contact balance, Jeanty's game translates incredibly well to the NFL. The ability to create for himself with the ball in his hands is electrifying. He fits today's run offenses with wide zone and pin-pull gap schemes. Jeanty is a star-caliber bell-cow running back who can shoulder the load for an NFL rushing attack."

After Tuesday's announcement, NFL teams will undoubtedly be excited about the possibility of adding Jeanty to their roster. While the running back position has been devalued in the league in recent years, a prospect like Jeanty is too good to pass up. The team that takes a chance on him will be getting a franchise cornerstone to build around for years to come.

Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders saluted Boise State's Ashton Jeanty after the Heisman Trophy runner-up's season came to an end Tuesday night.

Jeanty ran for 104 yards on 30 carries in a 31-14 loss to Penn State, leaving him 28 yards short of breaking Sanders' single-season rushing record. The Detroit Lions legend congratulated Jeanty "on a great season" and added he'll be following his exploits in the NFL:

If Jeanty had gone on to claim the record, Sanders would've remained the rightful holder in the eyes of some fans.

During the 1988 season, Sanders' 2,628 yards came in just 11 appearances since Oklahoma State's Holiday Bowl win over Wyoming didn't count toward his official tally. When including that performance, he had 2,850 yards on the ground.

Jeanty's output was spread across 14 games and it would've been 16 if Boise State advanced all the way to the national championship game.

Especially with the expanded playoff, expect to see a lot of single-season and career records fall over the next few years because players are having more opportunities to pad their stats compared to past generations.

Between the Fiesta Bowl loss and failing to set the record, Tuesday brought a deflating end to an otherwise excellent campaign for Jeanty. Now, he'll be setting his sights on the pros and try to solidify himself as a first-round prospect in the 2025 NFL draft.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Jeanty sixth among the running backs who were Day 1 selections going back to 2013 and said the Broncos star "could easily get picked in the 10-15 range." He's the No. 10 overall player on Bleacher Report's 2025 big board.

The Penn State Nittany Lions are considered the favorites against the Boise State Broncos in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup between the teams.

And that's just the way Spencer Danielson likes it.

"If nobody gives us a chance, if the point spread continues to grow, whatever," the Boise State head coach told NBC Sports' Nicole Auerbach on Sunday. "Please count us out. That's what Boise State football is built on, people thinking we can't do anything, and we work our tails off to find a way to prove people wrong. I believe in our team. And we use the phrase, 'Put the ball down.' Doesn't matter the stadium or what fans are there on the 31st, put the ball down. We're going to be ready."

Boise State has a history of upsetting Power 4 teams in postseason play, most famously in a pair of Fiesta Bowl victories over Oklahoma in the 2006 season and TCU in the 2009 campaign. None would be as big as defeating Penn State to move onto the CFP semifinals, however, even if few people are predicting that result.

"Oh, we shouldn't be here, or, oh, this is going to be an easy road [for Penn State]—great, love it!" Danielson said. "That's what this place is built on, the chip on their shoulder. Please count us out."

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty appreciates the support of Barry Sanders.

Jeanty is chasing the legendary running back's all-time single-season rushing yards record from his time at Oklahoma State. When Sanders took to X to root for Jeanty to break the record, the 21-year-old was quick to respond and thanked Sanders for his support.

Sanders' all-time record is 2,628 yards, and Jeanty is currently at 2,497.

Sanders' sensational season came in 1988, when he earned those 2,628 yards on 344 carries and also added 37 touchdowns while helping the Cowboys go 10-2 and win the Holiday Bowl. He won the Maxwell Award, the Water Camp Award and the Heisman Trophy while being named an All-American.

Jeanty has earned his 2,497 yards on 344 carries while also adding 29 touchdowns and leading Boise State to a 12-1 record and a No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff. He also won the Water Camp Award and was named an All-American but finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Boise State will face Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 to advance to the semifinals. Entering the matchup with the Nittany Lions, Jeanty needs 131 rushing yards to break Sanders' record.

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty fell just short of the Heisman Trophy but believes the results "should've" been different even though he praised Colorado star Travis Hunter for taking home the award.

"I really felt like I should've walked away with the award, but kudos to Travis for winning," he told reporters Saturday after finishing in second place in the voting. "But yeah, it's simple as that. Work harder, go harder."

While Hunter turned heads throughout the season by thriving at multiple positions as a wide receiver and cornerback, the Heisman ended up being anything but a formality given the voting breakdown.

ESPN noted Hunter received 552 first-place votes and 2,231 overall points to Jeanty's 309 first-place votes and 2,017 overall points. That made it the closest margin of victory since Alabama running back Mark Ingram defeated Stanford running back Toby Gerhart in 2009.

Jeanty will not walk away from this season empty-handed, though, as he won the Maxwell Award as college football's top player and the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back.

What's more, his Broncos are in the College Football Playoff as the No. 3 overall seed, which meant they earned a first-round bye and are three victories away from being national champions.

Hunter's Colorado team settled for an Alamo Bowl matchup against BYU.

"There's a lot more to come," Jeanty told reporters when revealing falling short in the Heisman race is motivating him moving forward. "This isn't the end, this is just the beginning. So I just have to do that much more to get the things that I want."

Barry Sanders set the gold standard for running back seasons when he won the 1988 Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma State with 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns on the ground in just 11 games. While Jeanty has played 13 games this season heading into the CFP, he threatened those marks ahead of Saturday's Heisman ceremony.

He posted 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns on the ground, which was all the more notable since he wasn't even on the field at the end of a number of Boise State blowout wins.

It wasn't enough to defeat Hunter in the Heisman race, but he still has his eye on a national championship run as the Broncos wait to see who their opponent will be between Penn State and SMU.

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty has turned in a season for the ages, but there is one accomplishment in particular that stands out above the rest for the Heisman Trophy finalist.

During an appearance Saturday on ESPN SportsCenter, Jeanty was asked which stat he is most proud of from this season, and he replied: "Probably outrushing all the 115 FBS teams. That's crazy."

Jeanty has rushed for a remarkable 2,497 yards this season, and of the 133 other FBS teams, 115 of them have not reached that rushing yardage total as a team.

After rushing for 821 yards as a freshman, Jeanty broke out in a big way last season, rushing for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns, while also catching 43 passes for 569 and five scores en route to Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Jeanty was viewed as a likely candidate to take another step forward this season, but he shattered even the wildest expectations fans and analysts had for him.

The junior superstar's 2,497 rushing yards are the fourth most in a single season in FBS college football history behind only Barry Sanders, Melvin Gordon and Kevin Smith.

As the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff, the Broncos are guaranteed to play at least one more game, and with 132 rushing yards or more, Jeanty would break Sanders' record.

Jeanty has also scored 29 rushing touchdowns, plus a receiving touchdown, giving him a total of 30 on the season. While his rushing yardage total is partly thanks to a high volume of carries with 344, he has also been highly efficient, averaging 7.3 yards per tote.

Although the offensive line deserves some credit, Jeanty is undoubtedly the driving force behind Boise State's success this season.

The Broncos are 12-1 with their only loss being a three-point defeat at the hands of the undefeated No. 1 team in the nation in Oregon.

It wasn't anticipated that a team outside the Power Four conferences would get a first-round bye in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff, but Jeanty made Boise State so undeniable that the Broncos got a bye over the ACC champion Clemson Tigers.

Thanks to his historic season, Jeanty is one of four Heisman Trophy finalists along with Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Miami quarterback Cam Ward.

Jeanty would win the award most years, but Hunter's status as an elite wide receiver and cornerback at the same time has made him the favorite.

Jeanty did win another player of the year award in the Maxwell Award, plus he was named the top running back of the year as the Doak Walker Award winner.

Even if the Heisman eludes Jeanty, his season will go down as one of the best ever by a running back, and he can cement that even further by helping Boise State go on a deep CFP run.

Former 5-star quarterback recruit Malachi Nelson is on the move again.

ESPN's Pete Thamel confirmed Thursday that Nelson is entering the transfer portal after spending the 2024 season at Boise State. He joined the Broncos after signing with USC as a true freshman.

Nelson shouldered high expectations with the Trojans. He was the No. 5 quarterback in 247Sports' composite rankings for the 2023 class and seemingly in line to succeed Caleb Williams once the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner left for the NFL.

The California native decided to seek an exit, however, as Miller Moss emerged as the likely candidate to start in 2024.

Selecting Boise State appeared to be a savvy choice for Nelson. The Broncos had to replace leading passer Taylen Green, and as we've seen, they possessed the talent to reach the College Football Playoff.

But Maddux Madsen wound up winning the starting job in the summer and didn't give it up. Madsen threw for 2,714 yards, 22 touchdowns and three interceptions.

As the backup, Nelson made three appearances and went 12-of-17 for 128 yards.

He has the opportunity to return to Boise State despite entering the portal, but that probably hinges on whether Madsen, a redshirt sophomore, decides to bolt after the Broncos' playoff run ends.

Given his recruiting profile and the fact he'll have three years of eligibility, one presumes Nelson will have some interested suitors. But there's no question his stock has taken a massive hit over the last two years.

Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez is calling for the College Football Playoff selection committee to grant a first-round bye to Boise State instead of Arizona State.

Nevarez stated on Saturday night that CFP contention "should not be contingent upon a conference patch or the logo on the helmet."

"Boise State's body of work this season, including an 11-game win streak, has earned it one of the top four seeds ahead of the Big 12 champion," Nevarez wrote.

The Broncos, led by star running back and Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty, defeated UNLV in the Mountain West championship game on Friday.

Arizona State is also campaigning for a top-four playoff seed after triumphing over Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday.

Boise State was listed at No. 10 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, ahead of both No. 15 Arizona State and No. 16 Iowa State.

ASU is a two-loss team, falling short of the Broncos' 12-1 record. But Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has previously stated he believes that his conference's champion should automatically receive a first-round bye over any champion from the Group of 5.

When speaking to reporters ahead of the Big 12 title game, Yormark said the selection committee is "paying attention to logos versus resumes," per Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press.

"Strength of schedule should matter and wins against Power Four opponents should matter — 74 percent of the Big 12 wins were against Power Four opponents this season," Yormark said, per Hawkins. "Meanwhile, the Group of Five is 11-80."

Yormark added: "In no way should a Group of Five champion be ranked above our champion."

The final CFP rankings will be announced on Sunday. Whichever teams receive a top-four seed will receive a first-round bye and an automatic trip to the playoff quarterfinals.

The Big Ten and SEC champions are set to earn the top two seeds, while the ACC, Big 12 and Mountain West winners will likely be competing for the final two spots at the top.

Arizona State had an overall harder strength of schedule, but had two losses, including one without starting quarterback Sam Leavitt. Boise State faced on average easier competition but lost its only game to No. 1 CFP ranked team Oregon.

The 12-team playoff and bowl game lineup will be announced during the selection show broadcasted on ESPN Sunday at 12 p.m. ET.

Ashton Jeanty continued his historic season on Friday night.

Jeanty helped No. 10 Boise State defeat No. 20 UNLV by the final score of 21-7 in the Mountain West Championship game.

He finished with 209 yards on 32 carries, with 132 of his yards occurring in the first half alone. This included a 75-yard rushing touchdown that gave the Broncos a 21-0 lead through two quarters.

The 21-year-old became the all-time career rushing leader in Boise State history during the contest, breaking a record that had stood since 1980 (h/t Shaun Goodwin of the Idaho Statesman).

With finalists for the Heisman Trophy set to be announced on Monday, fans continued to call for Jeanty as the eventual winner of the award over Colorado Buffaloes two-way standout Travis Hunter.

With the victory, Boise State earned its second consecutive Mountain West title. Jeanty and the Broncos will also be heading to the College Football Playoff.