Boise State Travels to Reno for Contest at Nevada

BOISE, Idaho – Boise State Football will head to Reno, Nev., for a road contest against Nevada on Oct. 24. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. MT with Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Robert Turbin (analyst) and Jordan Giorgio (sideline) calling the action on CBS Sports Network. Bronco Nation can tune in to hear Bob Behler (play-by-play) and Pete Cavender (analyst) call the action on the Bronco Radio Network (Flagship: KBOI 93.1 FM/670 AM) and on SiriusXM Channel 385.

Opening Kickoff
1.) Boise State will face Nevada for the 47th time on Friday night. The Wolf Pack are the Broncos' most common opponent in program history, with Boise State holding a 32-14 all-time advantage. The Blue and Orange enter on a two-game winning streak, and have won the last four matchups in Reno. Boise State last lost to the Wolf Pack on Nov. 26, 2010, when No. 3/3/4 Boise State lost to No. 19/19/19 Nevada 34-31 in overtime.

2.) Boise State will look to become bowl-eligible for the 28th consecutive season. The Broncos' current streak of 27 straight seasons of bowl eligibility is the second-longest active streak in the nation, trailing only Georgia. Last season, Boise State earned a No. 3 seed in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, losing to No. 6 Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl.

3.) Head coach Spencer Danielson picked up the 20th win of his head coaching career, holding a 20-5 mark. Among active coaches, Danielson boasts the fourth-best winning percentage as an FBS head coach (80.0%), and is the fifth Bronco head coach in program history to reach 20 or more wins in their first 25 games.

4.) A'Marion McCoy's 60-yard interception return for a touchdown against UNLV marked his second pick-six of the season and the third of his career. McCoy is one of five players across the country with multiple pick-sixes on the season, and his three career interception returns for touchdowns are tied for the most in the program's FBS era (since 1996).

5.) Dylan Riley had another career day against UNLV, generating 201 yards on the ground on just 15 carries and recording one touchdown. His 13.4 yards per carry are the fourth-most in a single game in Bronco history. Riley, who previously recorded 171 yards rushing against Air Force, is one of three FBS players with multiple games of 170+ yards rushing.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Familiar Faces
One Boise State player and two Nevada coaches will see familiar colors on the opposite sideline. Defensive lineman Dion Washington played for the Wolf Pack from 2021-23, totaling 35 tackles, 10.0 TFLs, 3.0 sacks and a forced fumble in 27 games. This year, he has played all seven games, recording 10 tackles, 1.5 TFLs and 1.0 sack. Nevada head coach Jeff Choate was the special teams coordinator at Boise State from 2006-11, leading the running backs for his first three years and linebackers for his final three. In those seasons, the Broncos were 73-6, winning two Fiesta Bowls and four WAC titles. Wolf Pack defensive coordinator Kane Ioane was Boise State's safeties coach from 2021-23, helping the Broncos win the 2023 Mountain West Championship.

Series History
Boise State and Nevada will face off for the 47th time on Friday. The Broncos hold the all-time lead 32-14, and hold a slight 14-11 all-time advantage playing in Reno. The Blue and Orange are 7-1 against the Wolf Pack as members of the Mountain West, including a perfect 4-0 mark on the road. Boise State enters the series on a two-game winning streak, and a four-game winning streak on the road. The Broncos last lost to the Wolf Pack on Nov. 26, 2010, when No. 3/3/4 Boise State lost to No. 19/19/19 Nevada 34-31 in overtime.

Among The Nation's Best
Head coach Spencer Danielson has been off to quite the start to his head coaching career, boasting a 20-5 mark as the Broncos' head coach. Among active FBS head coaches, his 80.0% winning percentage is the fourth-best at the FBS level who have coached at least one full season.

Danielson Domination
Since taking over the Boise State football program as the interim head coach on Nov. 18, 2023, Spencer Danielson is tied for fifth among FBS coaches with 20 overall wins. In conference play in that same stretch, Danielson is 12-0, which makes him one of only two FBS coaches with perfect conference records. Rhett Lashlee of SMU is 13-0 in The American and ACC over the same stretch.

Danielson Has Found His Home
In addition to his impressive overall win total since taking over Boise State football, head coach Spencer Danielson has led the Broncos to an undefeated record at home on The Blue. Since Nov. 18, 2023, when Danielson was named the interim head coach, Danielson is 12-0 at Albertsons Stadium, including 6-0 in conference games and 7-0 against Mountain West teams. He is one of two FBS head coaches with perfect home records since Nov. 18, 2023. The other is Curt Cignetti of Indiana, who is 13-0 in Bloomington but took over the Hoosier program after the 2023 season.

The First Quarter
Spencer Danielson became the fifth coach in program history to win at least 20 of his first 25 games as the Broncos' head coach. Danielson joined Lyle Smith, Tony Knap, Dan Hawkins and Chris Petersen. The most recent to achieve this was Petersen, who tallied a 23-2 record after he began in 2006. Dan Hawkins began his tenure in 2001 and started 20-5. Tony Knap ushered in the program's four-year era in 1968, earning a 21-4 mark. The legendary Lyle Smith began his career in 1947, starting 25-0 en route to a 39-game win streak to start his time with the Broncos.

Reaching The Century Mark
Since 2022, Boise State has recorded 38 individual performances of 100+ rushing yards, tying Army for second in the FBS. Air Force leads the country with 39 performances. Jacksonville State and UCF trail with 31, followed by Kansas State with 30. Utah State is the next-closest Mountain West team at 23.

Broncos for 500
Boise State generated 582 total yards of offense against UNLV, marking the third time the squad has recorded over 500 yards of offense this season. The Broncos did so four times last season, and have done so eight times under head coach Spencer Danielson. Boise State hasn't generated at least three games with over 500 yards of offense in back-to-back seasons since 2018-19.

The 250-Club
Boise State has eclipsed 250 yards rushing and passing in three games this season, tied for second in the country. The Broncos, Florida State, Indiana, Old Dominion and South Florida trail Oregon, which has achieved the feat four times. Boise State ran for 238 yards and passed for 309 in the win over Eastern Washington (Sept. 5), collected 282 yards on the ground and 310 through the air at Air Force (Sept. 20) and totaled 294 rushing yards and 264 passing yards against UNLV (Oct. 18). The Broncos have eclipsed 250 yards in both categories 30 times in the FBS era. This year's group joins the 2004 (4), 2015 (3) and 2024 (3) squads as the only teams to reach those marks more than twice in a season.

Season-High
Boise State scored a season-high 56 points against UNLV on Saturday. The Broncos have scored 40+ points in all five victories on the season. Boise State scored 56 or more points in four games in 2024, marking the first time the program has recorded at least one victory with over 56 points in back-to-back seasons since doing so in 2018 and 2019. Boise State did so against conference opponents in both streaks.

Fast Start
Boise State has been dominant in the opening quarter, outscoring its opponents 79-16 in the frame. Since 1998, the Broncos are 109-4 (.965) when scoring 14+ points in the first quarter, having done so in four of their five victories this season. Boise State led Eastern Washington 20-0 after the first quarter on Sept. 5, led Air Force 14-7 on Sept. 20, earned a 14-0 lead over App State and led UNLV 14-3. Boise State has scored 14+ points in the first quarter in at least one game every season since 1997. The Broncos have outscored their opponents 133-90 in the first half of their games this season. Boise State has held their opponent scoreless in the first quarter in four of six games in 2025, after achieving the feat five times in 2024.

Second Half Scoring
Boise State has used the second half in the last two games to pull away from its opponents and seal the two victories. In the last two games, the Broncos are averaging 26.0 points in the second half while their opponents are averaging 9.0 points. In their five wins, the Broncos have scored 124 points in the second half. In the two losses, they were scoreless.

Career Day (Yet Again)
Boise State running back Dylan Riley rushed for a career-high 201 rushing yards against UNLV on Saturday, and his 13.4 yards per carry is the fourth-highest in a single-game in Boise State history (minimum 10 attempts). He is the fourth player to run for 200+ yards on 15 or fewer carries, joining San Diego State's Rashaad Penny (twice) and New Mexico's Devon Dampier and Teriyon Gipson. The sophomore ran for 157 yards in the opening half, the most in a half since Ashton Jeanty ran for 186 yards in the first half against Utah State on Oct. 5, 2024. Riley rushed for his sixth touchdown of the season (and eighth of his career) in the second quarter.

170-Plus
Dylan Riley's 201-yard performance against UNLV marked his second game of the season with over 170 rushing yards. He previously ran for 171 yards at Air Force. The sophomore is one of three FBS players with multiple 170-yard rushing games, joining Cam Cook (Jacksonville State) and Kejon Owens (Florida International). Riley combined for five rushing touchdowns in those games. Cook ran for two in each of his games, while Owens combined for three.

Fighter Jet
Dylan Riley recorded two plays of over 40 yards against the Rebels, recording a 65-rush in the second quarter before finding the end zone off a 49-yard rush later in the frame. Of the Broncos' 10 plays of 40+ yards this season, Riley has been a part of five of them, including each of the three longest plays.

Riley Repeats As Player Of The Week
Dylan Riley was named the Old Trapper Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. He is the lone running back to receive the award this season and one of three players to be selected multiple times, joining quarterbacks Micah Alejado (Hawai'i) and Anthony Colandrea (UNLV). Riley, Ashton Jeanty (2024) and Jeremy McNichols (2016) are the only Bronco running backs to earn the honor multiple times in a season. Riley first earned the recognition on Sept. 29 following his 255-yard, five-touchdown effort at Air Force.

Man Of Many Talents
Boise State running back Sire Gaines recorded both a receiving and rushing touchdown against UNLV, marking the second time the redshirt freshman has done so in his career. Gaines has recorded multiple touchdowns in back-to-back games after rushing for two scores against New Mexico on Oct. 11. The running back has three games with multiple touchdowns in his career.

It Takes A Team
Boise State's three-headed rushing attack has been very productive this season, with Dylan Riley (695) Sire Gaines (373) and Malik Sherrod (223) each tallying over 200 yards. The Broncos are one of nine teams in the country to have one running back over 600 yards, another over 300 yards and a third over 200 yards. Boise State is joined by Army, Jacksonville State, Michigan, Missouri, Navy, UNLV, Texas State and Texas Tech.

Model Of Consistency
Maddux Madsen threw four touchdown passes against UNLV, marking his third-career game with four touchdowns. The redshirt junior has done so twice this season, reaching the threshold against App State on Sept. 27, and had previously done so against San Diego State on Nov. 1, 2024. Madsen has recorded five career games with three or more touchdown passes.

200-Club
Maddux Madsen threw for 253 passing yards against UNLV, marking his eighth consecutive contest throwing for over 200 passing yards. The redshirt junior is the first Bronco to throw for over 200 yards in eight consecutive games since an 11-game streak from Brett Rypien (Oct. 28, 2017-Sept. 29, 2018). Madsen has done it 16 times in his career, the eighth-most in program history.

Spreading The Love
Maddux Madsen has found at least seven different receivers in every game so far this season. He has found a career-high 10 different receivers twice this season, doing so against USF (Aug. 28) and App State (Sept. 27). He found nine receivers against the Rebels.

Moving Up The Ranks
Maddux Madsen enters the game against the Wolf Pack littered across the program record book. Against UNLV, Madsen became the eighth Bronco in program history to throw for over 6,000 passing yards, finishing the game with 6,075. The redshirt junior also sits in eighth place in program history with 47 career touchdown passes and is ninth place all-time in total completions (467). Madsen is tied for eighth-place all time with four career 300+ yard passing games and is eighth place all-time with 16 performances of 200+ yards passing.

Taking It To The House
A'Marion McCoy's 60-yard interception return for a touchdown against UNLV marked the second of the season for the fifth-year and the third for the Broncos overall. Boise State is one of five programs across the country that has returned three or more interceptions for touchdowns, joining Maryland (4), Louisiana Tech (3), Oregon (3) and SMU (3). The three pick-sixes are the most the program has recorded in a single-season since the 2014 squad returned five, and is only the sixth time the program has had three or more pick-sixes in a season since joining the FBS ranks in 1996. McCoy is one of five players at the FBS levels that has returned two interceptions for touchdowns alongside Aamaris Brown (UNLV), Ian Foster (Southern Miss), Chris Johnson (San Diego State), and DeMarco Ward (Memphis). McCoy is the first Bronco to return two interceptions for touchdowns in the same season since Donte Deayon did so in 2014 (Sept. 13 vs. Connecticut and Dec. 31 vs. Arizona). McCoy's 60-yard interception return for a touchdown against UNLV marked his third pick-six as a Bronco. McCoy is one of seven Broncos who have recorded multiple pick-sixes in the program's FBS era (1996) and is one of two (Marty Tadman) with three. McCoy is the first Bronco with pick-sixes in back-to-back seasons since Tadman, who did so 2005-06. The only other Boise State player to achieve this feat in the program's FBS era is Shaunard Harts (1999-2000). McCoy has recorded three interceptions for the second time in his career, the first Bronco to do so in multiple seasons since Kekoa Nawahine (2017-19).

Anchoring The Trenches
According to PFF, Kage Casey is the sixth highest-graded left tackle in the nation with more than 400 offensive snaps (78.7). The redshirt junior ranks eighth in the position group in run blocking grade (77.0). He earned a PFF overall grade of 83.4 for the 2024 season, a number that ranked fourth among FBS left tackles who played over 700 snaps. He did not allow a sack all season and played a team-high 947 offensive snaps.

Standout Safety
Ty Benefield has been one of Boise State's biggest defensive contributors, leading the unit in solo tackles (33), total tackles (51), tying for the team-high in TFLs (6.5), and is second on the team with a pair of interceptions. He is one of three players in the nation with 50+ tackles, 5+ TFLs, two interceptions and a forced fumble, joining Texas Tech's Jacob Rodriguez and Northwestern's Mac Uihlein.

Benefield Been Ballin'
Ty Benefield tied Jaden Mickey with a team-high seven tackles against UNLV, marking the fifth game this season the safety has led the Broncos in tackles. The junior safety also led the squad in tackles against Eastern Washington (9), Air Force (11), App State (7) and Notre Dame (8).

Right Where He Left Off
Returning First Team All-Mountain West EDGE Jayden Virgin-Morgan has a knack for finding players in the backfield, recording at least one tackle for loss in 12 of his last 16 games. He was a force defensively against New Mexico, finishing with a career-high 3.5 TFLs, a team-high six tackles, a strip sack (sack and forced fumble) and four quarterback hurries. The San Diego, Calif., native has recorded at least 2.0 TFLs four times in his career, and is tied with safety Ty Benefield as the team leader in TFLs. Virgin-Morgan is the only player in the country to record at least six tackles, 3.5 TFLs, one sack and one forced fumble in a single game this season. In the season-opener against the Bulls, the redshirt junior, who played 51 of the team's 56 snaps, finished with one TFL and one forced fumble. A season ago, Virgin-Morgan's 10 sacks were good for 14th in the country, while his 15.5 tackles for loss were 17th nationally.

No Fly Zone
Boise State held UNLV to 12 passing yards in the first quarter, 33 in the third quarter, and 17 in the fourth quarter. The Broncos have held their opponent to under 35 passing yards in a quarter 11 times this season.

Can't Catch Cam
Wide receiver Cameron Bates was a rushing and receiving threat against UNLV, running for a career-long 35-yard touchdown and posting career-highs in receptions (3) and yards (54). The sophomore has 181 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns on 11 touches this season. He is one of six FBS wide receivers with over 100 receiving yards and two rushing touchdowns.

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Bates

Ty Benefield

Kage Casey

Sire Gaines

Ashton Jeanty

Maddux Madsen

A’Marion McCoy

Jaden Mickey

Dylan Riley

Malik Sherrod

Jayden Virgin-Morgan

Dion Washington