Boise State is coming off a convincing win against Colorado State on Senior Night. Four Broncos scored six rushing touchdowns on the Rams to win 49–21. Boise State put up 279 rushing yards while allowing only 39. Max Cutforth completed 22 of 34 passes for 239 yards in his first full start on the Blue.
Boise State’s defense shut down the run game and forced Colorado State to rely on the pass game, allowing the Rams to gain 293 yards through the air. Although the Bronco secondary didn’t hold back, they did intercept Colorado State freshman quarterback Darius Curry three times on Saturday night. Two of those interceptions came from senior Jeremiah Arbery, who was named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts on Saturday. The second interception came from another senior, Zion Washington, for the first interception of his collegiate career.
Despite not being a senior, Saturday night belonged to Sawyer Goins. The redshirt freshman gained a season-high 149 rushing yards and two touchdowns and earned Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors. This is the second time Goins has earned the honor this season, after winning the award for his performance against Eastern Washington in September.
One thing Boise State’s defensive line can expect on Friday is some pressure on the quarterback. Utah State has allowed 37 sacks this season, an average of about 3.4 sacks allowed per game. Boise State has allowed only 20 all season, an average of 1.8 sacks allowed per game.
When Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes is not being sacked, his arm poses a major threat to defenses. Bryson Barnes ranks fourth among Mountain West quarterbacks in passing yards per game, averaging 227.5. Barnes is also a threat with his legs, setting a school record for most rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback with eight rushing touchdowns throughout the season.
Utah State is coming off a dominant win against Fresno State where they defeated the Bulldogs 28–17 in Fresno. The Aggies totaled 403 yards of offense, rushing for 226 of them and passing 177 of them. Fresno State led Utah State 17–7 at halftime, but in the second half, Utah State held the Bulldogs scoreless and scored 21 points of its own to ensure the victory. Quarterback Bryson Barnes was the rushing leader, gaining 113 rushing yards on 29 carries against Fresno State. Junior running back Javen Jacobs posted the second-most rushing yards of the day with an average of 8.5 yards per carry.
A week before the game against Fresno State, Utah State took on UNLV at Allegiant Stadium and gave the Rebels a tough fight in a double overtime thriller. The teams were tied 23–23 at the end of the fourth quarter and a missed field goal by Utah State sent the game into overtime. In the first overtime, both Utah State and UNLV missed field goal attempts to send it into double overtime. In the second overtime, Utah State would finally kick its own field goal but the Rebels sealed the game with a one-play rushing touchdown to solidify the 29–26 victory.
The win at Fresno State means the Aggies are now bowl eligible. Utah State head coach Bronco Mendenhall is in his first season with the school after transferring from his former school, New Mexico.
The Aggies had a tough conference schedule, facing two SEC teams in Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. In all of Utah State’s losses this season, they have managed to score more than 14 points, which the Broncos have not been able to do in all four of their losses. Utah State is also 5-0 at home so far this season, meaning the Broncos will need to break that streak on Friday.
Both teams are headed to the Pac-12 in 2026, meaning this game will end the series between the schools in the Mountain West Conference. Utah State and Boise State have also played Black Friday games in Logan in 2021 and Boise in 2022.
Boise State’s conference championship hopes are largely out of their control at this point. Utah State did a huge favor for the Broncos by defeating Fresno State, which had knocked the Bulldogs out of the previous four-way tie, having the tie breaker over the Broncos. Boise State would have to beat Utah State to be considered, but even a win would not automatically qualify them. With a win over Utah State and San Diego State’s win over New Mexico, Boise will head back to San Diego for the state championship, holding the tiebreaker over UNLV who will finish second with a win over Nevada. However, if New Mexico defeats the Aztecs, the Broncos’ path to the championship will become more complicated, creating a four-way tie between San Diego State, New Mexico, Boise State and UNLV that will likely go into the computer rankings. Therefore, Boise State fans should hope that San Diego State can beat New Mexico.
On Wednesday, Boise State released its availability report and fortunately it is light on two big names compared to the past few games. The list notably does not include Broncos leading receiver Chris Marshall, who has been out since the Fresno State game, first dealing with disciplinary action and then an injury. Another big returner for the Broncos this week is Jason Steele, a redshirt second-year offensive lineman who could help the Boise State offensive line this week. Also, notably missing from the list: Latrell Caples, even after a hit during the game against Colorado State that looked like it knocked him out cold. However, Jay Tost wrote on the X during the game that Latrell Caples was out with an injury and was walking before the game ended.
The Broncos announced their uniforms for Friday with this social media post, which includes Mason Hutton (long snapper), Colton Boomer (kicker) and Oscar Doyle (punter). While in Utah, Boise State will wear all-white on Black Friday. The Broncos have a 24–9 record in the uniform combination since 1996. The last time he wore the uniform was when they beat Nevada to cap a three-game winning streak in uniform.
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