A Boise State fan turned a Saturday morning spot on ESPN College GameDay into a perfect moment, and he did it with one swing of the leg and a mustache that had Pat McAfee talking.
The setup came in Idaho, where College GameDay was on site ahead of No. 24 Boise State’s matchup with Oregon State. Before a fan got his chance, former Dallas Cowboys fan-favorite and Boise State legend Leighton Vander Esch had already delivered a $1 million kick on his second attempt for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Then Easton Hanson stepped in.
The Boise State fan needed just one try to send the ball straight through the middle of the goalposts and claim the $1 million prize. Hanson, a Boise State student, had brought his own cleats to College GameDay and won the raffle to get the chance.
But the kick was only part of the show. Hanson’s mustache became the real talking point, with McAfee clearly loving the look.
Just. Like.
That. As Brian “Q” Quinn of Impractical Jokers may say, “ Nice kick, Mustache.”
It’s one of the best kicks of the season.
The Broncos will now try to carry that same kind of luck into their game against the Beavers at Albertsons Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m.
ET on the USA Network. Nate Gatter will handle play-by-play, Ryan Leaf will be the analyst in the booth, and Lauren Green will report from the sidelines throughout the evening.
In Other News...
Boise State Fans Have One Big GameDay Concern This Weekend
ESPNs College GameDay is bringing its full Saturday morning spectacle to Boise States campus this weekend, setting up a three-hour pregame show ahead of the Broncos matchup with Oregon State. The event is free to attend, and with the gates opening early in the morning, fans are already making plans to pack in for one of the biggest stage-setters college football can offer.
The one thing hovering over all of it is the weather. Forecasts call for rain overnight before the broadcast, though conditions are expected to turn mostly sunny once the show is underway, leaving Boise State fans to watch the skies as much as the set. For a campus event built on energy and turnout, that early stretch could shape how the morning feels long before the first camera starts rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Faces A Real Threat To Its Playoff Push
Boise State has spent the fall in a position it has rarely enjoyed, sitting atop the Pac-12 at 5-0 and carrying real College Football Playoff hopes as long as it keeps stacking wins. The next test is not a trap game in name only, either. Oregon State comes to town with a 5-4 record, but the Beavers have shown enough through the air to look more dangerous than their record says, especially against a Broncos defense that has been vulnerable when opponents decide to throw.
For Boise State, the concern is less about reputation and more about matchup. Oregon States passing game has been productive enough to stress defenses, and if that part of the Beavers offense travels, the Broncos may have to win a game that looks a lot tighter than their standing would suggest. It is the kind of November test that can either reinforce a playoff case or expose how thin the margin can be when a contender has a weakness an opponent is built to attack. [Read more 🡒]
Boise States Biggest Game Suddenly Has A Very Unusual Problem
Boise States biggest game of the week has run into an unusual and very modern problem: travel. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights in the United States for safety reasons, and that has thrown a wrench into the plans for multiple college football teams, including Oregon State, which is supposed to head to Boise for its scheduled matchup.
For the Broncos, the concern is less about the scoreboard than the logistics, since an opponent that cannot get to town on time changes the rhythm of an entire game week. Oregon State is still trying to sort out how it will make the trip, and the broader shutdown has already affected a long list of other matchups around college football, turning what should have been a routine travel day into a scramble. [Read more 🡒]