Texas State gets a road test with a lot more bite on Saturday night, and G.J. Kinne isn’t looking anywhere beyond Boise State.
The Bobcats are 4-3 overall and 2-1 in Pac-12 play after back-to-back home wins, but their next assignment comes against No. 20 Boise State, a 6-1 team that Kinne made clear has earned its reputation.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. Mountain time on Halloween at Albertsons Stadium.
“Really good team on Saturday,” Kinne said during his Tuesday press conference. “Obviously, Boise has kind of been the standard at this level of football for a really long time. Really quality coaching staff, really good team, really good culture, blue turf, all the things.
“We’ve got our hands full for sure, but this is what we signed up for. Go to Boise and play a top-20 team … in the country on the road, Halloween. Should be a great atmosphere.”
Kinne’s respect for Boise State was obvious in the details he rattled off. He pointed to the Broncos’ physical run game, their experienced quarterback and a roster built with size and depth.
“They’ve got a tremendous staff, a great team and a couple draft picks at running back,” Kinne said. “The quarterback’s been there for a while and is kind of the heart and soul of that team.
Just very experienced and plays the game the right way, plays the quarterback position the right way. They’re talented at receiver, talented at tight end, big offensive line.
“Their defensive line really stood out to me in this last game. They played extremely well.”
Boise State used that physical edge to pull away from Washington State in the fourth quarter of a 31-10 win last week in Pullman. Texas State, meanwhile, is fresh off a gritty 20-17 home win over Utah State, so Kinne knows exactly what kind of fight awaits.
“It’s going to be a tall task, there’s no question about that,” Kinne said of matching Boise State’s physicality. “But we’re definitely going to be up for the challenge.
Our guys will be ready. We’ve got to match their physicality and their discipline.”
There is another layer to the week, too. Kinne and Boise State coach Spencer Danielson have both been mentioned as possible replacements for Baylor’s Dave Aranda, who was fired on Sunday. Danielson addressed the chatter earlier in the week, and Kinne did the same on Tuesday.
“I love this place,” Kinne said. “We’re working on Boise State. I promise you, I can’t think about anything else or we’ll get killed.”
For Kinne, Boise State has been a familiar name for a long time. He remembered watching the Broncos’ Fiesta Bowl upset of Oklahoma as a high school senior, and he also faced them twice while quarterbacking Tulsa from 2009-11, with Kellen Moore leading Boise State.
The Broncos are set to unveil a statue of Moore on Saturday, and Kinne had nothing but praise for the former Boise State star.
“Hopefully we get to see him,” Kinne said. “He’s got to be one, two, three, four-somewhere in that realm-of all-time college quarterbacks.
“When we played them those couple times, I knew I had a lot of improvements I had to make in my own game after watching him play. … They were so precise and executed so well.
Just a really, really good team. It was always fun to play those guys.”
In Other News...
Boise State Faces A Massive CFP Moment Amid Growing Noise Around The Program
Boise State gets back to work this week with a home date against Texas State, but the spotlight around the program stretches well beyond the matchup itself. The Broncos are ranked No. 20, sitting at 6-1, and still trying to keep their push steady in a season where every game carries added weight. Spencer Danielson has tried to keep the focus on the field, while Texas State coach GJ Kinne also acknowledged the chatter around job speculation during a week when both teams have had to navigate a little extra noise.
The backdrop will make Saturday feel like more than a routine home game in Boise. Along with the football stakes, the school is set to honor one of its most celebrated former players when it unveils a statue of Kellen Moore at halftime, adding another layer to an already charged atmosphere. For a program trying to balance momentum, attention and expectations, it is the kind of weekend that can say plenty about where Boise State stands right now. [Read more 🡒]
Boise States Playoff Path Suddenly Looks A Lot More Real
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There is still work to do, starting with a home game against Texas State and later a matchup with Oregon State. The opportunity is real enough now that every week matters, especially for a Boise State team that suddenly has a path worth watching all the way into the playoff conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Maddux Madsen Now Has A New Link To Boise State Greatness
Boise States ties to its quarterback past are about to get a little more literal this weekend, with the school set to honor Kellen Moore in a way that underscores just how high the bar still sits in Boise. Moores college career made him one of the defining figures in program history, and now the former Broncos star is back in the conversation again as the current team prepares for a spotlight moment against Texas State.
For Maddux Madsen, the connection is more than ceremonial. The current Boise State quarterback has already heard from Moore, getting a surprise good-luck text from the man he is effectively chasing in the programs lineage. It adds a fitting layer to a game week that already has some extra meaning, with one Boise State quarterback legacy being celebrated while another continues to build his own. [Read more 🡒]