Boise State doesn’t have to guess much about South Dakota this week. It has Roman Tillmon.
The senior defensive back is one of the few people in the Broncos’ building who has lived the Coyotes’ program from the inside, spending his first three college seasons in Vermillion at the University of South Dakota. He was mainly a free safety there, and he did it while South Dakota kept pushing deep into the FCS playoffs, reaching the quarterfinals or beyond in all three of those seasons.
Boise State coach Spencer Danielson has already put his team on alert, calling South Dakota “one of the best FCS teams in the country” earlier this week. Tillmon’s view lines up with that assessment.
“At that level, I still think it’s pretty much the same (as FBS),” Tillmon said Wednesday. “There’s talented guys everywhere you go.”
He didn’t stop there. Tillmon singled out running backs Charles Pierre Jr. and Keyondray Jones-Logan as “amazing players.” Jones-Logan, a 5-foot-7 “gadget player,” is already among South Dakota’s top four in both rushing with 106 yards and receiving with 124 yards.
From what Tillmon has seen on film and remembers from his time there, the Coyotes want to lean on the ground game.
“As far as what I’ve seen in the past and what I’ve seen on tape, they want to establish the run game,” Tillmon said.
That background matters because Tillmon has started fast for Boise State. He has emerged as the top option at nickel, playing 48 defensive snaps in the season-opening loss to Oregon before dropping to 15 last weekend against Memphis, when the Broncos used three cornerbacks instead of a nickel.
Through two games, he has seven tackles, including three solo stops.
The Broncos are also looking at more than just last year’s South Dakota film. Tillmon was a key piece for the Coyotes in 2025, piling up 94 total tackles with a team-best 45 solos, but Boise State has been studying South Dakota’s first three games this season, all victories by at least two touchdowns.
Even with that tape in hand, the staff has still leaned on Tillmon for insight.
One of the clearest differences he sees between the FBS and FCS level is size up front. In his view, FBS lines are typically bigger, and that could shape how this matchup unfolds. If South Dakota can’t get its run game going, it may have to throw more than it wants to, which could open the door for Tillmon against the players he used to practice against every day.
South Dakota’s top four receivers are all in at least their second season, so Tillmon knows them well from those practice reps.
“Just watching the tape and seeing that they’re doing a lot of similar stuff that I was getting at practice when I was there,” Tillmon said. “So I definitely would say that I know a decent amount of their tendencies.”
In Other News...
Boise States New North End Is Already Dividing Broncos Fans
Boise States new $70 million North End Zone finally made its debut at Albertsons Stadium during the 2026 home opener, giving the Broncos a fresh look behind one of the most recognizable backdrops in college football. The two-story addition brings club seating and new locker rooms into the mix, and the athletic department says the suites and seats were filled as planned, a sign the school sees the project as a major step forward for the game-day experience.
Still, not everyone came away impressed. Some fans and former players said the area looked quieter and less crowded than the old setup, and the premium-priced club, ledge and loge seats have already sparked debate about who the new space is really built for. For a program that has long prided itself on a loud, packed home-field atmosphere, the conversation around the North End feels bigger than just a new building. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Has One Lingering Concern Heading Into South Dakota
Boise State gets its first chance to settle in at home on Saturday when South Dakota comes to town for a non-conference matchup that should tell the Broncos a lot about where they stand early in the season. Spencer Danielson has spent the lead-up pointing to the kinds of clashes that tend to define these September games, especially the Broncos pass defense and how their lines measure up against a physical opponent.
For Boise State, the passing-game questions are the ones that linger most. The Broncos need cleaner play from the quarterback position and steadier work on defense if they want to avoid turning a manageable home opener into a stressful one, and Danielson has emphasized that both sides of the ball will be tested by South Dakotas strengths. The answers should start showing up quickly, even if the final verdict on this group may take longer than one Saturday afternoon. [Read more 🡒]