Boise State will spend Saturday night looking back before it looks ahead.
The Broncos are set to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their undefeated 2007 Fiesta Bowl team when they open Pac-12 play at home against Utah State, and the timing gives Albertsons Stadium a built-in spotlight. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m., but the weekend already feels like a reunion. About 30 members of that Boise State squad are expected back in town, a group that includes Jared Zabransky, Ian Johnson, Vinny Perretta, Derek Schouman and offensive tackle Ryan Clady.
Even head coach Spencer Danielson leaned into the moment Monday, swapping out his usual black-on-black look for a Boise State blue hoodie with “13-0” on the chest and the “Statue Left” play sketch on the back. That play, of course, is part of Boise State lore after helping deliver the 2007 Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma.
“What are your thoughts? Do you like it?” Danielson asked as he turned around to show it off.
The game itself is still the standard by which so many Boise State moments get measured. The Broncos beat No.
7 Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime in a finish that has lived on for nearly two decades. Boise State forced the extra period with the famous “Circus” hook-and-lateral from Drisan James to Jerard Rabb for a 50-yard touchdown.
In overtime, Perretta hit Schouman on a halfback pass, and then the Broncos sealed it with the behind-the-back handoff from Zabransky to Johnson on the two-point play.
It was Boise State’s first Bowl Championship Series appearance, and it capped a perfect 13-0 season.
Danielson said the game reached people far beyond Boise.
“I remember where I was watching the Fiesta Bowl. I knew nothing about Boise, Idaho, whatsoever,” Danielson said Monday. “But I think I was one of millions who watched that game and just fell in love with a team that was counted out.”
He added, “That was the game that the nation, the world, was on the edge of their seat and saw there was something different about (Boise State), and I was one of those,” Danielson said.
The weekend also marks a different kind of milestone for the program: Boise State’s first conference game in the Pac-12 after years of talk about a move to one of the sport’s top leagues. The Broncos were still in the Western Athletic Conference when Chris Petersen and Statue Left helped put the program on the national map. Since then, Boise State has been linked to the Pac-12 and Big 12, and it also had an agreement to join the Big East in 2013 before backing out.
Danielson said the path to this point was built by the coaches who came before him.
“I can go down the list of great coaches that have paved the way for us to be successful,” Danielson said.
Boise State enters the game 3-1 and ranked No. 22, while Utah State is 1-3. The Broncos lead the all-time series 25-5 and are a 20.5-point favorite.
The game will be played at Albertsons Stadium, which has a turf surface and a listed capacity of 34,423. Radio coverage will be on KBOI 670 AM and KBOI 93.1 FM/Sirius XM Channel 84 with Bob Behler and Michael Callahan.
The weather forecast calls for a high of 79, a low of 50, humidity at 38%, sunny skies and a 10% chance of rain.
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