Boise State’s defense is under the microscope, but Spencer Danielson isn’t reaching for the panic button.
The Broncos have given up points in bunches lately, and the numbers tell the story. Over their last four Pac-12 games, Boise State has surrendered 15 total touchdowns and averaged 383 yards and 31 points allowed per game. Somehow, the Broncos still won all four.
Zoom out to the full season, and the picture gets rougher. Out of 138 FBS teams, Boise State ranks 72nd in points allowed at 25.2 per game, 87th in yards allowed at 377.2, 129th against the pass at 265.8 yards allowed per game, 132nd in missed tackle rate at 17.9%, and dead last in forced fumble recoveries with one. The one bright spot: the Broncos are 25th in rushing defense, allowing 111.4 yards per game.
Still, Danielson said Monday he’s not looking to make sweeping changes.
“In college football. … I think at the sign of anything going sideways, it’s, ‘Fire, fire, fire, fire! Make a change,’” Danielson said Monday.
“There are times for that; I’m not running from that. That is not even kind of where we’re at,” Danielson continued.
“We’ve got a phenomenal staff. We have to be better, and it has to show up.”
At the center of the conversation is defensive coordinator Erik Chinander, who has led the Boise State defense for the past three seasons after taking over from Danielson when Danielson was promoted to head coach at the end of the 2023 season.
Danielson said the problem is showing up on the field, not in the call sheet.
“When I watch the game, it’s not because there are bad play calls by Coach Chinander. We’ve gotta execute better,” Danielson said.
“… But we’re not sitting here saying, ‘Oh, just got to execute.’ We’ve got to get to work.
We have to have answers for our players from practice to what we do so they can execute at a higher level.”
Chinander followed Danielson at the podium and echoed that view, while also putting the responsibility on himself.
“It’s on me regardless of its execution or the play call, but I think there are both,” Chinander said. “Could you do things differently schematically?
Yes, absolutely. Could a player or a group of players or whoever execute better?
Absolutely.”
A big part of the issue has been explosive plays, those passes of 10-plus yards or runs of 15-plus yards. Boise State gave up a season-high 23 missed tackles against Colorado State this past weekend, a 28% missed-tackle rate, and allowed 12 explosive plays. The week before against Texas State, the Broncos gave up seven explosive plays, including touchdown passes of 44, 67 and 72 yards.
Even with those breakdowns, Chinander believes the defense is closer than the results suggest. He said he sends film to coaches who “know more football than all of us combined in this room,” and the feedback he gets points him back to the same place: the issue is letting routine gains turn into backbreaking ones.
“I know there are a lot of people that are gonna watch the interview and say, ‘This guy, he’s full of s---. Yeah, that’s fine,” Chinander said.
“I know where it’s at, but I also know I’ve got to fix it, that is on me,” Chinander continued. “And so if it doesn’t get fixed, then that’s on me too, and I’ve got to cross that bridge.”
Boise State, ranked No. 25, now turns to Oregon State on Saturday at Albertsons Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
The Broncos are a 13.5-point favorite. Oregon State leads the series 6-5.
The game will be played at Albertsons Stadium, which seats 34,423 and has turf. USA Sports will televise it, with Nate Gatter, Ryan Leaf and Lauren Green on the call.
Bob Behler and Michael Callahan will handle the radio broadcast on KBOI 670 AM and KBOI 93.1 FM/Sirius XM Channel 84. The forecast calls for a high of 55, a low of 45, 62% humidity, partly sunny skies and a 30% chance of rain.
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