Boise State’s offensive line entered the season with plenty of questions attached, but two games in, the group has answered them in a hurry.
That was never supposed to be the easy part of this roster. The Broncos had to rebuild the left side of the line, lose longtime center Mason Randolph to graduation and move forward with a unit that included just one long-term starter, one second-year starter returning from a season-ending injury and three players who had never started at the Division I level. Add in the departure of left tackle Kage Casey, who was drafted in the 4th round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and the concern was obvious.
Instead, the line has been one of the early strengths of the team.
“As a group, they’re starting to set a certain standard for themselves,” offensive coordinator Nate Potter said Monday. “They’re starting to build cohesion, a chemistry that’s important at the offensive line position.”
That cohesion has shown up against a tough opening stretch. Boise State faced one of the biggest defensive lines in the country at Oregon, then came home and dealt with a Memphis defense that had been putting heavy pressure on opposing quarterbacks through its first two games. The Broncos have still given up only three sacks for 15 yards, and the run game has had room to breathe, piling up 450 yards and three touchdowns.
At the center of it all is fifth-year senior Roger Carreon, the team captain who head coach Spencer Danielson said is leading at a “very, very high level.” Carreon has appeared in 37 games since arriving as a freshman in 2022 and has started 29 of them.
“It’s been awesome just to see those guys step into those roles and kind of exceeded expectations,” Carreon told the media Tuesday. “I’m proud of the way this group worked in the offseason, and it’s paying off, and it’s all coming to fruition.”
The other returning starter was fifth-year right tackle Daylon Metoyer, who came into 2026 with his own set of questions. He was coming off an injury in the Mountain West championship game last season, which kept him out of spring practices, and he also had to clean up a rough statistical profile from 2025: 10 penalties, second-most on the team, and a team-high 37 pressures allowed.
Metoyer did pick up a false start in the opener against Oregon, but beyond that, he has looked much cleaner and more consistent.
“Been super proud of the offseason he had,” offensive line coach Tim Keane said on Thursday. “He wasn’t even worried about people complaining about how he’s playing or false starts because he’s like, I’m just not playing at all. ...
It’s kind of helped him seeing it from that perspective. Now he can be his best.”
Another bright spot has been sophomore Stewart Taufa, the surprise winner of the starting center job. His performance in Boise State’s 38-20 win over Memphis drew notice from Pro Football Network, which graded him as one of the highest-performing centers of Week 2.
“He’s kind of one of those guys that has that grit about him,” Keane said. “He doesn’t care how tall he is, how big he is; that doesn’t affect him at all.
He’s not worried about that. He’s just going every single play and trying to dominate.”
Boise State will be back at Albertsons Stadium on Saturday night against South Dakota, with kickoff set for 8 p.m. Mountain time.
The Broncos are 1-1, while South Dakota comes in at 3-0. Boise State is a 24.5-point favorite.
The forecast calls for a high of 74, mid-60s at kickoff and a low of 54, with humidity at 52%, mostly cloudy skies and a 30% chance of rain. Radio coverage will be on KBOI 670-AM and KBOI 93.1-FM/Sirius XM Ch. 84 with Bob Behler and Mike Callahan.
In Other News...
Boise State Has One Built-In Edge Against South Dakota
As Boise State gets ready for South Dakota, one of its quieter advantages is sitting right in the Broncos secondary. Senior defensive back Roman Tillmon spent time at South Dakota before arriving in Boise, and now hes been able to give the coaching staff a firsthand look at what the Coyotes like to do and which players matter most. That kind of built-in familiarity is especially useful in a matchup between an FBS program and an FCS opponent, where small details can help shape the early-game plan.
Tillmon has opened the season as Boise States top nickel defensive back, so his role is already important on the field as well as in the film room. His background gives the Broncos a better sense of South Dakotas tendencies, including a team that likes to establish the run, and that sort of information can matter when a favorite is trying to avoid getting dragged into an unfamiliar type of game. [Read more 🡒]
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 🡒]