ESPN’s College GameDay is headed back to Boise, and the timing could hardly be better for a matchup with major Pac-12 implications.
Next Saturday’s meeting between Boise State and Oregon State will be the first College GameDay stop in Boise since 2010, and only the second time the show has made the trip there. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. Mountain time at Albertsons Stadium, with the game airing nationally on USA Network.
The last time GameDay rolled into Boise, it came for a Sept. 25, 2010 non-conference game between No. 3 Boise State and No.
24 Oregon State. The Broncos handled that one 37-24.
This time, Boise State arrives at 8-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play, riding an eight-game winning streak after a 64-38 demolition of Colorado State on Saturday. The Broncos sit two games ahead of Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State in the Pac-12 standings.
A win over the Beavers would do more than keep Boise State rolling. It would clinch home-field advantage for the Pac-12 championship game and keep the Broncos in position as the favorite to represent the Group of Six in the College Football Playoff.
Oregon State comes in at 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-12, but the season has turned sharply after a promising start. The Beavers opened 0-2 with losses to Houston and Texas Tech, then ripped off five straight wins before the break. Since the bye week, though, they’ve dropped back-to-back games in lopsided fashion, falling 38-22 to Fresno State and 42-21 to Texas State.
“Fresno exposed them a little bit last week,” Texas State head coach G.J. Kinne said after Saturday’s big road win.
“We were the more physical team and that’s what it’s about when you play these teams like that, finesse teams. They’re a finesse team and we were more the physical guys.”
Even with the skid, Oregon State still owns one of the league’s most dangerous offenses. The Beavers rank second in the Pac-12 and seventh nationally at 498.4 yards per game.
Braden Atkinson has been the engine. He leads the nation with 3,169 passing yards and has accounted for 27 total touchdowns against just three interceptions, though he was limited to a season-low 192 yards against Texas State.
Freshman Jesse Legree has been just as explosive. The true freshman has 61 catches for 1,209 yards, tops in FBS, and 14 touchdowns, which is tied for first nationally.
Boise State has its own star at the center of the spotlight. Running back Dylan Riley leads the FBS with 1,241 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns on 184 carries. He was everywhere against Colorado State, piling up 300 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns.
“I’m proud of Dylan, the growth he’s had,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said after the game. “He’s taken ownership, he’s a phenomenal kid. It’s really cool to see him grow as a leader on this team, and the best is still to come for that young man.”
In Other News...
Oregon State Has A Bigger Problem Than One Ugly Loss
The loss to Texas State was ugly enough on its own, but the bigger concern for Oregon State was how thoroughly the defense was carved up in a 42-21 defeat. The Beavers gave up 600 yards of offense, the most they have allowed since 2019, as Texas State controlled the game with balance and tempo behind Brad Jackson and Davian Jackson.
Oregon State did move the ball some, finishing with 356 yards, but the offense never did enough to keep pace after Braden Atkinson threw an interception and later gave way to Maalik Murphy in the fourth quarter. It left the Beavers with more questions than answers after a game that exposed issues on both sides of the ball, and the kind of defensive performance that tends to linger well beyond one September night. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon State Suddenly Has A Run Defense Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Oregon States loss to Texas State was ugly for a lot of reasons, but the most alarming part was what happened on the ground. The Beavers were gashed for 386 rushing yards in a 42-21 defeat, a number that stood out not just because of the score but because it exposed a defense that had no answer for the way Texas State wanted to play. The Bobcats kept leaning on their run game, and Oregon State kept coming up short in the same places.
JaMarcus Shephard did not sugarcoat the performance afterward, acknowledging that the defense has to be better against the run. For Oregon State, the concern is bigger than one bad afternoon, because a game like this can linger if it turns into a pattern. The Beavers now have to show that this was a breakdown they can fix, not a warning sign that opponents will keep targeting. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon States Pac-12 Problem Just Got A Lot Bigger
Boise State kept rolling with a 64-38 win over Colorado State, and it did so with backup quarterback Max Cutforth and running back Dylan Riley, the nations leading rusher, helping power the Broncos again. For Oregon State, the bigger issue is how quickly the league picture has tightened around it, because the Beavers have already seen one of the teams in the mix handle them and continue to stack wins.
Texas States 42-21 victory over Oregon State put the Beavers on the wrong side of a game in which Braden Atkinson was limited, and Utah States 17-10 win over Fresno State only added to the squeeze. The result is a crowded Pac-12 race behind Boise State, with several teams now packed together and every week carrying more weight for Oregon States path forward. [Read more 🡒]