Boise State Football Prepares to "Win the Wait

BOISE STATE FOOTBALL PREPARES TO

“WIN THE WAIT”

BY DAVE SOUTHORN | PHOTOS COURTESY OF BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY

He was not expecting much of a different answer, but when Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin spoke to his friends in the profession around the country that started their seasons as scheduled, they all responded similarly.

“It’s gonna be weird, it’s gonna be different,” Harsin said.

For more than a month, Boise State, along with the rest of the Mountain West Conference, was not going to play in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic had forced a postponement to the spring.

But on Sept. 25, the conference reversed course and announced a return for the weekend of Oct. 24. Other fall sports, including soccer, volleyball and cross country, are still postponed.

Football drives more money than any other sport in college athletics, and bringing it back – even with a shorter schedule – will reduce the financial burden the pandemic has caused thanks to lucrative television contracts.

Without football, Boise State was facing a $20 million loss, and still will be in the red with it. The school cut its baseball and swimming and diving programs this summer and has implemented salary cuts and furloughs in the athletic department.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to take the deficit, whatever it’s going to be, and make it as small of a number as we can to go into the next academic year,” Boise State Athletic Director Curt Apsey said.

Broncos Sophomore linebacker Isaiah Bagnah’s season looks a little different than he anticipated.

Boise State’s schedule, which normally features 12 regular-season gamesames, now has only eight. The much-awaited home game against Florida State was canceled. And after discussions with local health authorities, it was determined no fans will be able to attend games at Albertsons Stadium.

There won’t be 37,000 fans screaming in close proximity as the Broncos take to the blue turf, where the team is 120-9 since 2000. But there will be cardboard cutouts of fans, which cost $50 through the athletic department.

Like Harsin said, it’s going to be weird.

“There’s going to be a lot of challenges, this is going to be an opportunity for every single one of us … to solve a lot of problems we don’t normally face,” Harsin said.

For all the scenarios a football coach has rolling around in their head, dealing with a pandemic is not one of them.

The staff and the players are doing things they’ve never done before. Masks are always present – coaches wear them at practice and players either have clear face guards or neck gaiters. Testing was done weekly in the summer, and now occurs three times a week.

Now that a season is a reality, the continued onus is put on the team to be vigilant. “THERE’S GOING TO BE A LOT OF CHALLENGES, THIS IS GOING TO BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US … TO SOLVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS WE DON’T NORMALLY FACE.” -Bryan Harsin, BSU Football coach

“We have a season now, and nobody is trying to jeopardize that,” senior wide receiver CT Thomas said.

As the Broncos awaited a decision on a season, Harsin said he told the team to “win the wait.” Light practicing, conditioning and weight lifting was allowed. It also, he hopes, gave a chance for all players to improve – emphasis on all.

Should a player test positive, it would force him out and put backups into larger roles.

It also is imperative for the team to identify and isolate any positives – some teams have seen entire position groups miss time, or had games postponed or canceled all together. In the first six weeks of the season, there were 26 such games.

“I’m hopeful, and I know hope’s not a great plan … that we’re not going to have those cancellations,” Harsin said, adding, “are you gonna be without a guy here and there? Absolutely. That becomes a big test of your football team.”

Abbreviated schedule or not, the 2020 Broncos are once again Mountain West favorites, and likely to make it 19 straight seasons with an appearance in the Associated Press Top 25.

The team lost two key players in offensive lineman Ezra Cleveland and defensive end Curtis Weaver to the NFL Draft as early entrants, but returns a lot of big playmakers. The Broncos’ leaders in passing (Hank Bachmeier), rushing (George

The 37,000 fans won't be there, but there will be cardboard cutouts of fans.

PHOTOS

Right: The Broncos on the field. Coach Harsin shows his colors from the sidelines at practice. Top: Senior cornerback Jalen Walker dons a mask on the field.

Holani) and receptions (Khalil Shakir) from 2019 are back in the fold on offense, along with four of their top five tacklers.

With so much different this season, expectations are the same they have always been.

“We have great leadership on this team and we know we need to be mature about this situation so we can do what we want to do, which is play this season and be successful,” senior cornerback/punt returner Avery Williams said.

BOISE STATE FOOTBALL 2020 SCHEDULE

Oct. 24 vs. Utah State

Oct. 31 at Air Force

Nov. 6 vs. BYU (nonconference game) Nov. 12 vs. Colorado State

Nov. 21 at Hawaii

Nov. 28 vs. San Jose State

Dec. 4 at UNLV

Dec. 12 at Wyoming

(dates subject to change; Mountain West championship game is Dec. 19)

BRONCOS