Boise State
Boise State is 8-1, No. 24 in the CFP rankings, and No. 34 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 10.0 points better than an average FBS team. Last game: won 64-38 at Colorado State in Week 10. The machine gives Boise State a 71% chance to make the playoff.
Week 11: vs Oregon State, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why Boise State is No. 34
- Boise State's rating is 10.0: the machine's estimate that Boise State is 10.0 points better than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 34 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at 4.0, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it up 6.0.
- The biggest weekly moves: +3.4 after Week 1 (L 27-34 at Oregon) and +2.8 after Week 4 (W 32-7 at Western Michigan).
- Its record is 8-1. The loss was to No. 13 Oregon, by 7 points. The 8 wins came by 16.4 points on average; the best was over No. 57 Memphis. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 74 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 33 Kentucky (10.3); just below is No. 35 Penn State (9.7).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Spencer Danielson is in his 4th season at Boise State (since 2023). This season: 8-1. At Boise State overall: 32-9, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 172-255 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 2129 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 22-1 |
| Yards per attempt* | 8.4No. 24 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 11.5%No. 44 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 2.7%No. 15 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 380-2134 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 5.6No. 6 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 13.6%No. 74 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 14.2%No. 24 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 39.0No. 10 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 6.71No. 16 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 53.0%No. 4 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 73.0%No. 17 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 5No. 6 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 25.2No. 71 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 6.43No. 125 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 8.1No. 123 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 4.3No. 84 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 6.3%No. 50 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 8No. 115 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 30.8%No. 14 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- Maddux Madsen148-222, 1681 yds, 15 TD, 1 INT
- Max Cutforth24-32, 448 yds, 7 TD, 0 INT
Rushing
- Dylan Riley184 carries, 1241 yds, 11 TD
- Sire Gaines75 carries, 418 yds, 4 TD
- Harry Stewart III27 carries, 147 yds, 2 TD
Receiving
- Rasean Jones43 catches, 661 yds, 5 TD
- Akeem Wright23 catches, 360 yds, 2 TD
- Matt Wagner31 catches, 346 yds, 5 TD
Tackles
- Boen Phelps52
- Derek Ganter Jr.37
- Travis Anderson37
Sacks
- Lopez Sanusi4.5
- Jayden Virgin3.5
- Max Stege2.5
Interceptions
- Travis Anderson3
- Boen Phelps1
- Jake Ripp1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- Maddux Madsen8 games222 attempts87%
- Max CutforthMost passes in the last game2 games32 attempts13%
Carrying
- Dylan Riley9 games184 carries57%
- Sire Gaines5 games75 carries23%
- Juelz Goff6 games30 carries9%
- Harry Stewart III6 games27 carries8%
Catching
- Rasean Jones8 games43 catches25%
- Matt Wagner9 games31 catches18%
- Akeem Wright8 games23 catches13%
- Dylan Riley9 games17 catches10%
Tackling
- Boen Phelps9 games52 tackles11%
- Derek Ganter Jr.8 games37 tackles8%
- Travis Anderson9 games37 tackles8%
- Madden Soliai8 games31 tackles7%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 L 27–34 at Oregon. The pass defense gave ground: Oregon got 9.9 yards an attempt, 3.1 over what it usually gains. Its fewest yards a carry of the season.
- Week 2 W 38–20 vs Memphis. The pass defense gave ground: Memphis got 14.8 yards an attempt, 5.6 over what it usually gains. The most yards an attempt it has allowed all season.
- Week 3 W 38–24 vs South Dakota. South Dakota is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against.
- Week 4 W 32–7 at Western Michigan. The pass defense was the strength: Western Michigan got 3.8 yards an attempt, 3.7 under what it usually gains. The fewest yards an attempt it has allowed all season.
- Week 5 W 37–18 vs Utah State. The passing game was the strength: 12.0 yards an attempt, 6.3 more than Utah State usually allows. The defense had 6 sacks.
- Week 6 W 38–31 at Fresno State. The run game was the strength: 6.1 yards a carry, 2.0 more than Fresno State usually allows.
- Week 8 W 31–10 at Washington State. The run game was the strength: 7.0 yards a carry, 2.0 more than Washington State usually allows. The fewest yards a carry it has allowed all season.
- Week 9 W 46–45 vs Texas State. The run defense was the strength: Texas State got 4.2 yards a carry, 1.4 under what it usually gains.
- Week 10 W 64–38 at Colorado State. The passing game was the strength: 16.7 yards an attempt, 5.8 more than Colorado State usually allows. Its most yards an attempt of the season.