The Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area lies 40 miles southwest of the Boise State campus. The preserve protects eagles, hawks, owls, and falcons in their native habitat.

On Friday, Boise State made SDSU its prey in a manner worthy of the ferocious fowls. 

The Broncos moved up to no. 12 Sunday in the AP poll following the 56-24 win. If there are 11 better squads around the country, the Aztecs are fortunate not to have them on their schedule.

Examples of the distance between BSU and SDSU abounded. Whatever the merits of the San Diego Wave relocating its home contest over Snapdragon Stadium’s turf, the news contrasted with the celebration of the famous blue turf. The chasm was most clearly seen in the city of Boise’s embrace of its college program. The ninth-largest home crowd ever filled Albertson’s Stadium, creating a great atmosphere with chants and celebrations. 

“No,” head coach Sean Lewis replied postgame when asked if the gap between SDSU and BSU was as large as it appeared. “We didn’t play to the best of our ability at all. We, obviously, got to do a good job bouncing from this and learning a hard lesson tonight. But, again, the gap is not as large as it showed out on the field.”

SDSU’s head coach is an expert in the industry. His evaluation should hold weight. History supports his claim. The Aztecs last competed in Boise in 2022; they fell 35-13. When the Broncos returned the trip in 2023, the result was 34-31. 

Whether the distance is as large as it appeared Friday or as narrow as Lewis described, SDSU and Boise State are partners as they have been since they joined the Big East in 2013. The Aztecs’ task is to ensure they do not get overshadowed.

What the loss means 

Despite the build-up before the game about Ashton Jeanty and Marquez Cooper, the passing game was central to both teams’ attacks. The running games built off what the teams did through the air. 

Placing the contest’s outcome on the signal callers’ shoulders highlighted another stark contrast between the Aztecs and Broncos. BSU’s Maddox Madsen and SDSU’s Danny O’Neil are underclassmen. Madsen thrived in the spotlight, throwing for a career-high 307 yards and four touchdowns in only three quarters. O’Neil struggled and showed why SDSU featured the run all year. 

Lewis placed the keys to the offense squarely in the true freshman’s hands, calling 11 pass plays and three runs in the first quarter. O’Neil was 4-10 in that span, with a pair of interceptions. 

The contest effectively ended when he started the Aztecs’ third drive by telegraphing an attempt that A’Marion McCoy picked and returned for a score. McCoy is not a ball-hawk. It was the senior corner’s first interception of the season. 

Lewis has praised O’Neil this season for his competitiveness, especially when confronting adversity. That quality was absent when it mattered on Friday. The gunslinger followed his pick to McCoy with another on the next possession, helping BSU to a 28-0 lead. After the chance to collect himself at halftime, he threw for one yard in the third quarter. 

Up 49-10 in the fourth, Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson put in his backups. Against the reserves, O’Neil finally moved the offense. Even then, he was only 4-10 for 74 yards. Sixty of those came on two touchdown passes where his receivers made plays on less-than-perfect passes. 

Development is never linear, but seeing growth in O’Neil’s game this season is challenging. With teams taking away screens, O’Neil’s only effective pass is throwing the ball up deep and hoping his receivers or the refs make it a successful attempt. 

Madsen and O’Neil have similar profiles. They were three-star prep prospects because they are around six feet tall. Madsen redshirted, has added 25 pounds in two college offseasons, and was on the same physical level as SDSU’s defense. After six starts, it is hard not to wonder if O’Neil’s development would have benefitted from the same path. 

“No, I didn’t think about (replacing O’Neil on Friday),” Lewis said. “He has shown his toughness. He has shown his resiliency, obviously by the way that he finished and the way that he was driving the offense. Being able to stay in the fight, and I think that’s important, and he continues to do that. With that production that he put down at the end of the game, those guys rallied around him.”

In the context of the season after starting the year 3-3, the Aztecs were expected to be 3-5 at this juncture, needing three of four wins to reach bowl eligibility. How they lost to Boise State brings Lewis’ decision to select O’Neil as the team’s starter this season into focus. 

As the head coach with a sterling track record of producing great college QBs, Lewis has the prerogative to build a depth chart for whatever reasons make sense to him. That it is still unclear if O’Neil is the best signal caller on the team when he has had 170 more passing attempts than Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson this season is an issue. 

“Yeah, absolutely, there’s all kinds of things that could potentially happen,” Lewis replied when asked if there was anything that could remove O’Neil as the starter. “But, he’s obviously our leader, been doing a good job and put us in a position to be successful. And it’s not just one individual, right, that leads to those outcomes. It comes down to me putting the whole offensive unit in position through my play calls and setting us up for success.”

SDSU’s head coach continues to insist that the quarterback competition is ongoing and that the gap between O’Neil and Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson is small. If O’Neil’s struggles do not open the door for another signal caller to play, Lewis’ handling of the situation could be interpreted in a number of ways. 

One is that most coaches prefer playing guys they brought in, and with AJ Duffy’s struggles, Lewis did not have another option. Another is that with tampering prevalent in college athletics, Lewis chose to show loyalty to O’Neil because it’s more likely he would stick around when other institutions come calling.

The final option is that O’Neil has a long leash because he is the best quarterback in the room by a wide margin. Lewis could simply be building for the future by letting O’Neil take his lumps this year. Seen in this light, the talk of competition is skillful coach-speak to keep O’Neil motivated and infuse the type of culture Lewis wants in SDSU’s locker room. 

“I felt like Danny held his own …. with the intensity of the game, being a rival game, kind of, a Mountain West Conference game,” Jordan Napier explained. “I felt like he kept his composure. I felt he did real good for him to be so young, not having a lot of experience. I felt like he kept his composure real good with all the animosity in the air.”

With upcoming games against New Mexico, Utah State, and Air Force, it will be interesting to see how Lewis chases bowl eligibility. O’Neil has been a good game manager this season. Behind Marquez Cooper and with key plays from O’Neil sprinkled in, the Aztecs have been in a position to win five games. The freshman QB’s production will likely be better against the weaker defenses on the upcoming schedule.  

There is risk in not changing signal callers. SDSU’s defense competed without the edge they have had all year, potentially because they knew the game was over after BSU’s pick-six. Tupou’ata-Johnson could infuse energy not just for an offense that has failed to produce 30 points against an FBS opponent all season but also for the rest of the Aztecs in every phase. 

Lewis praised Tupou’ata-Johnson last week for growth in his work ethic. Continuing with O’Neil under center likely means losing Tupou’ata-Johnson to the portal without ever seeing if he is capable of being the QB of the future. Tupou’ata-Johnson has never received all of the first-team reps in practice. Even when he started against Cal, he split time with AJ Duffy leading up to that contest. 

In only one start and two series, Tupou’ata-Johnson has been better than O’Neil in the read/option and controlling the vital C-Gap. He also has done a better job erasing mistakes like penalties early in a set of downs. 

Watching Tupou’ata-Johnson would also allow O’Neil a mini-redshirt to gain invaluable experience by observing on the sidelines. It would set up a competition for the 2025 season and let Lewis know if he needs to bring in a veteran in the portal. 

Player of the Game: Jordan Napier

Jordan Napier’s emergence has come from Ja’Shaun Poke’s unfortunate injury issues. Napier and Poke play the same position. The understudy’s explosiveness makes him leap out, but Poke’s performance should not go unnoticed. He has been SDSU’s second-best receiver behind Napier this year.

Napier had eight receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown against Boise State. His score came when he beat double coverage over the top, but had to adjust on a badly underthrown ball. He elevated and came down with the score. 

He would have had a second, but O’Neil nearly missed him after a double move left him wide open down the seam. Napier made a terrific catch, showing good body control, but stumbled after the completion, which allowed BSU’s defenders to catch him. As has been the case all season, Napier and Marquez Cooper were the only consistent playmakers for the Aztecs on Friday. 

“He embodies our core standard and our number one core belief that (is to) daily come out and have this relentless effort to improve and compete,” Lewis said. “He does that each and every single day within the building, and then, because of that, his individual performances for the good of the team show up on Saturdays and Fridays tonight, which he had a huge individual effort. He’s humble about it, knows that he can get better still. (He’s) a joy to coach because of that relentless work ethic.”

Unsung Hero: Name of the dog

SDSU’s goal of taking the sold-out crowd out of the game early came to fruition, but not in the manner they hoped. The game-winning score came with 11:35 left in the second quarter after the BSU raced out to a 28-0 lead.  The thunderous applause that had bathed the Broncos before the game and in the first quarter subsided after the fourth touchdown in just over 18 minutes.

Enthusiasm crescendoed for the rest of the night when a black lab named Blitz raced from Boise State’s sideline to retrieve the tee on kickoffs. SDSU uses GPS to track how far its athletes travel in a contest. Blitz sprinted for over 200 yards following the Broncos’ eight scores.

Dubbed “The Most Popular Dog in Boise,” Blitz started as a true freshman as a four-year-old. He is a second-generation tee fetcher. His father, Cowboy Kohl, broke Bronco Nation’s heart when he passed suddenly before the 2021 season. 

Quick Takes:

• How cold was it in Boise? Ryan Henderson came out in gear fit for a blizzard. Eric Butler warmed up without a shirt. The truth was in between.
• The defensive line doubles as the team’s cheerleaders. They bring a lot of energy when they emerge from the locker room
• Krishna Clay, who has turned into SDSU’s best defensive lineman, pumped up his teammates before the team stretched.
• Jeff Sobol wore shorts and short sleeves, but his toughness took a hit because he looked to be wearing a beanie.
• Each team converted a fake punt. The circumstances showed another gap. SDSU’s occurred in the first quarter and resulted in the team’s only first down of the opening period. Boise State ran one up 42-10, leading some to wonder if the Broncos were too mean to the Aztecs. 
• Trey White’s stats do not jump out, but as always, he was around the ball. Boise doubled him frequently. 
• DJ Herman had an athletic kickoff return.
• SDSU brought out the hook and ladder with Boise crashing hard on middle screens. It did not matter, the trick play went for a yard.
• William Nimmo struggled in limited opportunities on Friday. The UCLA transfer’s time has fallen as the year progressed. It’s hard to see how he makes an impact the rest of the way. 
• The Aztecs were 6-6 on fourth down on Friday, moving their conversion percentage to 63.6% on the season, which is good for no. 35 in the nation.
• They had so many opportunities because they were 2-14 on third down, dropping their yearly third down percentage to 31.3%, which is 121st in the country. Only 12 squads are worse.
• The best call from the refs was a “do-over.” 
• Tyler Pastula’s 79-yard punt was impressive to watch in person. 

Paul Garrison

My earliest sport’s memory involve tailgating at the Murph, running down the circular exit ramps, and seeing the Padres, Chargers and Aztecs play. As a second generation Aztec, I am passionate about all things SDSU. Other interests include raising my four children, being a great husband and teaching high school.