Game Facts
- Date: Saturday, September 5th @ 1:30 PM MST
- Location: Autzen Stadium (Eugene, OR)
- Weather at kickoff: 68°
- Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous
- Odds: Oregon by 24.5
- TV: CBS
- Radio: 670 KBOI/Here or Stream
- Commentators: Brad “Has already called a big Boise State season-opening win and is about to call another” Nessler (Play-by-play), Charles Davis (Analyst), and Jeremy Dell (Laptop) (Sideline)
Other facts
1. Gameday Poster
Sources confirm that WE ARE BACK.
2. Depth Chart
As for depth chart…there is no depth chart.
Folks these days call it “gamesmanship”, although there was enough in the presser to read the tea leaves on the depth chart. For what was revealed there:
Newcomers “Nitro” Wright and Resean Jones both earned starting spots in the WR room, presumably alongside Cam Bates in 3WR sets. After a difficult season for the WR room in 2025, there’s a lot of excitement around two new guys, the latter of which is a true freshman.
On the O-line, local kid Carson Rasmussen earned the nod at LG, and Stewart Taufa takes point at the Center position. This was a battle that surprised some folks, as it left incumbent Jason Steele as the odd man out (although will certainly see the field plenty in 2026), but again a place for some young and/or experienced guys to shine in a starting role.
The other surprise came at the DB position, where standout Jaden Mickey was expected to easily assume the starting CB position, but shares an OR designation with transfer JeRico Washington. Also another position where you expect to see all three, and not a bad problem to have. Actually JeRico himself designated the group as the 6-7-8 squad after he secured the #6 jersey alongside Mickey at #7 and Sherrod Smith at #8.
3. Uniforms
It worked pretty well last time, why not give it another go?
4. Hometowns
Thought this was fun. Where are the players from each team from? A helpful ‘lil map.
5. A friendly reminder that…
…Boise State is 3-1 against the Oregon Ducks. Yeah yeah money and best Oregon team ever and all that, but have you ever considered the power of friendship?
6. Remember When?
Oregon currently boasts the longest non-conference home winning streak in the country. You wanna know the last time they lost? That’s right. Need some of these vibes on Saturday.
Streaks
Boise State – Lost 1
Oregon – Lost 1
(So basically, we’re the same)
Best Name On Their Roster
Thomas Donkerbrook
I’m like 99% sure I’ve seen Donkerbrook used as a slur for Boise State fans?
Best Picture On Their Roster
Beau CressAllen, OL
Dude will be an ELITE mall Santa in 40 years.
Players To Watch
Dante Moore, QB
One of the funny (or, I suppose, not that funny) outcomes of the NIL era is that QBs are now empowered to not enter the draft early to avoid playing for the Jets, and well, that’s Dante Moore. He was excellent a year ago, and is a likely Heisman contender. But can he handle the 6-7-8 gang?
Matayo Uiagalelei, EDGE
Brother of former Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei, a guy who famously had a tough time living up to his 5-star rating. The same is not true for Matayo. He has very much met the hype of his own 5-star rating and earned 1st team All-Big 10 honors. He’s put together 16.5 sacks in the last 2 seasons, and will be a formidable matchup for transfer Tyler Ethridge.
Matchup(s) to Watch
Boise State OL vs. Oregon DL
Much has been made of this matchup, and for good reason. It’s been said often that Oregon has several guys on that DL that could be playing on Sundays right now, and they’re up against an OL that has 3 new starters on the left side, and a RT that’s struggled.
It’s not too hard to remember a season ago at Notre Dame where it seemed our backs were running into brick walls on each carry. A game like that would merit the 24 point spread currently out on the game.
But there’s reasons to see the light too. Ethridge has been praised heavily in spring and fall camp for his technique and ability, and Rasmussen and Taufa have both shown well in their appearances for the Broncos. The broncos also added Chris Strausser to the coaching staff, OL coach during the Coach Pete years who went on to coach in the NFL. Not a bad guy to have around, eh? Let’s hope he has some tips and tricks for our guys.
Keys to Victory
Tackling
The Broncos struggled mightily to tackle a year ago, and the Ducks won’t make their lives easy there by any regard. Bronco coaches have talked often about making tackling a priority this season, and it will be an early test (granted, a closed-book, 100% of your grade difficult test).
All that said, week 1 is known for shoddy tackling, so if the Broncos can make tackling an advantage, it could prove to be significant leverage.
Turnover Battle
Just when the game seemed to be getting away from the Broncos two years ago in Autzen, two key fumbles put them right back in the drivers seat. It’s hard to think the Broncos could win this game without getting lucky, but I think I’m not asking for too much here? +1 or +2 differential. That’s all. I’m super reasonable.
Score Prediction
I must always remind readers that it is strictly against First Kick Was Good bylaws to predict a Bronco loss. I do not plan on breaking those rules today. ESPN lists the chance of a Bronco win at 5%, which is probably realistic. A 17 point loss would probably be a nice moral victory, but I don’t get paid to write about moral victories. (I don’t get paid at all, just pure love of the game ’round these parts)
Here’s what I’ll say. It won’t be pretty at times, but we’ll see some big performances from our new guys. JeRico Washington will get a pick and Nitro will catch a TD. But the biggest performances of the day will come from the old guys. Sire and Dylan will look the part of a true two-headed monster backfield, and Maddux Jeter Madsen will have his day. Not gaudy passing stats, but just enough plays at the right times to seal the first win over a #2 team in Boise State history.
Boise State 27, Oregon 24
