Home Opener Set For Friday Night

2019 Home Opener
Boise State (1-0) vs. Marshall (1-0)
Friday, Sept. 6 • 7 p.m. MT
Boise, Idaho • Albertsons Stadium
Series: Boise State leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Dec. 1, 1994 (Boise State 28, Marshall 24 - Boise, Idaho)
TV: ESPN2 (PxP: Dave Flemming, Analyst: Jim Mora, Reporter: Paul Carcaterra)
Radio: Bronco Radio Network (PxP: Bob Behler, Analyst: Pete Cavender)
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BOISE, Idaho - Following a season-opening road victory over Florida State, the Boise State football team returns to Albertsons Stadium for its 2019 home opener, playing host to Marshall in a Friday-night tilt, Sept. 6. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

Marshall, like Boise State, was predicted to win its division prior to the start of the season and carries a 1-0 record into this week.

HOME OPENERS: The Broncos have won 17-consecutive home openers, the last loss coming to Washington State (41-20), Sept. 8, 2001. Entering this season, the streak was tied with Cincinnati and TCU for the eighth-longest in the country. Florida entered this season as the national leader, having won 29-straight home openers.

THE SERIES: The Broncos and Thundering Herd have met just once prior to this season – in the 1994 Division I-AA Semifinals. Following a first-round victory over North Texas (24-20) and a quarterfinal win over Appalachian State (17-14), the Broncos hosted – and defeated – Marshall, the No. 2 seed that season (28-24). The Broncos, the No. 3 seed, fell the following week in the national championship to top-ranked Youngstown State (28-14), in a game hosted by Marshall in Huntington, W.V.

This week's game is the front end of a home-and-home series, and the Broncos are scheduled to make the return trip next season (Oct. 3, 2020).

VS. CUSA: Boise State is 8-2 all-time against Conference USA, and is in the midst of a five- game win streak against the league. The Broncos are a perfect 6-0 in regular-season match-ups, as the two losses came to Louisville (44-40; 2004 Liberty) and East Carolina (41-38; 2007 Hawai'i) in bowl games. Boise State also has two bowl victories over the league – against Louisville in the 1999 Humanitarian Bowl and TCU in the 2003 Fort Worth Bowl.

The Broncos last played a C-USA school in 2013, knocking off Southern Miss in Boise, 60-7.

NONCONFERENCE HOME GAMES:
Boise State is 26-1 in nonconference home games since the start of the 2006 season, the only loss during that time coming to Virginia (42-23; Sept. 22, 2017). The loss to the Cavaliers snapped a streak of 24-consecutive such victories, but the Broncos won both such games last season – against Connecticut and BYU.

NON-SATURDAY GAMES:
Boise State is 58-17 all-time in non-Saturday games, including a mark of 33-9 in regular-season Friday-night match-ups. The Broncos have won four-straight Friday-night games, with the last loss coming to Virginia, Sept. 22, 2017 (42-23).

OK, WE'RE CONVINCED: There was a lot of intrigue around the announcement of true freshman Hank Bachmeier as Boise State's opening-day starter on Aug. 24, and Bachmeier wasted little time making believers around the country.

The Murrieta, Calif., went 30-for-51 passing for 407 yards and a touchdown with just one interception in Aug. 31's 36-31 win at Florida State. His passing yardage was the most by a Boise State quarterback in his first start in the program's FBS Era (1996-present), and just missed cracking the program's single-game top 10 (the cutoff for the top 10 is 410 yards).

Bachmeier's 51 attempts also tied for fifth-most in Bronco single-game history, matching Brett Rypien (Dec. 27, 2016 vs. Baylor), Travis Stuart (Oct. 3, 1992 vs. Montana), and Keith Jarrett (Oct. 25, 1986 at Oregon State).

MAHONE WAS "DEEPLY UNAFRAID": There really wasn't a better description of redshirt junior running back Robert Mahone's play at Florida State than Banner Society's Spencer Hall labeling him "deeply unafraid" on Twitter.

After emerging from Fall Camp as the No. 1 running back, Mahone sent a statement on his first snap, bursting through the Florida State defense for 17 yards. Mahone would arguably be Boise State's offensive MVP of the day, fearlessly punishing Florida State tacklers from the first snap to the tune of career highs of 142 rushing yards (on 24 carries) and a pair of touchdowns. The Prosper, Texas, native scored Boise State's first touchdown of the season on a one-yard plunge in the second quarter, then powered his way into the end zone from a yard out with 12:44 to play, giving Boise State the lead for good at 33-31.

THE WEAVER EFFECT: Redshirt junior STUD Curtis Weaver played a large role in Boise State's defense helping turn the tide in Tallahassee, recording a key sack of Florida State quarterback James Blackman in the second half.

Weaver's sack punctuated a shutdown drive by the Bronco defense, as it forced a three-and-out on Florida State's ensuing possession after the Broncos had upped their lead to 36-31. Weaver then made arguably his most important play of the day on Florida State's penultimate offensive play, even though it won't show up in his stats.

With the Seminoles facing 4th-and-4 from their own 42, driving for the go-ahead score, Weaver bullrushed his way into the backfield towards Blackman, forcing his man to haul him down to prevent a sack. Although Blackman completed his pass for a first down, it was wiped out by the holding call that Weaver had drawn, leading to a 4th-and-13 that the Seminoles failed to convert, sealing the Boise State win.

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Players Mentioned

Hank Bachmeier

Robert Mahone

Brett Rypien

Curtis Weaver

Boise State Athletics