Dark Mode Enabled for Saturday’s Game Hosting New Mexico

BOISE, Idaho – Boise State will shift into "Dark Mode" this weekend as the Broncos will don all-black uniforms as they host New Mexico Saturday night at Albertsons Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 8:05 p.m. with the game being televised nationally on FS1. Guy Haberman (play-by-play) and Charles Arbuckle (analyst) will call the action on TV while the Bronco Radio Network, simulcast on SiriusXM Channel 386, will have Bob Behler (play-by-play) and Pete Cavender (analyst) on the call.

Opening Kickoff

Lights, Camera, Action! With an 8 p.m. kickoff set for Saturday, Bronco fans will get one last opportunity to experience the enhanced game atmosphere at Albertsons Stadium courtesy of the upgraded light system installed prior to this season.
Boise State enters this week's action with an offensive line ranked 13th in the nation in sacks allowed, yielding only 1.11 sacks per game so far this year. That number is the third-best of a Boise State squad since 2012 (when the Broncos ranked sixth) and is just behind the 2022 mark when BSU allowed just 1.00 sacks per game to rank 10th in the nation.
Did you know that Boise State has the second-longest active bowl eligibility streak in the nation? The Broncos have been bowl eligible for 25 consecutive years, just one year behind Georgia's streak of 26 straight years (entering this season). The Bulldogs, at 9-0, have already upped their number to 27 and the Broncos are looking to keep pace with UGA.
So far this season Ashton Jeanty leads the nation with 72 broken tackles. That means this particular bucking Bronco is averaging 9.00 broken tackles per game as he refuses to go down to the turf.
Boise State's defense achieved a pair of feats that no other team has done this season when they faced Fresno State on Nov. 4. Not only did the Broncos limit Fresno State to a season-low one passing touchdown, but BSU twice forced Fresno State to kick a field goal in the red zone. Prior to that game, no Mountain West team had forced Fresno State to kick more than one red zone field goal in a game this year.

What You Need to Know

Highway 20 Ride Punter James Ferguson-Reynolds may come from the Land Down Under but his time in America has the native Aussie humming a tune sung by a group from down in the Deep South. Boise State's punter enters this week's action in the top 25 nationally - and leading the Group of 5 - in several other punting categories.

Ferguson-Reynolds in the Rankings

Category	Stat	National Rank	G5 Rank	MW Rank
Punt Average	49.8	1st	1st	1st
Net Average	43.6	T-5th	1st	1st
Inside the 20	18	T-14th	T-5th	2nd
Inside the 20 Pct.	47.40%	15th	3rd	2nd
Touchbacks	6	T-4th	T-2nd	1st
Touchback Pct.	15.80%	4th	3rd	2nd
Downed	10	T-23rd	T-13th	4th
Downed Pct.	26.30%	22nd	15th	3rd
Longest Punt	71	T-8th	T-6th	2nd

How Does That Stack Up? Okay, sure, James Ferguson-Reynolds' numbers are impressive for this season but stepping outside the vacuum of a single year, how does he stack up? A comparison of Ray Guy Award Winners in the chart below shows he really is actually that good.

Name	Team	Note	Avg.	Net Avg.	Pct. Downed	Pct. I20	Pct. TB
James Ferguson-Reynolds	Boise State	2013 Candidate	49.82	43.29	26.3%	47.4%	15.8%
Adam Korsak	Rutgers	2022 Winner	43.96	43.45	33.3%	46.7%	2.7%
Matt Araiza	San Diego State	2021 Winner	50.54	43.85	23.5%	50.6%	18.5%
Pressley Harvin	Georgia Tech	2020 Winner	47.98	44.80	13.3%	48.9%	6.7%
Max Duffey	Kentucky	2019 Winner	48.12	44.53	30.6%	55.1%	8.2%
Braden Mann	Texas A&M	2018 Winner	51.02	44.78	10.0%	42.0%	18.0%
Michael Dixon	Texas	2017 Winner	47.46	44.19	21.4%	54.8%	9.5%
Mitch Wishnowsky	Utah	2016 Winner	47.75	44.30	26.6%	60.9%	3.1%

Has He Reached The Peak?
James Ferguson-Reynolds is on a roll now but it's anyone's guess as to how much better he can be. But when we say he's one of the best the Mountain West has ever seen, we're not just full of hot air. Entering this week's game, Ferguson-Reynolds' career punting average is the fourth-best mark in conference history (see full chart to the right).
30 Rock
The Broncos have scored 30 or more points in seven consecutive games, averaging 33.6 points per game during that span. This is the fourth-longest active streak in the nation, trailing No. 3 Michigan, No. 6 Oregon, and No. 7 Texas, who have each scored 30 or more points in all nine of their games. This ties Boise State's longest 30-point streak since 2014, when the team averaged over 50 points per game during the seven-game stretch. The 2011 squad scored 30-plus in all 13 games, averaging 44.2 points per game that season.
350 Leads the Broncos Saturday
The most impressive stat of the game on Saturday will likely be "350." No, that won't be the total yardage that Ashton Jeanty runs for or how many passing yards the lethal double-dose of Taylen Green and Maddux Madsen will account for, but Saturday's game will mark Equipment Manager Dale Holste's 350th career game with the Broncos.
A Quarter Century of Success

For the past 25 years, Boise State has been synonymous with success. The Broncos currently hold the nation's longest current streak of consecutive winning seasons at 25 and are actively working to advance that number to 26. Not just the nation's longest active streak, it is also the fifth-longest streak all-time in college football (since 1950).

Most Consecutive Winning Seasons			Active Consecutive Winning Seasons
No.	School	Years	No.	School
41	Florida State	1977-2017	25	*Boise State*
40	Nebraska	1962-2001	21	Wisconsin
28	Oklahoma	1966-93	17	Oklahoma State
26	Alabama	1958-83	*17	Alabama
25	*Boise State*	*1998-present*	*13	Georgia
25	Florida	1988-2012	12	Clemson
25	Virginia Tech	1993-2017	*12	Ohio State
10	Iowa
			* - includes this year

This is the Greatest Show

At least in the Treasure Valley. Boise State enters this week ranked 30th nationally in attendance (by a percentage of capacity), making the Broncos just one of three Group of 5 programs (along with App State and James Madison) to rank in the top 30. BSU not only is in the top 30 but also leads the Mountain West. Fresno State, the next-best MW team, ranks 33rd.

Remember, Remember the Month of November It appears that as the season gets longer, the Broncos get stronger. Since Boise State moved up to the FBS level in 1996, the Broncos have gone 78-20 (.796) when playing in the month of November, resulting in a total of 21 bowl bids (and bowl eligibility in all 23 years), 14 conference championships (eight in the WAC, four in the MW and two in the Big West) and appearances in six Mountain West Championship Games.
Defend The Blue There's not many places that are tougher environments to play on than the famous blue turf in Boise. Entering this week's contest, the Broncos have an .892 winning percentage on The Blue (133-16) since 2000. That marks the third-best home winning percentage of any team in the nation, trailing only Oklahoma (.910, 132-13) and Ohio State (.897, 139-16).
Starting a Youth Movement Tim Keane deserves a tip of the cap. Entering the Nov. 11 game against New Mexico, Boise State has the third-most number of starts on the offensive line by freshman in the nation this year with two players totaling 16 starts.

Scouting New Mexico

New Mexico enters this week's contest with a 3-6 record (1-3 MW) with three of their six losses coming by 10 points or less.
Danny Gonzales is in his fourth season at New Mexico, compiling a record of 10-30 (.250) with the Lobos. Gonzales returned to his alma mater in 2020 following a two-year stint as defensive coordinator at Arizona State.
Beware of the Red Cherry Zone Offense. The Lobos lead the Mountain West and rank 13th nationally in Red Zone Offense, scoring on 93% of their trips inside the 20.
The Lobos have a stout offensive line and currently ranks 18th in the country in sacks allowed. UNM allows only 1.22 sacks per game on average.
Somebody should remind New Mexico that sharing is caring. The Lobos rank 33rd in the country in time of possession, averaging 31:35 per game.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt ranks fifth in the country with 12 rushing touchdowns. That places him second in the Mountain West behind a certain Bronco running back whom you may have heard about.
New Mexico's school colors were originally determined to be black and gold. Tradition holds that in the 1890s, a faculty member suggested the school adopt colors more representative of New Mexico. That negates the theory that UNM officials realized they should do anything to not be mistaken for the University of Idaho.
The Lobos name began in 1920. A UNM Weekly student newspaper editor, George S. Bryan, came up with the teams' name, the "Lobos", which is the Spanish word for wolf. Previously the University's teams were referred to as the "University Boys" or "Varsities". So that could make this week's matchup the Lobos vs. the Potro Cerril.
The University mascots are anthropomorphized wolves or "Lobos" named Louie and Lucy. Here's hoping Lucy isn't listed as a holder on UNM's depth chart.
The University's main campus spans 800 acres in central Albuquerque, with branch campuses in Gallup, Los Alamos, Rio Rancho, Taos and Los Lunas. However University officials were tight-lipped and refused to comment on a potential sixth branch campus in Roswell.
Albuquerque is the only word in the English language that repeats the letter sequence "que" twice. WHAT WHAT?!
Although most people probably associate him with Texas, "King of the Hill," "Beavis and Butthead," and "Silicon Valley" creator Mike Judge hails from Albuquerque. Wilson Middle School and Highland High School, featured in "Beavis and Butthead," are named after Albuquerque schools. Heh heh heh heh cool.
A hot dog cart rivalry reached fever pitch in 2012 when an Albuquerque hot dog vendor was charged with battery with a deadly weapon for mowing down a competing vendor with his hot dog cart. No word if the story was told on the cooking challenge show "Cutthroat Kitchen" or if he applied to be a part of the show "Cooks vs. Cons" following that altercation.
In Albuquerque animals taken for rattlesnake roundups and lizard races are exempt from wildlife laws. So they've got that going for them.
Albuquerque High School has existed since 1879, far before New Mexico officially became a state in 1912 and before UNM was founded in 1889. That's a helluva gap year.... er, decade.

A Win Would...

Move Boise State to 13-1 all-time in games against the Lobos.
Ensure the Broncos finish the 2023 season with a winning record at home.
Mark the seventh consecutive win in the series, the longest such stretch.
Put the Broncos one win away from becoming bowl eligible for the 26th consecutive year.
Be better than a loss.

For complete coverage of Boise State Football, download the Bronco Sports App or follow the team on social media on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X.

-BroncoSports.com-

Dark Mode Enabled for Saturday’s Game Hosting New Mexico

Next Event

Players Mentioned

James Ferguson-Reynolds

Taylen Green

Ashton Jeanty

Maddux Madsen

Dark Mode Enabled for Saturday’s Game Hosting New Mexico

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Players Mentioned

James Ferguson-Reynolds

Taylen Green

Ashton Jeanty

Maddux Madsen

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