Burned in the Florida sun: Boise State routed by USF in season opener

TAMPA, FLORIDA (Idaho Statesman) — What a difference a year makes.

Boise State scored 56 points and had 651 yards of offense in its season-opening win over Georgia Southern in 2024. This year’s trip to the Southeast to start what the Broncos hope will be another stellar year was nothing short of a disaster against South Florida on Thursday evening.

Boise State lost two big fumbles, committed eight penalties, gave up a touchdown on a fake punt, got burned by big plays and had eight straight drives end without any points. It all added up to a 34-7 loss to USF that put the Broncos (0-1) behind the 8-ball very early in the chase for another College Football Playoff berth.

Boise State played an uneven first half in Tampa, fumbling twice and committing a huge penalty that gave life to a South Florida touchdown drive. The result, however, was only a 10-7 deficit.

In the second half, things fell apart. USF scored touchdowns on three straight possessions, starting with a 45-yard fake punt for a TD, with third-string QB Locklan Hewlett connecting with wide receiver Keshaun Singleton.

Starting quarterback Byrum Brown had a 15-yard rushing touchdown, his second of the game, to cap a 77-yard drive, and Cartevious Norton ran 8 yards for a score to make it 31-7 early in the fourth quarter.

The three game-tilting scoring drives coincided with Boise State turning the ball over on downs three straight times. For good measure, they turned the ball over on downs their next drive as well.

So a year after amassing those 651 yards — granted, with Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty rushing for 267 — the Broncos had 378 total yards against the Bulls (1-0).

Quarterback Maddux Madsen completed 25-of-46 passes for 225 yards, including a 6-yard scoring strike to Chris Marshall, and BSU rushed for 122 yards on 38 carries — barely 3 yards per carry.

Boise State wide receiver Chris Marshall had two catches for 19 yards in Thursday’s loss, including a 6-yard touchdown grab.

Running backs Malik Sherrod (27 yards on 11 carries) and Sire Gaines (44 yards on 9 carries) each lost a fumble to end promising drives in the first half.

Sherrod’s came after he caught a pass at the USF 39-yard line on the opening drive of the game, and Gaines’ came on a running play at the USF 16 late in the second quarter.

On three USF drives in the first half, Boise State’s defense dominated, holding the Bulls’ fast-paced offense to minus-3 yards on 10 plays. The other two drives ended with a 52-yard Nico Gramatica field goal and a 23-yard TD run by dual-threat QB Brown, who scrambled for the score after the pocket collapsed on a third-and-10 play.

That touchdown run capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive that should have been a three-and-out.

On third down Brown was sacked, but Boise State’s Davon Banks got flagged for a roughing-the-passer penalty that gave the Bulls life.

Brown completed 16-of-24 passes for 210 yards and rushed 14 times for 43 yards.

He burned the Broncos’ secondary with completions of 24 yards, 55 yards and 37 yards — twice.

The Bulls had 245 yards of offense in the second half, after being held to 127 in the first.

Boise State played without junior running back Jambres “Breezy” Dubar, who missed much of 2024 with a lower-body injury and suffered a soft tissue injury during fall camp. He was practicing with the team last week and had a goal of playing the opener.