Boise State’s struggles won’t change identity from ‘run-first football team’

BOISE (Idaho Stateman) — Despite Boise State’s struggles on the ground in last week’s season-opening loss to South Florida, the coaching staff remains adamant about the team’s offensive identity.

The Broncos’ running backs combined for just 91 yards on the ground in the 34-7 loss to South Florida, and even with QB Maddux Madsen’s scrambles for 31 yards factored in, they averaged 3.2 yards per carry — a stark reminder that Ashton Jeanty is not walking through that door.

The worst game Jeanty had was a 104-yard effort in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Penn State.

Redshirt freshman Sire Gaines’ 44 rushing yards led the Broncos last week, and he did average 4.9 a carry. Both Gaines and RB Malik Sherrod (27 yards) lost fumbles in USF territory that killed promising drives. And both backs figure to get plenty of opportunities again this week against Eastern Washington.

“We are a run-first football team. End of story,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said Monday. “That is what we are built for, that is what we recruit for, and we’ve got to stay true to that.”

Danielson said in the spring he wanted his offense to be more balanced compared to last year, but the Broncos want that balance to come from being strong on the ground to set up the passing game, particularly with play-action, for Madsen.

Boise State ran just 12 play-action passes against South Florida as the running game struggled to pick up yardage on early downs. That allowed the Bulls’ defense to attack and make life difficult for the offensive line.

“If you can’t run the football, then those (passes) aren’t going to be explosive and efficient for you,” offensive coordinator Nate Potter said Monday. “I do feel like we’re trying to give those guys a chance, but at the end of the day, it starts by establishing a run to give those shot plays an opportunity to be successful.”

On 25 first-down plays against South Florida that didn’t end in a flag, Boise State managed to get to 2nd-and-5 or less on just six occasions. Madsen completed only three passes of 20 yards or more. Danielson demanded improved effort across the board in his Monday press conference, but it’s going to take more than just effort to get the running game rolling.

Boise State had three backs split 27 carries last week, and the coaching staff is still figuring out which players to use in certain situations.

Gaines found ways to be explosive, running for 9 or more yards on three carries, with a long of 14. Transfer Malik Sherrod had a long run of 9 yards but had five attempts of no gain or a loss. Redshirt freshman Dylan Riley picked up 20 yards on seven carries. Junior running back Jambres Dubar is also still waiting in the wings, but Danielson said he’d likely miss this week’s game because of an injury, just as he did the South Florida game.

“Right now, we’re looking at, what do our players do best, and what do those numbers look like? Who’s earned that?” Danielson said. “… We have playmakers when they’re doing what they’re supposed to do, but we’ve got to figure out what fits our players best and make sure we stay there.”