Special teams meltdowns at Oregon in ‘24 still fresh for Boise State. What can change?

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — As part of his preparations ahead of taking on No. 2 Oregon this weekend, Boise State football head coach Spencer Danielson delved into the archives to dig up some old footage. He didn’t have to go too far back — just a couple of years, to Week 2 of the 2024 season, and a file that reads:

Boise State 34 – 37 Oregon.

“We learned a lot as a program from that game,” Danielson said Thursday. “And the reality of it is, man, there are no moral victories.”

If you watched that game or even just looked at the stat book, you know that Boise State probably should have walked out of Autzen Stadium with an upset win. The Broncos recorded more first downs than Oregon (19 to 16), more total yards (369 to 352), more plays (73 to 57) and more sacks (4 to 1), and they scored on 5-of-5 trips to the red zone.

And yet it wasn’t enough.

An 85-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the third quarter gave Oregon a 27-20 lead, and after Boise State battled back to go ahead 34-27, the Broncos’ special teams unit gave up a game-tying 100-yard kickoff return. Oregon went on to win the game with a field goal as time expired.

“We did some really good things in the game. We also did some things that you can’t do if you want to win football games,” Danielson said. “I don’t care if you’re playing Oregon or you’re playing somebody else. There are keys to winning football games, and we didn’t do enough two years ago.”

If the “things that you can’t do” aren’t already obvious, here’s the answer: Don’t allow Oregon to have explosive plays — and touchdowns — on special teams returns.

That game was two years ago, yes, but the special teams worries still lurk for the Broncos as they head to Eugene, Oregon, this weekend to take on the No. 2 Ducks.

In 2025, out of 136 FBS teams, Boise State’s kickoff return defense ranked 122nd, with the punt return defense a more acceptable 47th. Special teams coordinator Stacy Collins was in charge of the units the last time around, and he’s still in that role heading into this weekend.

He knows his units will need to do a better job than they did in 2024, and he’s got a fairly simple answer: Kick it out of the back of the end zone.

“The biggest thing is how do we try to keep it out of their returner’s hands to the best of our ability,” Collins said Thursday. “Always happy if the ball’s out the back of the end zone. But you got to be able to cover, too. That’s not always going to happen.”

After a summer of uncertainty, it seems that Danielson and Collins have landed on their go-to men for punting and kicking, too. Senior Oscar Doyle will retain his role as punter for the second straight year. He ranked 39th in the nation last year with an average distance of 43.6 yards. Only five of his 56 attempts went for touchbacks, but 17 landed inside the 20-yard line, and he likely won’t hold back on Saturday.

Fifth-year player Colton Boomer will remain on kickoffs in his second year with the program, while sophomore Canaan Moore will kick field goals. Of Boomer’s 77 kickoffs last season, 61 were touchbacks.

“Boomer’s got an elite kickoff leg, and that’s a huge deal,” Collins said. “When you’re playing teams with team speed like Oregon, obviously the speed and space are something we’ve got to try to neutralize the best we can.”