Will Boise State win come easily against FCS foe? Best not to presume

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Boise State football will be looking to get back to its usual winning ways on Friday night when it welcomes Eastern Washington to Albertsons Stadium for the 2025 home opener.

The Broncos are coming off an eye-opening 34-7 loss to South Florida last weekend and are hoping to right the ship against an FCS opponent that finished 4-8 last season.

Eastern Washington plays in the Big Sky Conference, which is also home to the University of Idaho and Idaho State.

Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said he’s making sure the Broncos don’t look past any opponent, the Eagles included.

“I think sometimes people see that there’s this complete skewed view of talent. It’s not,” Danielson said Monday about the difference between FCS and FBS teams. “They’re gonna have a really good, talented team. They’re gonna play extremely hard. They’re very well-coached.”

Eastern Washington (0-1) opened its season last week with a 31-21 loss to Incarnate Word, the No. 9 team in the FCS Top 25.

“There were a couple of plays in that game that it should have honestly gone Eastern’s way to win that game on the road,” Danielson said. “So they’re going to be one of the better FCS teams. I believe that.”

Danielson said Wednesday that he thinks the perception there’s a huge talent gap between FBS and FCS is not accurate. There are always examples of FCS upsets, too.

The United Athletic Conference’s Tarleton State beat Army of the American Athletic Conference 30-27 in double overtime last weekend, and it took a last-minute touchdown for then-No. 17 Kansas State to beat North Dakota.

Boise State hasn’t lost to an FCS school since falling 63-23 to Cal State Northridge in 1997, but Eastern Washington has some more recent experience of giant killings.

The Eagles almost defeated UNLV in double overtime in 2021, which was their last winning season. They also beat Washington State in 2016 and Oregon State in 2013. The last time Boise State and Eastern Washington played was in 2000 in Boise, with the Broncos emerging as 41-23 victors.

What should Boise State expect from Eastern Washington?

The Broncos’ coaching staff will understandably lean upon game film and their own knowledge this week, but they do have some inside knowledge on the Eagles.

Redshirt sophomore safety Derek Ganter Jr. spent his first two years of college football at Eastern Washington before transferring to Boise State. He saw action in all 12 games last year, leading the team with 95 tackles, 55 of which were solo.

“They’re one of the better FCS programs, and they’re gonna come in here with a chip on their shoulder and feel like that they’re better than us,” Ganter said Tuesday.

He said the Broncos will need to keep an eye on Eastern Washington’s new starting quarterback, Jared Taylor.

The sixth-year QB likes to take off and run, Ganter said. In last week’s opener at Incarnate Word, Taylor ran the ball a team-high 10 times but gained only 35 yards.

Boise State struggled against dual-threat quarterback Byrum Brown last week, giving up 210 passing yards, 43 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

On the other side of the ball, Boise State offensive coordinator Nate Potter expects the Eagles’ defense to be solid.

“I think they do a great job causing confusion with what they do in their schematics, with their fronts, with their movements,” Potter said. “They have some experience mixed in with good talent that they brought in. So it’s all about us playing to our standard and playing fast.”