Only one of the 134 FBS football teams in the country hasn’t played a home game yet.
Boise State will become the last to play in front of its home crowd on Saturday at 7:55 p.m. when the Broncos host Portland State inside Albertsons Stadium.
The game has already been announced as a sellout – and will be Boise State’s first on The Blue in 302 days. The Broncos opened with two road games and a bye week – their latest start to the home schedule since 2011 when they started on Sept. 24th.
“It was weird looking at the schedule before the year and noticing it wasn’t until Sept. 21st,” Boise State defensive tackle Michael Callahan said. “It’s just exciting to finally get to play in front of our fans.
“We put a good showing the first two games, especially the last game (at Oregon), and we gave our fans a lot to be excited about. For them to come out Saturday and finally get to see us live, it’s something that has been building up.”
Maybe it’s Ashton Jeanty. Maybe it’s the near-win at top-10 Oregon. Maybe it’s just the long wait and the excitement of a home Saturday night on The Blue. Whatever the reason – fans appear to be as fired up as they have in a while for a home game.
Boise State announced the sellout early in the week – and announced the following two home games against Washington State and Utah State are already sold out as well.
“I can’t wait,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said. “My first game on the Blue was in 2017, we played Troy at home, a day game, and I’ll never forget running out of the tunnel and the feeling of Bronco Nation on the Blue. And this was before the lights, the new sound system, the new scoreboard.
“There’s nothing like it in college football. I believe that. I don’t believe there’s any better place to play college football than on The Blue, right here in Boise, Idaho.”
Boise State will debut a new sound system Saturday, which was installed over the summer in the south end zone – a year after a new video board (the biggest in the Mountain West) was installed last year.
This will also be the third year with new LED lighting which allows for light shows and other effects during the game. The stadium will go mostly dark prior to the start of the fourth quarter as part of a show to hype up fans for the final 15 minutes.
The Blue is as special as ever – but the recent enhancements have made it even better.
“It’s just the tradition of it – all the people that came before you – and it’s what we work for every day,” wide receiver Latrell Caples said. “Being able to go out there in front of 36,000, 37,000 fans and just cut it loose…I’m ready to play at home.
“It’s great to see. When I first got here I thought that scoreboard over there was pretty small, but seeing what we’ve been able to build here with our new AD, we’re really thankful for everything.”
Boise State has won 21 of its past 22 home openers and is 66-19-2 all-time in the first home game of the season. Those trends will likely continue Saturday with the Broncos playing an FCS opponent which has given up 113 points in two games.
But winning on The Blue hasn’t come as easy of late as it once did.
The Broncos went a ridiculous 100-4 at home from 1999 to 2014, but are 43-12 in the nine years since. Boise State is just 13-6 at home the past three seasons – losing more games in three seasons than Boise State did during the 15-year stretch from 1999 to 2014.
“There’s so much tradition with the blue field – one of the winningest teams at home over the past two decades,” Danielson said. “And talking to our team, that’s why this facility is built. You had a group of guys for decades that when they played a game on The Blue, they found a way to win. And that’s got to be our team.”
“We’ve lost too many games the Blue over the years and I’ve been part of a lot of those. We have to get it right. We have to fix it. When we come home to play on The Blue in front of Bronco Nation, at home, in Boise, Idaho, we have to find a way to win.”
It’s been a long wait. But the Broncos are back home.
“There’s nothing to compare to it,” Callahan said. “It’s indescribable. It’s an incomparable feeling. That was part of the driving reason for coming back for my sixth year. I needed to get more of The Blue.
“There’s nothing that compares to third down in Albertsons Stadium.”
Added teammate Rodney Robinson, “This place is special. You have to soak it in and appreciate it, and I know the fans appreciate it too. … That south end zone, especially when we’re on defense and getting those false start calls on the opposing defenses, it’s always rocking dow there.”
Said Danielson, “There’s so much legacy and tradition with it. I told some of our new coaches who haven’t had a home game on The Blue yet – get ready. There’s nothing louder and more exciting than playing in Albertsons Stadium. I can’t wait.”
