2016 Boise State Broncos football team

The 2016 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It marked the Broncos' 80th season overall, sixth as a member of the Mountain West Conference and fourth within the Mountain Division. They played their home games at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. They were led by third-year head coach Bryan Harsin. They finished the season 10–3, 6–2 in Mountain West play to finish in a three-way tie for the Mountain Division title. After tiebreakers, they did not represent the Mountain Division in the Mountain West Championship Game. They were invited to the Cactus Bowl where they lost to Baylor.

2016 Boise State Broncos football
MW Mountain Division co-champion
Cactus Bowl, L 12–31 vs. Baylor
Conference	Mountain West Conference
Division	Mountain Division
Record	10–3 (6–2 MW)
Head coach	Bryan Harsin (3rd season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Zak Hill (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Scott Huff (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Andy Avalos (1st season)
Base defense	Multiple
Home stadium	Albertsons Stadium
Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

2016 Mountain West Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
Wyoming xy		6	–	2					8	–	6
Boise State x		6	–	2					10	–	3
New Mexico x		6	–	2					9	–	4
Air Force		5	–	3					10	–	3
Colorado State		5	–	3					7	–	6
Utah State		1	–	7					3	–	9
West Division
No. 25 San Diego State xy$		6	–	2					11	–	3
Hawaii		4	–	4					7	–	7
Nevada		3	–	5					5	–	7
San Jose State		3	–	5					4	–	8
UNLV		3	–	5					4	–	8
Fresno State		0	–	8					1	–	11
Championship: San Diego State 27, Wyoming 24
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

This season marked the 30th anniversary season that the Broncos have played on the Blue Turf.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released.

Maxwell Award – So. QB Brett Rypien & Jr. RB Jeremy McNichols^[1]

Mackey Award – Jr. TE Jake Roh^[2]

Lou Groza Award – Sr. K Tyler Rausa^[3]

Bronko Nagurski Trophy – Sr. LB Tanner Vallejo^[4]

Butkus Award – Sr. LB Tanner Vallejo^[5]

Fred Biletnikoff Award – Sr. WR Thomas Sperbeck^[6]

Davey O'Brien Award – So. QB Brett Rypien^[7]

Doak Walker Award – Jr. RB Jeremy McNichols^[8][9]

Walter Camp Award – So. QB Brett Rypien^[10]

Mountain West media days

At the Mountain West media days, held at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Broncos were picked as the overwhelming favorites to win the Mountain Division title, receiving 27 of a possible 29 first place votes. So. QB Brett Rypien, Sr. WR Thomas Sperbeck and Sr. K Tyler Rausa were selected to the all-conference first team.^[11][12]

Media poll

Mountain Division

1. Boise State – 172 (27)
2. Air Force – 126 (2)
3. Utah State – 95
4. Colorado State – 95
5. New Mexico – 74
6. Wyoming – 31

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	10:00 a.m.	at Louisiana–Lafayette*		Cajun Field Lafayette, LA	ASN/ESPN3	W 45–10	22,661
September 10	8:15 p.m.	Washington State*		Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN2	W 31–28	36,163
September 24	1:30 p.m.	at Oregon State*		Reser Stadium Corvallis, OR	FS1	W 38–24	42,846
October 1	8:15 p.m.	Utah State	No. 24	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN2	W 21–10	36,602
October 7	7:00 p.m.	at New Mexico	No. 19	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	CBSSN	W 49–21	20,090
October 15	8:15 p.m.	Colorado State	No. 15	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN2	W 28–23	33,448
October 20	8:15 p.m.	BYU*	No. 14	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN	W 28–27	34,575
October 29	5:00 p.m.	at Wyoming	No. 13	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	CBSSN	L 28–30	26,023
November 4	8:15 p.m.	San Jose State	No. 24	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN2	W 45–31	31,863
November 12	5:00 p.m.	at Hawaii	No. 22	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI	CBSSN	W 52–16	22,731
November 18	7:00 p.m.	UNLV	No. 20	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN2	W 42–25	32,989
November 25	1:30 p.m.	at Air Force	No. 19	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	CBSSN	L 20–27	23,556
December 27	8:15 p.m.	vs. Baylor*		Chase Field Phoenix, AZ (Cactus Bowl)	ESPN	L 12–31	33,328
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 1 released prior to game All times are in Mountain time

Schedule Source:^[13]

Roster

2016 Boise State Broncos football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Cedrick Wilson Jr. Jr WR 2 Julian Carter Fr QB 3 Thomas Stuart  Jr QB 4 Brett Rypien So WR 5 Garrett Collingham  Fr WR 6 Chaz Anderson  Sr QB 7 Anthony Upshaw  So WR 8 Sean Modster  So WR 9 Bryan Jefferson  Fr RB 10 Cory Young  So RB 13 Jeremy McNichols Jr QB 14 Camron Humphrey Fr QB 15 Jake Constantine Fr WR 16 Taylor Pope  Sr WR 17 Austin Cottrell Jr WR 18 Bubba Ogbebor Fr RB 20 Jake Roper Fr RB 22 Alexander Mattison Fr RB 26 Devan Demas  Sr WR 28 A. J. Richardson  So RB 30 Ryan Wolpin  Jr RB 34 Robert Mahone Fr RB 39 Jake Shaddox  Fr TE 47 Matt Pistone  Fr OL 52 Andrew Tercek  Jr OL 59 Mason Hampton  Jr OL 60 Kellen Buhr  Sr OL 64 Ben Vering Fr OL 66 Mario Yakoo  Sr OL 67 Garrett Larson  Fr OL 69 Austin Dixon Fr OL 70 Steven Baggett  Sr OL 71 Donte Harrington Fr OL 72 Will Adams  Sr OL 73 Travis Averill  Sr OL 74 Archie Lewis  Jr OL 75 Kole Bailey Fr OL 76 Ezra Cleveland Fr OL 77 John Molchon  Fr OL 78 Andres Preciado  So OL 79 Eric Quevedo  Fr WR 80 Christian Blaser Fr WR 81 Akilian Butler So WR 82 Thomas Sperbeck Sr WR 83 David McKinzie  Jr TE 84 Jake Knight  So TE 85 John Bates Fr TE 86 Chase Blakley  So TE 87 Alec Dhaenans  Jr TE 88 Jake Roh  Jr WR 89 Brock Barr  Jr TE 93 Nick Crabtree Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 2 Jonathan Moxey Sr S 3 Chanceller James  Sr CB 4 DeAndre Pierce Fr MLB 7 Joe Martarano  Jr DE 8 Jabril Frazier  So OLB 9 Desmond Williams Fr S 10 Kekoa Nawahine Fr CB 14 Tyler Horton So S 15 Evan Tyler  Fr S 17 Jalen Walker Fr OLB 20 Tanner Vallejo Sr S 22 Hayden Israelson Fr S 23 Damion Wright  Fr LB 24 Kameron Miles  Jr CB 25 Raymond Ford  Sr CB 26 Avery Williams Fr CB 27 Reid Harrison-Ducros Fr CB 30 Robert Lewis Fr S 31 Skyler Seibold  So S 32 Jordan Happle Fr OLB 33 Gabe Perez  Jr MLB 34 Solo Taylor Fr DE 35 Derriyon Shaw Fr OLB 36 Blake Whitlock Jr S 37 Cameron Hartsfield  Jr OLB 38 Leighton Vander Esch  So DE 40 Jabari Watson Fr OLB 41 Will Heffner  Fr MLB 43 Joe Provenzano  So MLB 44 Darren Lee Sr DE 45 Kayode Rufai Fr S 47 Ma'a Tanuvasa Fr MLB 48 Bruno DeRose Fr OLB 51 Ben Weaver  Sr DE 53 Sam Whitney  Fr DT 54 Matt Locher  Fr DT 55 David Moa  So DL 56 Dane Kordopatis Fr DT 57 Emmanuel Fesili Fr MLB 58 Tyson Maeva Fr DT 90 Daniel Auelua Jr DE 91 Durrant Miles So DT 92 Paul Semons  So DT 93 Chase Hatada Fr DE 94 Sam McCaskill  Sr OLB 95 Nick Provenzano Fr DT 96 Elliot Hoyte  Sr DT 97 Austin Silsby  Jr DT 98 Sonatane Lui Fr DE 99 Curtis Weaver Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 19 Sean Wale  Sr LS 42 Matt Cota  Jr K 46 Joel Velazquez Fr K 49 Tyler Rausa  Sr LS 50 Nicholai Pitman Fr	Head coach Bryan Harsin Coordinators/assistant coaches Kent Riddle – Associate head coach/Special teams coordinator/Tight ends Steve Caldwell – Associate head coach/Defensive linemen Zak Hill – Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks Andy Avalos – Defensive coordinator Scott Huff – Co-offensive coordinator/Offensive linemen Junior Adams – Passing game coordinator/Wide receivers Lee Marks – Running backs Ashley Ambrose – Defensive backs Gabe Franklin – Safeties Jeff Pitman – Director, Strength and Conditioning D. J. Harper – Graduate assistant Latu Heimuli – Graduate assistant Nate Potter – Graduate assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 8/14/23

Game summaries

At Louisiana–Lafayette

See also: 2016 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	14	21	3	7	45
Ragin' Cajuns	0	3	0	7	10

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 22–33, 347 YDS, 2 TD; Anthony Jennings (ULL): 21–33, 186 YDS, 1 TD.
• Rushing leaders: Alexander Mattison (BSU): 11 CAR, 61 YDS, 1 TD; Elijah McGuire (ULL): 14 CAR, 46 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 6 REC, 130 YDS, 1 TD; Ja'Marcus Bradley (ULL): 3 REC, 50 YDS.

Washington State

See also: 2016 Washington State Cougars football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	7	7	14	28
Broncos	14	3	7	7	31

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 19–35, 299 YDS, 1 TD, 3 INT; Luke Falk (WSU): 55–71, 480 YDS, 4 TD, 1 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 22 CAR, 116 YDS, 2 TD; Jamal Morrow (WSU): 8 CAR, 22 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 7 REC, 133 YDS, 1 TD; Tavares Martin Jr. (WSU): 12 REC, 158 YDS, 1 TD.

At Oregon State

See also: 2016 Oregon State Beavers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	14	17	0	7	38
Beavers	7	0	10	7	24

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

Boise State on offense in the first half.

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 19–36, 215 YDS, 1 TD; Conor Blount (OSU): 11–18, 138 YDS.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 28 CAR, 208 YDS, 3 TD; Ryan Nall (OSU): 14 CAR, 66 YDS, 2 TD.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 6 REC, 104 YDS; Seth Collins (OSU): 9 REC, 106 YDS.

Utah State

See also: 2016 Utah State Aggies football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	0	3	0	7	10
Broncos	7	0	7	7	21

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

Boise State on defense in the 4th quarter.

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 15–24, 163 YDS, 2 TD; Kent Myers (USU): 29–50, 287 YDS, 1 TD.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 30 CAR, 132 YDS; Kent Myers (USU): 12 CAR, 47 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 6 REC, 73 YDS, 1 TD; Andrew Rodriguez (USU): 6 REC, 89 YDS, 1 TD.

At New Mexico

See also: 2016 New Mexico Lobos football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 19 Broncos	14	28	7	0	49
Lobos	7	0	0	14	21

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 21–28, 391 YDS, 5 TD; Lamar Jordan (UNM): 4–14, 39 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 21 CAR, 54 YDS, 2 TD; Lamar Jordan (UNM): 21 CAR, 139 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 9 REC, 198 YDS, 2 TD; Matt Quarells (UNM): 1 REC, 13 YDS.

Colorado State

See also: 2016 Colorado State Rams football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	3	0	0	20	23
No. 15 Broncos	0	7	14	7	28

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 16–24, 207 YDS, 1 TD; Nick Stevens (CSU): 17–31, 184 YDS, 2 TD.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 40 CAR, 217 YDS, 2 TD; Dalyn Dawkins (CSU): 14 CAR, 66 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 5 REC, 72 YDS, 1 TD; Michael Gallup (CSU): 4 REC, 91 YDS, 1 TD.

BYU

See also: 2016 BYU Cougars football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	17	7	3	27
No. 14 Broncos	14	7	0	7	28

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

Thomas Sperbeck (bottom right) catching a 2nd QRT. TD

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 25–39, 442 YDS, 3 TD, 2 INT; Taysom Hill (BYU): 21–42, 187 YDS.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 30 CAR, 140 YDS, 1 TD; Squally Canada (BYU): 21 CAR, 88 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 5 REC, 109 YDS, 1 TD and Tyler Sperbeck 9 REC, 109 YDS, 1 TD; Mitchell Juergens (BYU): 4 REC, 57 YDS.

At Wyoming

See also: 2016 Wyoming Cowboys football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 13 Broncos	7	14	0	7	28
Cowboys	0	17	0	13	30

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 22–35, 295 YDS, 1 INT; Josh Allen (WYO): 18–31, 274 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 18 CAR, 143 YDS, 2 TD; Brian Hill (WYO): 28 CAR, 146 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Cedrick Wilson Jr. (BSU): 4 REC, 84 YDS; Jacob Hollister (WYO): 6 REC, 144 YDS, 2 TD.

San Jose State

See also: 2016 San Jose State Spartans football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	6	10	0	15	31
No. 24 Broncos	7	17	7	14	45

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 16–21, 219 YDS, 3 TD; Kenny Potter (SJSU): 23–36, 278 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 28 CAR, 158 YDS, 2 TD; Malik Roberson (SJSU): 12 CAR, 109 YDS, 1 TD.
• Receiving leaders: Cedrick Wilson (BSU): 6 REC, 102 YDS, 2 TD; Justin Holmes (SJSU): 6 REC, 106 YDS, 1 TD.

At Hawaii

See also: 2016 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Broncos	14	21	10	7	52
Rainbow Warriors	0	3	3	10	16

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 18–22, 338 YDS, 4 TD; Dru Brown (UH): 16–31, 125 YDS, 1 TD.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 16 CAR, 153 YDS, 2 TD; Paul Harris (UH): 14 CAR, 145 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Cedrick Wilson (BSU): 7 REC, 141 YDS, 1 TD; Dakota Torres (UH): 3 REC, 35 YDS.

UNLV

See also: 2016 UNLV Rebels football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rebels	3	7	7	8	25
No. 23 Broncos	14	7	14	7	42

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

Boise State on offense in the 1st half.

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 10–20, 109 YDS; Kurt Palandech (UNLV): 10–20, 113 YDS, 1 TD.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 31 CAR, 206 YDS, 4 TD; Kurt Palandech (UNLV): 9 CAR, 64 YDS, 2 TD.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 5 REC, 47 YDS; Andrew Price (UNLV): 3 REC, 65 YDS, 1 TD.

At Air Force

See also: 2016 Air Force Falcons football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 19 Broncos	7	3	3	7	20
Falcons	7	10	7	3	27

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 9–26, 316 YDS, 1 TD; Arion Worthman (AF): 3–5, 45 YDS.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 22 CAR, 88 YDS, 1 TD; Arion Worthman (AF): 26 CAR, 80 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Cedrick Wilson (BSU): 4 REC, 193 YDS, 1 TD; Jalen Robinette (AF): 3 REC, 45 YDS.

Air Force became the first team to beat Boise State for three consecutive season since Nevada in 1996–98.

Baylor–Cactus Bowl

See also: 2016 Baylor Bears football team and 2016 Cactus Bowl (December)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	6	0	6	12
Bears	7	14	3	7	31

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 32–51, 305 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT; Zach Smith (BAY): 28–39, 375 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 19 CAR, 46 YDS; Terence Williams (BAY): 25 CAR, 103 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Cedrick Wilson (BSU): 6 REC, 88 YDS, 1 TD; K. D. Cannon (BAY): 14 REC, 226 YDS, 2 TD.

Rankings

Further information: 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	19	15	14	13	24	24	22	20	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	19	15	14	13	24	24	23	19	RV	RV	RV
CFP	Not released									24	22	20	19	—	—	Not released

Scores by quarter

All opponents

1 2 3 4 Total Boise State 126 151 72 90 439 Opponents 40 91 44 128 303

Mountain West opponents

1 2 3 4 Total Boise State 70 97 62 56 285 MW Opponents 26 50 17 90 183

Post-season awards

Mountain West first team

Offense

Brett Rypien – So. QB

Thomas Sperbeck – Sr. WR

Travis Averill – Sr. OL

Mario Yakoo – Sr. OL

Defense

Sam McCaskill – Sr. DL

David Moa – So. DL

Mountain West second team

Offense

Jeremy McNichols – Jr. RB

Defense

Ben Weaver – Sr. LB

Chanceller James – Sr. DB

Jonathan Moxey – Sr. DB

Sean Wale – Sr. P

Mountain West honorable mention

Steven Baggett – Sr. OL

Mason Hampton – Jr. OL

Tanner Vallejo – Sr. LB

Cedrick Wilson Jr. – Jr. WR

Award Reference:^[14]

References

1. Maxwell Football Club (July 5, 2016). "College football: Maxwell Award unveils 2016 watch list". NCAA.com. NCAA. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
2. John Mackey Award (July 6, 2016). "2016 John Mackey Award preseason watch list announced". NCAA.com. NCAA. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
3. Lou Groza Award (July 7, 2016). "College football: Lou Groza Award watch list for nation's top kicker". NCAA.com. NCAA. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
4. FWAA (July 8, 2016). "College football: 2016 Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list announced". NCAA.com. NCAA. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
5. Butkus Award (July 12, 2016). "College football: 2016 Butkus Award preseason watch list announced". NCAA.com. NCAA. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
6. Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation Release (July 13, 2016). "College football: 2016 Biletnikoff Award releases watch list for top receiver". NCAA.com. NCAA. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
7. Davey O'Brien Foundation (July 14, 2016). "College football: Davey O'Brien Award announces 30 players on watch list". NCAA.com. NCAA. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
8. "2016 Doak Walker Award Candidates". SMU.edu. July 14, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
9. Southorn, Dave (July 14, 2016). "Boise State QB Rypien on O'Brien watchlist; McNichols added to Walker list". IdahoStatesman.com. Idaho Statesman. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
10. Walter Camp Football Foundation (July 15, 2016). "College football: Walter Camp Player of the Year announces watch list". NCAA.com. NCAA. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
11. "2016 Mountain West Football Preseason All-Conference Team". TheMW.com. Mountain West Conference. July 26, 2016. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
12. Southorn, Dave (July 26, 2016). "Boise State football tabbed preseason favorite in Mountain Division". IdahoStatesman.com. Idaho Statesman. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
13. "2016 Schedule". Broncosports.com. Boise State Athletics. 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
14. MW. "Mountain West Announces 2016 Football All-Conference Teams and". Themwc.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2017.