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2017 Boise State

11–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Mountain West Conference), coached by Bryan Harsin, finished No. 22 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Boise State in 2017, game by game: won vs. Troy 24–13; lost at No. 20 Washington State 44–47; won vs. New Mexico 28–14; lost vs. Virginia 23–42; won at BYU 24–7; won at No. 19 San Diego State 31–14; won vs. Wyoming 24–14; won at Utah State 41–14; won vs. Nevada 41–14; won at Colorado State 59–52; won vs. Air Force 44–19; lost at Fresno State 17–28; won vs. No. 25 Fresno State 17–14; won vs. Oregon 38–28+27−19Won 24–13 vs. Troy+11TroyLost 44–47 at No. 20 Washington State-3No. 20 Washington StateWon 28–14 vs. New Mexico+14New MexicoLost 23–42 vs. Virginia-19VirginiaWon 24–7 at BYU+17BYUWon 31–14 at No. 19 San Diego State+17No. 19 San Diego StateWon 24–14 vs. Wyoming+10WyomingWon 41–14 at Utah State+27Utah StateWon 41–14 vs. Nevada+27NevadaWon 59–52 at Colorado State+7Colorado StateWon 44–19 vs. Air Force+25Air ForceLost 17–28 at Fresno State-11Fresno StateWon 17–14 vs. No. 25 Fresno State+3No. 25 Fresno StateWon 38–28 vs. Oregon+10Oregon
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsTroyW 24–⁠1367%
Sep 9at20Washington StateL 44–⁠4745%
Sep 14vsNew MexicoW 28–⁠1468%
Sep 22vsVirginiaL 23–⁠4279%
Oct 6atBYUW 24–⁠748%
Oct 14at19San Diego StateW 31–⁠1429%
Oct 21vsWyomingW 24–⁠1475%
Oct 28atUtah StateW 41–⁠1464%
Nov 4vsNevadaW 41–⁠1488%
Nov 11atColorado StateW 59–⁠5260%
Nov 18vsAir ForceW 44–⁠1980%
Nov 25atFresno StateL 17–⁠2864%
Dec 2vs25Fresno StateMountain West Championship GameW 17–⁠1470%
Dec 16Bowls & playoffvsOregonLas Vegas BowlW 38–⁠2864%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Oregon 38–⁠28 in the Las Vegas Bowl; No. 22 in the final AP poll; Mountain West Conference champions.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 13: 25
  2. Wk 15: 25
  3. Final: 22

Mountain West Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the Mountain West Championship Game

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Mountain West Conference
AP final
No. 22 peak No. 22
Points
455–⁠320
Coach
Bryan Harsin
Elo
1682 +102 this season
SP+ rating
9.1 No. 37 of 128; offense No. 63, defense No. 26, special teams No. 28
SRS
7.1 No. 37 of 130 in FBS
Returning
61% of last season’s EPA, No. 63 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 64 roster talent No. 71 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Zak Hill
Defensive coordinator
Andy Avalos
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense51st of 130
  • Defense34th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted39th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted45th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1244%1.1351st of 130
Defense0.0141%1.1934th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
0.05 def		44% off
42% def		—39th off
45th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.3own 3413% allowed
Defense3.5own 2917% caused

CORE rating 7.3, 32nd of 130 (offense 3.8, defense -3.6).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsBrett Rypien QB2,877 yds
Passing touchdownsBrett Rypien QB16 TD
Rushing yardsAlexander Mattison RB1,086 yds
Rushing touchdownsAlexander Mattison RB12 TD
Receiving yardsCedrick Wilson WR1,511 yds
Receiving touchdownsJake Roh TE9 TD
TacklesLeighton Vander Esch 141 tkl
SacksCurtis Weaver LB11 sacks
InterceptionsKekoa Nawahine S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Jermani Brown ATH★★★★No. 313
Octavius Evans WR★★★No. 668
Chase Cord PRO★★★No. 714
C.T. Thomas WR★★★No. 725
Ezekiel Noa ILB★★★No. 886

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.858
Running backs13.00.834
Receivers23.00.859
Offensive line23.00.815
Defensive line13.00.850
Linebackers23.00.845
Defensive backs53.00.828
Athletes and specialists14.00.895
Whole class153.10.841

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 1Leighton Vander Esch ILBDallas Cowboys
Rd 6Cedrick Wilson WRDallas Cowboys

Roster 98

The 2017 roster

98 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State7–⁠111–⁠322
Fresno State7–⁠110–⁠4
San Diego State6–⁠210–⁠3
Wyoming5–⁠38–⁠5
Colorado State5–⁠37–⁠6
Utah State4–⁠46–⁠7
UNLV4–⁠45–⁠7
Air Force4–⁠45–⁠7
Nevada3–⁠53–⁠9
Hawai’i1–⁠73–⁠9
New Mexico1–⁠73–⁠9
San José State1–⁠72–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.