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2019 Boise State

12–⁠2 (8–⁠0 Mountain West Conference), coached by Bryan Harsin, finished No. 23 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Boise State in 2019, game by game: won at Florida State 36–31; won vs. Marshall 14–7; won vs. Portland State 45–10; won vs. Air Force 30–19; won at UNLV 38–13; won vs. Hawai’i 59–37; lost at BYU 25–28; won at San José State 52–42; won vs. Wyoming 20–17; won vs. New Mexico 42–9; won at Utah State 56–21; won at Colorado State 31–24; won vs. Hawai’i 31–10; lost vs. Washington 7–38+35−31Won 36–31 at Florida State+5Florida StateWon 14–7 vs. Marshall+7MarshallWon 45–10 vs. Portland State+35Portland StateWon 30–19 vs. Air Force+11Air ForceWon 38–13 at UNLV+25UNLVWon 59–37 vs. Hawai’i+22Hawai’iLost 25–28 at BYU-3BYUWon 52–42 at San José State+10San José StateWon 20–17 vs. Wyoming+3WyomingWon 42–9 vs. New Mexico+33New MexicoWon 56–21 at Utah State+35Utah StateWon 31–24 at Colorado State+7Colorado StateWon 31–10 vs. Hawai’i+21Hawai’iLost 7–38 vs. Washington-31Washington
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atFlorida StateW 36–⁠3160%
Sep 6vsMarshallW 14–⁠770%
Sep 14vsPortland StateW 45–⁠1093%
Sep 20vsAir ForceW 30–⁠1974%
Oct 5atUNLVW 38–⁠1381%
Oct 12vsHawai’iW 59–⁠3778%
Oct 19atBYUL 25–⁠2873%
Nov 2atSan José StateW 52–⁠4280%
Nov 9vsWyomingW 20–⁠1773%
Nov 16vsNew MexicoW 42–⁠993%
Nov 23atUtah StateW 56–⁠2160%
Nov 29atColorado StateW 31–⁠2482%
Dec 7vsHawai’iMountain West Championship GameW 31–⁠1080%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvsWashingtonLas Vegas BowlL 7–⁠3862%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Washington 38–⁠7 in the Las Vegas Bowl; No. 23 in the final AP poll; Mountain West Conference champions.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 24
  2. Wk 3: 22
  3. Wk 4: 20
  4. Wk 5: 16
  5. Wk 6: 16
  6. Wk 7: 14
  7. Wk 8: 14
  8. Wk 9: 22
  9. Wk 10: 21
  10. Wk 11: 21
  11. Wk 12: 19
  12. Wk 13: 20
  13. Wk 14: 20
  14. Wk 15: 19
  15. Wk 16: 18
  16. Final: 23

Mountain West Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the Mountain West Championship Game

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Mountain West Conference
AP final
No. 23 peak No. 14
Points
486–⁠306
Coach
Bryan Harsin
Elo
1697 +63 this season
SP+ rating
8.1 No. 37 of 130; offense No. 38, defense No. 48, special teams No. 56
SRS
8.4 No. 30 of 130 in FBS
Returning
33% of last season’s EPA, No. 114 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 50 roster talent No. 67 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Zak Hill and Eric Kiesau
Defensive coordinators
Spencer Danielson and Jeff Schmedding
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense29th of 130
  • Defense37th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted35th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted42nd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1746%1.2129th of 130
Defense0.0442%1.2437th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.15 off
0.06 def		44% off
41% def		—35th off
42nd 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
Offense4.0own 3017% allowed
Defense3.5own 2921% caused

CORE rating 10.9, 25th of 130 (offense 3.2, defense -7.7).

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 yardsHank Bachmeier QB1,879 yds
Passing touchdownsJaylon Henderson QB12 TD
Rushing yardsGeorge Holani RB990 yds
Rushing touchdownsGeorge Holani RB6 TD
Receiving yardsJohn Hightower WR943 yds
Receiving touchdownsJohn Hightower WR8 TD
TacklesRiley Whimpey LB83 tkl
SacksCurtis Weaver LB13.5 sacks
InterceptionsKekoa Nawahine S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Hank Bachmeier PRO★★★★No. 243
Casey Kline ATH★★★★No. 308
George Holani RB★★★No. 498
Lolani Langi OLB★★★No. 672
Khyheem Waleed WR★★★No. 680

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.911
Running backs13.00.885
Receivers33.00.860
Offensive line23.00.837
Defensive line33.00.844
Linebackers13.00.874
Defensive backs13.00.859
Athletes and specialists43.00.856
Whole class163.10.859

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 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 2Ezra Cleveland OTMinnesota Vikings
Rd 5Curtis Weaver DEMiami Dolphins
Rd 5John Hightower WRPhiladelphia Eagles

Roster 102

The 2019 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State8–⁠012–⁠223
Air Force7–⁠111–⁠222
Utah State6–⁠27–⁠6
San Diego State5–⁠310–⁠3
Hawai’i5–⁠310–⁠5
Wyoming4–⁠48–⁠5
Nevada4–⁠47–⁠6
Colorado State3–⁠54–⁠8
San José State2–⁠65–⁠7
UNLV2–⁠64–⁠8
Fresno State2–⁠64–⁠8
New Mexico0–⁠82–⁠10

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