2015 Boise State Broncos football team

2015 Boise State Broncos football
Poinsettia Bowl champion
Poinsettia Bowl, W 55–7 vs. Northern Illinois
Conference	Mountain West Conference
Division	Mountain Division
Record	9–4 (5–3 MW)
Head coach	Bryan Harsin (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Eliah Drinkwitz (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Marcel Yates (2nd season)
Base defense	Multiple
Home stadium	Albertsons Stadium
Seasons ←  2014 2016  →

2015 Mountain West Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
Air Force x		6	–	2					8	–	6
New Mexico		5	–	3					7	–	6
Utah State		5	–	3					6	–	7
Boise State		5	–	3					9	–	4
Colorado State		5	–	3					7	–	6
Wyoming		2	–	6					2	–	10
West Division
San Diego State x$		8	–	0					11	–	3
Nevada		4	–	4					7	–	6
San Jose State		4	–	4					6	–	7
Fresno State		2	–	6					3	–	9
UNLV		2	–	6					3	–	9
Hawaii		0	–	8					3	–	10
Championship: San Diego State 27, Air Force 24
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Broncos were led by second-year head coach Bryan Harsin and played their home games at Albertsons Stadium. They were members of the Mountain West Conference in the Mountain Division. They finished the season 9–4, 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in a four-way tie for second place in the Mountain Division. They were invited to the Poinsettia Bowl where they defeated Northern Illinois.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released.

Paul Hornung Award – Sr. WR Shane Williams-Rhodes ^[1]

Chuck Bednarik Award – Jr. DE Kamalei Correa & Sr. S Darian Thompson ^[2]

Rimington Trophy – Sr. C Marcus Henry ^[3]

Outland Trophy – Sr. C Marcus Henry ^[4]

Bronko Nagurski Trophy – Jr. DE Kamalei Correa & Sr. S Darian Thompson ^[5]

Jim Thorpe Award – Sr. CB Donte Deayon & Sr. S Darian Thompson ^[6]

Lombardi Award – Jr. DE Kamalei Correa, Sr. C Marcus Henry, Sr. OL Rees Odhiambo & Jr. LB Tanner Vallejo ^[7]

Fred Biletnikoff Award – Jr. WR Thomas Sperbeck ^[8]

Wuerffel Trophy – Sr. WR Shane Williams-Rhodes ^[9]

Walter Camp Award – Sr. S Darian Thompson ^[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 28 of a possible 30 first place votes. ^[11] Sr. C Marcus Henry and Sr. OL Rees Odhiambo were selected to the all-conference first team offense. Jr. DE Kamalei Correa, Jr. LB Tanner Vallejo, Sr. CB Donte Deayon and Sr. S Darian Thompson were selected to the all-conference first team defense. ^[12]

Media poll

Mountain Division

1. Boise State – 177 (28)
2. Utah State – 150 (2)
3. Colorado State – 108
4. Air Force – 90
5. Wyoming – 64
6. New Mexico – 41

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	8:15 p.m.	Washington *	No. 23	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN	W 16–13	36,836
September 12	8:15 p.m.	at BYU *	No. 20	LaVell Edwards Stadium Provo, UT	ESPN2	L 24–35	63,470
September 18	7:00 p.m.	Idaho State *		Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID (Battle for the Liberty Bell)	CBSSN	W 52–0	33,868
September 25	6:00 p.m.	at Virginia *		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ESPN	W 56–14	42,427
October 3	8:15 p.m.	Hawaii		Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN2	W 55–0	35,907
October 10	5:00 p.m.	at Colorado State	No. 25	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	CBSSN	W 41–10	26,117
October 16	7:00 p.m.	at Utah State	No. 21	Maverik Stadium Logan, UT	CBSSN	L 26–52	22,509
October 24	8:15 p.m.	Wyoming		Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN2	W 34–14	31,946
October 31	1:30 p.m.	at UNLV		Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	ESPNU	W 55–27	14,315
November 14	8:15 p.m.	New Mexico		Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPNU	L 24–31	32,780
November 20	7:30 p.m.	Air Force		Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN2	L 30–37	30,332
November 27	1:30 p.m.	at San Jose State		Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	CBSSN	W 40–23	15,770
December 23	2:30 p.m.	vs. Northern Illinois *		Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA (Poinsettia Bowl)	ESPN	W 55–7	21,501
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Schedule Source: ^[13]

Roster

2015 Boise State Broncos football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Shane Williams-Rhodes Sr QB 3 Thomas Stuart  So QB 4 Brett Rypien Fr QB 5 Garrett Collingham Fr WR 6 Chaz Anderson  Jr QB 7 Anthony Upshaw  Fr WR 8 Sean Modster  Fr WR 9 Bryan Jefferson Fr RB 10 Cory Young  Fr RB 13 Jeremy McNichols So QB 14 Ryan Finley  So WR 16 Taylor Pope  Jr WR 17 Austin Cottrell So QB 18 Alex Ogle  Fr WR 20 Terrell Johnson  Sr RB 21 Jack Fields Sr RB 26 Devan Demas  Jr WR 28 A. J. Richardson  Fr RB 30 Ryan Wolpin  So RB 39 Kelsey Young  Sr TE 47 Matt Pistone Fr OL 52 Andrew Tercek  So OL 57 Tennessee Su'ese'e  Fr OL 59 Mason Hampton  So OL 60 Kellen Buhr  Jr OL 63 Hunter Nettles Jr OL 66 Mario Yakoo  Jr OL 67 Garrett Larson Fr OL 68 Dan Urquhart  Jr OL 70 Steven Baggett  Jr OL 71 Rees Odhiambo  Sr OL 72 Marcus Henry  Sr OL 73 Travis Averill  Jr OL 74 Archie Lewis  So OL 76 Jerhen Ertel  Sr OL 77 John Molchon Fr OL 78 Andres Preciado  Fr OL 79 Eric Quevedo Fr WR 80 D. J. Dean  So WR 81 Akilian Butler Fr WR 82 Thomas Sperbeck Jr WR 83 David McKinzie  So TE 84 Jake Hardee  Sr TE 85 Holden Huff  Sr TE 86 Chase Blakley  Fr TE 87 Alec Dhaenans  So TE 88 Jake Roh  So WR 89 Brock Barr Jr TE 91 David Lucero  Fr TE 93 Jake Knight So	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 2 Jonathan Moxey Jr S 3 Chanceller James  Jr S 4 Darian Thompson  Sr CB 5 Donte Deayon Sr MLB 7 Joe Martarano  So DL 8 Kamalei Correa Jr CB 9 Mercy Maston  Sr CB 14 Tyler Horton Fr S 15 Evan Tyler Fr S 17 Brandon Brown  So DE 18 Jabril Frazier  Fr OLB 20 Tanner Vallejo Jr CB 21 Ladarryl Blair Fr OLB 22 Drew Berger Fr S 23 Damion Wright Fr LB 24 Kameron Miles  So CB 25 Raymond Ford  Jr CB 26 Garrett Estrada Fr CB 27 Donzale Roddie Fr S 29 Dylan Sumner-Gardner So CB 30 Isaiah Johnson  Fr S 31 Skyler Seibold  Fr DE 32 Rondell McNair  Sr OLB 33 Gabe Perez Jr S 34 Darreon Jackson Fr MLB 35 Marquis Hendrix Fr OLB 36 Tyler Gray Sr S 37 Cameron Hartsfield  So OLB 38 Leighton Vander Esch  Fr DT 40 Armand Nance Sr OLB 41 Will Heffner Fr MLB 43 Joe Provenzano  Fr MLB 44 Darren Lee Jr CB 47 Eric Yates  Fr DT 48 David Moa  Fr DL 50 Sawyer Shields Fr OLB 51 Ben Weaver  Jr DL 53 Sam Whitney Fr DL 54 Matt Locher Fr DT 55 Tutulupeatau Mataele  Sr DT 58 Robert Ash  Sr DT 69 Tyler Horn  Sr DT 90 Justin Taimatuia  Sr DE 91 Durrant Miles Fr DT 92 Paul Semons  Fr DE 94 Sam McCaskill  Jr DE 95 Khaleb Hill  Fr DT 96 Elliot Hoyte  Jr DT 97 Austin Silsby  So DT 98 Antoine Turner  Sr DT 99 Dereck Boles  Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 19 Sean Wale  Jr LS 42 Matt Cota  So LS 46 Kevin Keane Sr K 48 Blake Gonzalez  Fr K 49 Tyler Rausa  Jr K 93 Max O'Rourke 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 Eliah Drinkwitz – Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks Marcel Yates – Co-defensive coordinator/Safeties Andy Avalos – Co-defensive coordinator Junior Adams – Wide receivers Lee Marks – Running backs Scott Huff – Offensive linemen Julius Brown – Secondary Jeff Pitman – Director, Strength and Conditioning Byron Hout – Graduate assistant Tommy Smith – Graduate assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 8/14/23

Game summaries

Washington

See also: 2015 Washington Huskies football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	0	10	3	13
No. 24 Broncos	6	10	0	0	16

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Ryan Finley (BSU): 16–26, 129 YDS, 1 INT; Jake Browning (WASH): 20–34, 150 YDS, 1 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 24 CAR, 89 YDS, 2 TD; Dwayne Washington (WASH): 8 CAR, 14 YDS
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 3 REC, 28 YDS; Dwayne Washington (WASH): 7 REC, 68 YDS.

At BYU

See also: 2015 BYU Cougars football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 Broncos	7	3	14	0	24
Cougars	7	0	7	21	35

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Ryan Finley (BSU): 25–38, 297 YDS, 1 TD, 3 INT; Tanner Mangum (BYU): 17–28, 309 YDS, 2 TD, 2 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 15 CAR, 46 YDS, 2 TD; Adam Hine (BYU): 19 CAR, 93 YDS, 1 TD.
• Receiving leaders: Shane William-Rhodes (BSU): 11 REC, 107 YDS; Mitchell Juergens (BYU): 4 REC, 172 YDS, 2 TD.

Idaho State

See also: 2015 Idaho State Bengals football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	0	0	0	0	0
Broncos	14	7	28	3	52

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 8–9, 126 YDS; Michael Sanders (ISU): 21–42, 169 YDS, 1 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 15 CAR, 69 YDS, 3 TD; Xavier Finney (ISU): 14 CAR, 38 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 7 REC, 99 YDS; Madison Mangum (ISU): 7 REC, 98 YDS.

In the first quarter, starting quarterback Ryan Finley left the game after fracturing his right ankle. He was expected to miss eight weeks. ^[14] However, he did not return in the 2015 season. The last two Boise State starting quarterbacks to miss time with injuries were also from broken right ankles (Ryan Dinwiddie in 2002 and Joe Southwick in 2013).

At Virginia

See also: 2015 Virginia Cavaliers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	17	12	17	10	56
Cavaliers	7	7	0	0	14

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 24–35, 321 YDS, 3 TD; Matt Johns (UVA): 12–25, 199 YDS, 2 TD, 2 INT
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 9 CAR, 69 YDS, 1 TD; Daniel Hamm (UVA): 8 CAR, 22 YDS
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 5 REC, 121 YDS, 2 TD; Taquan Mizzell (UVA): 5 REC, 59 YDS, 1 TD

Hawaii

See also: 2015 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rainbow Warriors	0	0	0	0	0
Broncos	14	35	3	3	55

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

Jeremy McNichols during a 13-yard TD run in the 2nd quarter.

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 19–25, 271 YDS, 3 TD; Max Wittek (UH): 7–24, 66 YDS, 2 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 20 CAR, 108 YDS, 2 TD; Steven Lakalaka (UH): 8 CAR, 34 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Chaz Anderson (BSU): 5 REC, 95 YDS, 1 TD; Marcus Kemp (UH): 5 REC, 39 YDS.

At Colorado State

See also: 2015 Colorado State Rams football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Broncos	17	10	7	7	41
Rams	0	10	0	0	10

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

Boise State on offense in the first half.

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 22–35, 339 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT; Coleman Key (CSU): 5–19, 56 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 17 CAR, 104 YDS, 2 TD; Jasen Oden, Jr. (CSU): 19 CAR, 52 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 5 REC, 178 YDS, 2 TD; Rashard Higgins (CSU): 3 REC, 42 YDS.

At Utah State

See also: 2015 Utah State Aggies football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Broncos	3	7	7	9	26
Aggies	17	28	7	0	52

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 25–50, 299 YDS, 3 INT; Kent Myers (USU): 17–24, 157 YDS, 3 TD.
• Rushing leaders: Kelsey Young (BSU): 20 CAR, 60 YDS, 2 TD; Devante Mays (USU): 11 CAR, 63 YDS, 1 TD.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 6 REC, 156 YDS; Hunter Sharp (USU): 7 REC, 42 YDS, 2 TD.

Wyoming

See also: 2015 Wyoming Cowboys football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	7	0	7	14
Broncos	17	7	10	0	34

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 22–28, 211 YDS, 3 TD; Cameron Coffman (WYO): 8–13, 70 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 33 CAR, 166 YDS, 1 TD; Brian Hill (WYO): 23 CAR, 76 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 6 REC, 84 YDS, 2 TD; Jake Maulhardt (WYO): 6 REC, 76 YDS, 1 TD.

At UNLV

See also: 2015 UNLV Rebels football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	10	14	3	28	55
Rebels	3	14	3	7	27

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 35–52, 469 YDS, 2 TD; Blake Decker (UNLV): 29–50, 357 YDS, 2 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 22 CAR, 122 YDS, 1 TD; Xzaviar Campbell (UNLV): 9 CAR, 29 YDS, 1 TD.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 10 REC, 163 YDS; Devonte Boyd (UNLV): 10 REC, 116 YDS.

New Mexico

See also: 2015 New Mexico Lobos football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lobos	7	7	3	14	31
Broncos	0	3	7	14	24

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 41–75, 506 YDS, 2 TD, 3 INT; Austin Apodaca (UNM): 8–12, 172 YDS, 1 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 26 CAR, 128 YDS, 1 TD; Jhurell Pressley (UNM): 9 CAR, 132 YDS, 1 TD.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 20 REC, 281 YDS; Delane Hart-Johnson (UNM): 1 REC, 81 YDS.

Air Force

See also: 2015 Air Force Falcons football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	3	21	10	3	37
Broncos	13	0	7	10	30

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 23–48, 237 YDS, 1 TD; Karson Roberts (AF): 9–16, 279 YDS, 2 TD, 3 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 20 CAR, 151 YDS, 1 TD; Jacobi Owens (AF): 9 CAR, 132 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 7 REC, 79 YDS, 1 TD; Garrett Griffin (AF): 3 REC, 107 YDS, 1 TD.

At San Jose State

See also: 2015 San Jose State Spartans football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	9	7	24	40
Spartans	3	7	0	13	23

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 25–33, 197 YDS, 2 TD; Kenny Potter (SJSU): 28–41, 336 YDS, 3 TD, 2 INT.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 20 CAR, 192 YDS, 2 TD; Tyler Ervin (SJSU): 11 CAR, 52 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Thomas Sperbeck (BSU): 6 REC, 45 YDS; Billy Freeman (SJSU): 7 REC, 109 YDS, 1 TD.

Northern Illinois–Poinsettia Bowl

See also: 2015 Northern Illinois Huskies football team and 2015 Poinsettia Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	21	10	10	14	55
Huskies	0	7	0	0	7

Uniform Combination
Helmet	Jersey	Pants

• Passing leaders: Brett Rypien (BSU): 29–40, 377 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INT; Ryan Graham (NIU): 7–21, 38 YDS.
• Rushing leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 19 CAR, 93 YDS, 2 TD; Joel Bouagnon (NIU): 8 CAR, 16 YDS.
• Receiving leaders: Jeremy McNichols (BSU): 5 REC, 96 YDS, 1 TD; Kenny Golladay (NIU): 3 REC, 12 YDS.

Boise State out-gained Northern Illinois 654–33 in total yards. Boise State had 2 more first downs (35) than Northern Illinois had in total yards.

Rankings

Further information: 2015 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	23	20	RV	RV	RV	25	21	RV	—	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	RV
Coaches	24	22	RV	RV	RV	24	20	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	RV
CFP	Not released									—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

Scores by quarter

All opponents

1 2 3 4 Total Boise State 139 127 120 122 508 Opponents 47 108 40 68 263

Mountain West opponents

1 2 3 4 Total Boise State 57 78 34 95 264 MW Opponents 33 87 20 44 184

Post-season awards

Mountain West Freshman of the Year

Brett Rypien – Fr. QB (first Boise State player to win MW freshman of the year award)

Mountain West first team

Offense

Brett Rypien – Fr. QB

Thomas Sperbeck – Jr. WR

Marcus Henry – Sr. OL

Rees Odhiambo – Sr. OL

Tyler Rausa – Jr. K

Defense

Darian Thompson – Sr. DB

Mountain West second team

Offense

Jeremy McNichols – So. RB

Jake Roh – So. TE

Defense

Kamalei Correa – Jr. DL

Donte Deayon – Sr. DB

Mountain West honorable mention

Tyler Horn – Sr. DL

Tanner Vallejo – Jr. LB

Mario Yakoo – Jr. OL

Award Reference: ^[15]

References

1. "Watch List". Louisville Sports Commission. February 25, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
2. "2015 Pre-Season Watch Lists For The Maxwell and Benarik Awards". Maxwell Football Club. July 7, 2015. Archived from the original on August 21, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
3. "2015 Fall Watch List". Rimington Trophy. July 8, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
4. "FWAA > News > Outland Trophy Watch List". Sportswriters.net. July 10, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
5. "Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List". Football Writers Association of America. July 10, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
6. "Jim Thorpe Award Names 2015 Preseason Watch List" (PDF). National College Football Awards Association. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
7. "2015 Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List Announced". Rotary Lombardi Award. July 14, 2015. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
8. "2015 Biletnikoff Award Watch List". Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. July 22, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
9. "2015 Watch List". All Sports Association of Fort Walton Beach. December 12, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
10. "2015 Walter Camp Player of the Year Preseason Watch List Announced". Walter Camp Football Foundation, Inc. August 10, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
11. "Boise State, San Diego State, Picked to Win 2015 Mountain West Football Divisional Titles". Mountain West Conference. July 28, 2015. Archived from the original on August 31, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
12. "2015 Mountain West Football Preseason All-Conference Team". Mountain West Conference. July 28, 2015. Archived from the original on August 31, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
13. "2015 Boise State Broncos Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
14. "Boise State QB Ryan Finley likely to miss eight weeks with broken ankle | NCAA Football". Sporting News. September 21, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
15. MW. "Mountain West Announces 2015 Football All-Conference Teams and". Themwc.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2015.