HONOLULU — Hawaii football fans could get their last in-person look at a one-sided rivalry this weekend.
Boise State, the class of conference competition for UH over the last two-plus decades, will make what could be its final appearance in the islands for the foreseeable future on Saturday. The Broncos are one of five Mountain West Conference programs who last month announced they will join the Pac-12 in 2026.
That could be one reason that Saturday’s 5 p.m. nationally televised game at the 15,300-seat Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex proved a hot ticket. On Friday afternoon, it became the second of four home dates to date to sell out this season.
Other reasons? Try these: The No. 17 Broncos have the proud program’s highest ranking since 2019, lead the nation in offense and boast a leading Heisman Trophy candidate in junior running back Ashton Jeanty, who is averaging better than a first down per carry.
BSU (4-1, 1-0 Mountain West) is a three-touchdown favorite over UH (2-3, 0-1), which fell painfully short at San Diego State, 27-24, in its conference opener last week.
UH coach Timmy Chang remarked this week on BSU’s annual contention for conference championships, including last season when Spencer Danielson was raised to interim head coach late in the year and led the Broncos to three straight wins capped with the MWC championship against UNLV.
“They’re going to be a tough opponent,” Chang said Tuesday. “For us, they’re the standard in this conference. And so, anytime you have a chance to measure yourself up, your program, and who we are, we’re going to do that.”
For his part, Danielson, BSU’s 35-year-old, now full-time head coach, mentioned the programs’ shared history in their WAC and MWC eras this century and the pending breakup during his weekly press conference on Monday.
“We’ve been over there playing for years, probably for decades,” said Danielson, who came to Boise as a graduate assistant in 2017. “And so with us moving conferences here in the future, we’re going to play them less. I don’t know if we’ll never play them again, but there’s a lot of history between us. We’ve had a lot of big-time battles with them.”
Big-time battles that have almost exclusively gone the way of the Blue and Orange. UH has lost nine straight to the Broncos, and 15 of 16, with the notable exception in 2007, when Colt Brennan guided UH to a 39-27 UH win for the WAC championship at rollicking Aloha Stadium.
The teams have not played since BSU visited Aloha Stadium in the COVID-19-impacted 2020 season, when no fans were in the stands. BSU defensive back Kaonohi Kaniho, a Kahuku alumnus, got to play in that 40-32 Broncos win, but Saturday will be the first time his family has watched him play here in person.
Danielson lauded Kaniho, who followed in his older brother Kekaula’s footsteps as a Bronco. Kaonohi remained at BSU for his education while having a daughter back in the islands he rarely gets to see.
“(Being back in Hawaii) is a huge deal for Nohi, it’s a huge deal for our entire team, because this is the biggest game of our season to date,” Danielson said. He added that Hawaii has meant much to the Bronco program over the years as a recruiting hotbed, and that his staff is actively courting two players from the state.
BSU has won the last four games between the teams in Honolulu (2009, 2012, 2016, 2020) by an average margin of 31 points.
The Broncos are coming off a 62-30 home win over Utah State, in which the Broncos generated more than 600 yards of offense but gave up more than 500 to the Aggies.
BSU leads the country in points per game (50.6) and the Mountain West in total offense (537.6), while UH leads the Mountain West in points allowed (19.0) and total defense (309.4).
Danielson acknowledged a weakness in passing defense after USU threw for 372 yards, and specifically mentioned the Brayden Schager-Pofele Ashlock connection that has resulted in about a third of UH’s catches, yards and touchdowns. The sophomore has 40 grabs for 428 yards and four TDs.
“I know that if I’m the University of Hawaii and I’m Coach Chang, I can’t wait to play the Broncos,” he said.
Much of BSU’s prolific offense is generated by Jeanty, the FBS leader in rushing yards per game (206.2) and rushing touchdowns (16). He averages nearly 11 yards per carry — including 8.9 yards when opponents stack the tackle box with eight or more defenders.
Of Jeanty's 1,031 yards on the ground this season (plus 19 receiving), 755 have come after contact, underscoring his physicality to pair with elite elusiveness.
Boise State has launched a “HEI2MAN” campaign for the 5-foot-9, 225-pound back from Jacksonville, Fla., bearing No. 2. In a sense, he's often been too good for his own good; he has been pulled from multiple games at halftime, including the runaway at USU when he amassed 186 yards and three touchdowns in the first two quarters.
Defensive lineman Jamar Sekona said he thinks UH has everything it needs to succeed Saturday.
“I think the team sees this as an opportunity, a gut check and a way to see where we stand,” said Sekona, a USC transfer. “Basically, where our pride is.”
Linebacker Jamih Otis called Jeanty a “great back” but seconded Sekona.
“Games like this, we live for these games,” said Otis, who is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss with five. “A lot of guys when we were young, we’d watch these type of games on TV and now we’re playing in it. This week, just taking full advantage of it, great team coming like this into our house. They’re giving us an opportunity.”
BSU has converted 56.3% of its third downs this season, a top-three rate in FBS.
Schager, who set the record for consecutive starts by UH quarterback last week at 27, said that the Warriors’ offense needs to do its part by sustaining drives and giving the defense a break.
He needs 200 yards to surpass Cole McDonald for fourth on the school’s all-time passing list, which would also put him over 8,000 yards.
“It’s very cool,” Schager said of the matchup. “It kind of reminds me of my first year playing against Fresno (State), my first career start against a ranked team. And then obviously getting to play against a great player like (Jeanty) is very exciting.”
BSU’s Maddux Madsen leads the MWC in quarterback efficiency rating at 150.15.
The Broncos' only loss was on Sept. 7, 37-34 to Oregon, which is now ranked No. 3.
Boise State jumped to the FBS (at the time called NCAA I-A Division) in 1996. Fred VonAppen's UH team beat the Broncos 20-14 at home that season and June Jones' first UH squad topped the Broncos 34-19 in 1999. But by the time BSU joined the WAC in 2001, it was good enough to beat UH 28-21 on homecoming night at Aloha Stadium.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.