Boise State a ‘Different Animal’ Inside Albertsons Stadium
LARAMIE -- There's just something about that blue turf.
Love it or hate it, all Boise State seems to do is win inside Albertsons Stadium.
Since 2011, their first season in the Mountain West Conference, the Broncos are 62-14 at home. Nine of those setbacks have come against conference opponents, including two losses to Fresno State in the league title game.
UNLV has never beaten Boise State on "The Blue." Neither has Colorado State, San Jose State, Hawaii or Wyoming.
Utah State has won in Boise once. That came back in 1996. New Mexico pulled off a 31-24 stunner back in 2015. That's the Lobos only win against the Broncos in 13 tries. Both Air Force and San Diego State have claimed two victories inside that 36,387-seat venue, and Fresno State and Nevada have done it three times.
What makes that place such a house of horrors?
"I just think they have played really well at home," said Craig Bohl, who has lost in all four of his trips to Boise as the head coach at Wyoming. "There was initially, I think, the allure of the blue. That's kind of gone by the wayside, now I look at it as you're playing at Boise. But, I think, their rich tradition, their players really believe and they have a great home crowd. The last time we were over there we had a hard time with crowd noise. They're a passionate fanbase and their players play off that energy."
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Wyoming is 0-8 all-time in Boise. In fact, the Cowboys have beaten that program just one time in 17 tries. That came back in 2016 when Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and Brian Hill rushed for 146 yards in a 30-28 upset of the 13th-ranked team in the country.
Defensive tackle Chase Appleby sealed the deal in front of more than 24,000 inside Laramie's War Memorial Stadium, forcing a Brett Rypien fumble that bounced through the back of the end zone with just 1:25 left in regulation.
The other games in this series can be described in two words: Blowouts and heartbreak.
Wyoming has dropped its last three in Boise by an average of 7.6 points, including a 20-17 overtime loss to the No. 22 Broncos in 2019. Just 10 points have separated the two in those other meetings.
"This is a program that through the years has a reputation as a giant killer and a dominant football team," Bohl said. "Then, when you play them there, you know, I've talked to our players and said, 'don't look at some of the things that you saw, when they're at home, they're a different animal and we're going to get their best shot.
"Going to Boise is a really challenging place. They play particularly well at home. I know they take a great deal of pride playing at home."
The Cowboys (5-2, 2-1) will have yet another chance to come away with an elusive win on that field Saturday afternoon. Boise State limps into this matchup at 3-4 overall, one of those losses -- an 18-16 setback against Central Florida -- did come at home. Andy Avalos' Broncos are 2-1 in conference play.
Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on FS2.