Happy Thanksgiving at Boise State, where coaches are grateful after a year of change

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Boise State football fans have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season.

The Broncos secured an undefeated conference record following last weekend’s 17-13 victory over Wyoming, have clinched hosting rights for the Mountain West championship game and are in control of a berth in the College Football Playoff that might include a first-round bye.

And that’s on top of having one of the most dominant running backs in recent memory: likely Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty.

But what are Boise State’s coaches thankful for this year, other than the obvious success?

“It’s my wife’s birthday today, so let me start there,” head coach Spencer Danielson said Monday, holding himself back from saying her age. “She’s a rock star. She’s my foundation. I don’t do much around the house; she runs the whole thing. Just so thankful for her.”

The Saturday after Thanksgiving in the Danielson household is when the Christmas tree comes out. Growing up, a real Douglas fir tree from Home Depot was the only option.

Nowadays, Danielson isn’t home as much because of the time spent as head coach. There’s less time to find and take care of a good tree, so he’s had to settle for an artificial one.

On the football side, Danielson compared this week to where he and the Boise State program were a year ago. The Broncos had stumbled to a 7-5 record, with Danielson as the interim head coach after Andy Avalos’ firing.

“What these players have been through, what they’ve done in the calendar year,” Danielson said. “Man, I’m just so blessed to be a part (of it).”

He gave shout-outs to his coaching staff as well, saying a lot of the credit he gets should go to them. One of those guys is defensive coordinator Erik Chinander. He came to Boise State in December 2022 as the defensive line coach but was promoted to defensive coordinator when Danielson jumped from that position to lead the program.

“Thankful, for whatever reason, I got put in Boise,” Chinander said. “At a very tumultuous time in Boise football, but for some reason, God put me here, and it’s been a blessing ever since.”

Under Chinander’s leadership, the Broncos’ defense has the second-most sacks in the nation, with 43, improving from last year’s tally of 36. The defense ranks 60th in the country but has not given up more than 21 points in its past three games.

On the other side of the ball, offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter was short and sweet with his thanks: family and health. The 65-year-old Pocatello native, who was the head coach at Boise State from 1998 to 2000, had one more thing: “I’m thankful to live in a city like Boise, which supports our college football team.”

BOISE STATE VS. OREGON STATE

When: 10 a.m. Mountain time Friday

Where: Albertsons Stadium (36,363, turf)

TV: Fox

Radio: KBOI 670 AM and KBOI 93.1 FM/Sirius XM Ch. 162 or 201 (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)

Records: Boise State 10-1, 7-0; Oregon State 5-6

Series: Oregon State leads the series 6-4

Vegas line: Boise State by 20.5 points

Weather: High of 37, low of 18, humidity 70%, sunny, 5% chance of rain or snow