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jdgaucho

The Last Dance, Boise edition - look back at the 2000 Broncos

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Inspired by the '97-'98 Chicago Bulls "Last Dance" series.

@halfmanhalfbronco , @bsu_alum9, @BSUTOP25 , @Ibanez, @Jeffkills , @RogueStout, @Boise fan , @boisewitha-s , @Broncomare , @bsubroncochick , @soupslam1 , @nocoolnamejim and all ye Bronco faithful.  We're turning back the clock to the year 2000.

 

Boise State football entered the new millennium riding high.  Fresh off a successful 1999 season in which they won 10 games, a league championship, and a bowl game - all firsts in their brief Division 1A / FBS era - the Broncos accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference beginning in July 2001.  By the end of the decade they established themselves as a national power with a pair of top 10 finishes and a pair of Fiesta Bowl wins.

But before their climb towards the top of the rankings, before the BCS busting could start, one task remained for Broncos' head coach Dirk Koetter: win the Big West crown and return to the Humanitarian Bowl once again.   For both Boise State and the Big West - a conference that would drop football at the end of the year - the 2000 season represented their last dance together.

 

174802469_2000Boiseschedule.jpg.2186b81f9f9672b304336d5d551895a7.jpg

 

 

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Boise's 2000 campaign kicked off on September 2nd with a visit to UNM.  The Broncos won 31-14 over the Lobos; all of Boise's scoring took place in the first half.  This was their seventh win in a row dating back to the 1999 season.

Shaunard Harts capped off a 28-0 start in the second quarter with an interception returned nine yards for a touchdown.  This was his second consecutive game with a pick 6, the previous being in the 1999 Humanitarian Bowl vs Louisville.  New Mexico quarterbacks Rudy Caamano and Jeremy Denson both threw interceptions and were a combined 12 / 26 for 122 yards.

Photo courtesy of the Albuquerque Journal, Page D10 on September 3rd.

http://www.broncofootballstats.com/games.php?show=details&game_id=1338

400854699_2000BoiseStateatUNM(3).jpg.5033e6b5b5ff8b48b383f8dede6e2849.jpg

 

 

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as promised, @halfmanhalfbronco, I started the thread.  I hope this helps you and all Bronco faithful as we all deal with covid 19.

I was a sophomore in hs when the 2000 season rolled around and I wish I had been in Boise around this time. Bronco fans must have believed they were close to knocking down the door to something special. 

But I also wondered if they felt sad that the conference they were leaving was dropping football.  

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Through AP photos, newspaper galleries, other photo archives, I've compiled quite a bit on the 2000 season.  Some photos from that season are just a drag to find.  Boise played Northern Iowa, at Arkansas State and at North Texas.  Those are my equivalent to the holy grail.

 

@#1Stunner , you're a Rocky Long guy so you'll get a kick out of this.  In the September 3rd, 2000 edition of the Albuquerque Journal.  Rick Wright started out his column with...

"Is it the coaching?  You bet your Boise it is. And no, it is not a Rocky Long must go column.  It's a Rocky Long must go forward - and not in circles - column." That might have looked familiar to Aztec fans two decades later.

and... "on defense, it's perhaps no surprise that Koetter's Broncos ripped through Long's and defensive coordinator Bronco Mendenhall's defense in the first half.  By Long's own admission, Koetter - who opposed him and Mendenhall at earlier coaching stops - almost always has had the upper hand when they met." 

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/58617281/

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/58617422/

I did not know Bronco Mendenhall was UNM's defensive coordinator.  Good stuff

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4 minutes ago, halfmanhalfbronco said:

This is a fun thread.

 

what do you remember, if anything, about the 2000 season?  

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1 hour ago, jdgaucho said:

 

what do you remember, if anything, about the 2000 season?  

It was the second year our family had season tickets.  I was 9 and the only Boise State fan in my class at St Mary's where "Idaho" was the cool team to like.  I remember going to school on Monday after we beat their ass after all the shit talking the week before was glorious.

 

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56 minutes ago, jdgaucho said:

I was a sophomore in hs when the 2000 season rolled around and I wish I had been in Boise around this time. Bronco fans must have believed they were close to knocking down the door to something special. 

I was a HS freshman at the time. Didn’t really follow Boise much until 2002-2003. Was at BSU from 2004-2009...so I can’t really complain.

I think you are right about the feeling of knocking on the door, though. The ‘99 bowl game vs Louisville seemed to light the spark that would carry the Broncos into one of the most successful decades ever.

https://youtu.be/xkgiutE6Qps

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1 hour ago, halfmanhalfbronco said:

It was the second year our family had season tickets.  I was 9 and the only Boise State fan in my class at St Mary's where "Idaho" was the cool team to like.  I remember going to school on Monday after we beat their ass after all the shit talking the week before was glorious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjdDMzGXOLE

Didn't realize you were so young..

They let you buy beer yet?

New-Signature.jpg

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20 minutes ago, Jeffkills said:

Somehow, this guy fit right in there...

brock-forsey-36-running-back-of-the-bois

 

Brock Forsey, one of a handful of players who led the transition into the WAC.  Three Humanitarian Bowls in four years.  

Straight outta the 2019 Boise State Football Record book, page 79.

767543287_1999BoiseStatevsLouisvilleHumanitarianBowlBrockForsey.png.365e2a1b99b86654ea50aa11ca0a6b8b.png

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Week 2, September 9th.  Boise kicked off their home schedule against Northern Iowa.  After struggling with the Panthers in the first half - they only led 21-17 over their 1AA / FCS guests - the Broncos pulled away in the 2nd half for a 42-17 victory.  Their winning streak was now 8 in a row dating back to the middle of the 1999 season.

Offensively, Brock Forsey rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 11.1 yards a carry.  He also set a BSU record with 292 all-purpose yards.  Bart Hendricks was 16/24 for 341 yards and 3 TDs / 2 INTs.  Lou Fanucchi had five receptions for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

http://www.broncofootballstats.com/games.php?show=details&game_id=1339

 

A few days later in the September 12th edition of The Northern Iowan, UNI's student newspaper, Panther DB David Gunn and head coach Mike Dunbar both praised Forsey by calling him tough and talented.

https://indexuni.library.uni.edu/articles/45328

00000121.jpg

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Week 3, September 16th.  Little Rock, Arkansas - Boise's comeback effort against Arkansas in War Memorial Stadium fell one yard short when Jay Swillie was knocked out of bounds at the 1 yard line on 4th and goal in the final minute.  The Broncos fell to 2-1 on the season and their eight game winning streak dating back to the 1999 season came to an end.

https://www.broncofootballstats.com/games.php?show=details&game_id=1340

 

The Baxter Bulletin, page 9.  Monday September 18, 2000

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59505558/

Baxter_Bulletin_Mon__Sep_18__2000_.jpg.242996adf3889490e5329e296e4612ea.jpg

 

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 I like how Houston Nutt embraced several of the Broncos after the game.  He must been proud of his former players.  This one had to sting Boise for a while, though.

How DID Nutt land the job at Arkansas?  Boise was just 5-6 in his lone season there.  He must have made one great sales pitch.

 

A color photo of Boo Williams scoring the winning touchdown vs Boise, courtesy of Danny Johnston of the AP

2000 Boise State at Arkansas.jpg

 

highlights

 

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On 9/17/2020 at 10:14 PM, jdgaucho said:

Boise's comeback effort against Arkansas in War Memorial Stadium fell one yard short when Jay Swillie was knocked out of bounds at the 1 yard line on 4th and goal in the final minute. 

Just watched the highlights and this might have turned out differently with replay rules we have today. So close.

 

6A1345EA-2E0F-4E72-B5FB-4B9B2D62CD65.jpeg

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28 minutes ago, bsu_alum9 said:

Just watched the highlights and this might have turned out differently with replay rules we have today. So close.

 

6A1345EA-2E0F-4E72-B5FB-4B9B2D62CD65.jpeg

 

Perhaps, and if it was somehow overturned I think Koetter would have gone for 2 and the win.  The Hogs finished 6-6 in 2000, btw.

Boise faced Arkansas again in '02 with several holdovers from the 2000 team, and were run out of Fayetteville.

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Week 4.  September 23rd.  The Broncos rebounded with a 47-10 drubbing of Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant.  Boise State racked up 515 yards of total offense.  Boise improved to 3-1

http://www.broncofootballstats.com/games.php?show=details&game_id=1341

 

Photo courtesy of The Times Herald, page 27 on September 24th.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/212482749

 1646846428_2000BoiseStateatCentralMichigan.jpg.5d855fdef03715ec9f3f5b22913d85d8.jpg

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After a bye week, D. Ross and the Broncos headed out to Pullman on October 7th to take on Washington State.  Boise jumped out to an early 14-7 lead, but it was the Cougars who ultimately prevailed 42-35 in Pullman.  Washington State was aided by four Boise turnovers (3 fumbles, one pick).  

The Broncos were now 3-2

http://www.broncofootballstats.com/games.php?show=details&game_id=1342

666664065_2000BoiseStateatWazzuD_Ross.png.b6f69f2c08b5b66f9bfd8fb3b8fd58b6.png

 

Photo courtesy of The Spokesman-Review, page C1 (29) on October 8th.  

https://www.newspapers.com/image/575492122

2098264148_2000BoiseStateatWazzu.jpg.765f2aa1acf9ea0bf37bc4f8d140ea99.jpg

 

Photo courtesy of the Spokesman-Review, page C8 (36).

https://www.newspapers.com/image/575492173

29421627_2000BoiseStateatWazzu(2).jpg.d26c81efb7917d99454e072feb210da5.jpg

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Week 7, October 14th.   Homecoming Weekend.  Boise State hosted Eastern Washington in the last tuneup before conference play.  D. Ross and the Broncos defeated Eastern Washington 41-23.  The headline for the Spokesman-Review was "Eastern's Hopes Gone in 90 Seconds."  The Eagles had six turnovers, three of them on kickoffs.  

Boise improved to 4-2

http://www.broncofootballstats.com/games.php?show=details&game_id=1343

 

photo courtesy of The Spokesman-Review, page C7 (37) on October 15th

https://www.newspapers.com/image/575483537/

946831570_2000BoiseStateD.RossvsEasternWashington.jpg.6f4629f4147be0ae44b0d7bf277f45e9.jpg

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