Boise State Football

The 2021 Barstool Arizona Bowl has been canceled after Boise State withdrew due to COVID-19 issues within its program.

Central Michigan, who was scheduled to face Boise State in the Arizona Bowl will now face Washington State in the 2021 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on Friday. 

Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey expressed his disappointment for the cancellation in a statement.

"We feel for the young men in our program who were very much looking forward to closing out their season, and for some, their football careers," Dickey said.

The Broncos ended their season with a 7-5 record and finished third in the Mountain West mountain division with a conference record of 5-3. Boise State's last game was a 27-16 loss to San Diego State, which had ended a four-game win streak.

As for Central Michigan, the team will now shift its attention to Washington State. The Cougars were without an opponent after Miami was forced to withdraw from the Sun Bowl on Sunday because of COVID-19 issues.

The Arizona Bowl is the fifth bowl game to be impacted by the recent COVID-19 outbreak that has been affecting the sports world. The Military Bowl and Fenway Bowl were both canceled. Texas A&M withdrew from the Gator Bowl against Wake Forest and was replaced by Rutgers.

BYU's dream start hit a speed bump on Saturday, as the Cougars were upset by unranked Boise State 26-17 for their first loss of the season. 

The 10th-ranked Cougars dominated the stat sheet with a 413-312 advantage in total yards, but they committed four turnovers, including two in Boise State territory, that proved costly. 

Broncos wide receiver Khalil Shakir caught five passes for 66 yards in the win. Their rushing attack racked up 140 yards and two touchdowns on 45 carries and allowed them to control the clock. 

Saturday's win marks Boise State's first victory over a team ranked in the Associated Press Top 10 since the 2010 Fiesta Bowl against TCU. 

BYU quarterback Jaren Hall did throw an interception on the team's final drive with under two minutes to play, but the first three turnovers came on poor execution. 

Tyler Allgeier fumbled the ball away at BYU's 24-yard line midway through the second quarter with BYU leading 10-3.

Boise State needed just four plays to get into the end zone and tie the score. Cyrus Habibi-Likio capped off the drive with an 11-yard drive. 

On the ensuing kickoff, Lopini Katoa lost possession of the ball and the Broncos recovered. The Broncos took a 17-10 lead five plays later on Andrew Van Buren's third-down score from one yard out. 

Two field goals put Boise State up 23-10 midway through the third quarter. BYU seemed poised to at least get a field goal on its first possession of the second half, but Katoa fumbled again at the Broncos' 18-yard line. 

Allgeier did get BYU within six points on a touchdown run with 7:27 remaining in the fourth quarter. Boise State's ensuing possession sealed the win thanks to Jonah Dalmas' 22-yard field goal. 

Dalmas was put in position to even have a chance to kick the ball after Shakir caught a 35-yard pass with two defenders around him. 

Boise State (3-3) has had an inconsistent start to the season. It did play Oklahoma State and Central Florida close, losing both games by a combined six points. Head coach Andy Avalos got his first marquee win in his sixth game leading the program. 

BYU (5-1) fells from the ranks of the unbeaten, but there are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the program. It already has wins over Pac-12 teams Utah and Arizona State, the latter of which is currently ranked No. 22 in the AP Top 25.    

Boise State has reportedly found its next head football coach. 

First reported by B.J. Rains of the Idaho Press and confirmed by ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, the Broncos will hire Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos to replace Bryan Harsin. 

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports and The Athletic reported Avalos will receive a five-year contract. 

Rains noted the school is expected to officially announce Avalos' hiring on Friday night. 

New Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey tweeted to Broncos fans on Friday afternoon that he has "been working to bring you the next great (Broncos) head coach!"

Dickey ended the post with "coming soon..." and the eye emoji. 

Boise State found itself in the market for a new head coach after Harsin was hired by Auburn on Dec. 22. The Idaho native went 69-19 in seven seasons with the program. 

Avalos will be returning to his alma mater as head coach when the hiring becomes official. He played linebacker for four seasons at Boise State from 2001-05. 

Since graduating from college, Avalos has worked his way up the coaching ranks. The 39-year-old began his career as a graduate assistant at Colorado from 2006-08. He was an assistant at Boise State from 2012-18 for Chris Petersen and Harsin. 

Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal hired Avalos as his defensive coordinator in February 2019. The Ducks ranked ninth in the nation in scoring defense (16.5 points allowed per game) in Avalos' first season.

Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore reportedly has "high interest" in Boise State's open head coach position, per Mike Prater of KTIK Sports Radio and the Idaho Press:

Moore, 32, started at quarterback for Boise State from 2008 to 2011. He was a two-time WAC Offensive Player of the Year, one-time Mountain West Player of the Year and a Heisman Trophy finalist during his Broncos tenure. In addition, Moore completed 69.8 percent of his passes for 14,667 yards and 142 touchdowns.

The Broncos also went 50-3 with Moore, who guided them to three Top 10 Associated Press poll finishes and a high of No. 4 in 2009, when the team went 14-0 and won the Fiesta Bowl.

Moore went undrafted but landed with the Detroit Lions in 2012. He stayed with the organization until 2015 before it released him. He then signed with the Dallas Cowboys and started the team's last two games of the 2015 season.

He missed the entire 2016 campaign with a fractured fibula and was on the active roster and practice squad in 2017 before retiring.

Moore rejoined Dallas as its quarterbacks coach in 2018. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019 and stayed on staff for 2020 despite Jason Garrett's firing and Mike McCarthy's hiring.

As Prater noted, Moore isn't the only person interested in the job. Andy Avalos, a former Boise State linebacker who works as Oregon's defensive coordinator, is also up for the gig. Avalos was a first-team All-WAC player in 2003 and 2004 and had 365 career tackles.

Avalos coached at Colorado, Nebraska-Kearney and Sacramento State before returning to Boise State in 2012. He coached defensive linemen in 2012 and 2013 and linebackers in 2014 and 2015 before adding defensive coordinator responsibilities in 2016. He left Boise State for Oregon in 2019.

Whomever takes over the Boise State gig will be replacing Bryan Harsin, who resigned to lead Auburn. The Broncos went 5-2 in 2020 and lost to San Jose State in the Mountain West Conference Championship Game.

Boise State coaches are included in the employee furloughs announced by university president Marlene Tromp on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Idaho Statesman's Ron Counts. 

The Idaho Statesman's Katherine Jones had relayed Tromp's internal email disclosing the furloughs for all university faculty and staff, including those on contracts, earning more than $40,000 on Monday.

"I hope our swift action now can help us avoid what could be more grave action later and provide for the long-term well-being of both our community and the institution," Tromp wrote.

Per Jones, "The highest-paid employees, those who make more than $150,000 a year, will take 10 furlough days. The lowest-paid full-time employees ($40,000-$74,999) will take four furlough days. Those making $100,000-$149,999 will take seven furlough days and those making $75,000-$99,999 will have five."

Per Counts, football coach Bryan Harsin, men's basketball coach Leon Rice and women's basketball coach Gordy Presnell each fall under the salary category dictating 10 furlough days, as do most of the Broncos assistant football coaches. Baseball coach Gary Von Tol will be required to take five furlough days.

Tromp outlined a "nearly $10 million impact" from losses related to canceling "millions of dollars in revenue-generating events through the school year and into the summer" because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Boise State canceled its spring sports on March 12 as a result of the pandemic.

Boise State outside linebackers coach and co-special teams coordinator told The Athletic's Dave Southorn on April 7 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. 

Boise State outside linebackers coach and co-special teams coordinator Zac Alley said on Tuesday that he is "feeling good" after testing positive for COVID-19 last week, per The Athletic's Dave Southorn. 

Alley told Southorn that "every breath was like taking a knife and sticking it through your ribs" while he was battling COVID-19.

The 26-year-old added: "I had no symptoms, anything, and in about a 24-hour period, I went from zero to 100. I didn't think it was a big deal throughout the day and next thing I know, it was like, 'All right, we probably need to go to the hospital.' I don't recommend it to anybody, it was definitely one of the worst pains I've felt in my life."

Boise State partnered with St. Luke's Health, where Alley was tested and treated, on March 25:

The university had suspended all athletic activity on March 12:

Southorn noted that "Boise State had vacated the football facilities more than a week" before Alley started experiencing symptoms.

Alley was hired by Boise State in March 2019 after serving as a graduate assistant at Clemson from 2015-18 and a nickels coach at Charlotte in 2018-19.

There is growing uncertainty that the 2020 college football season will be able to start on time because of COVID-19. The Athletic's Bruce Feldman reported on April 3 that the possibility has been "kicked around" to play next season in spring 2021.