‘The run game was not even close to our standard;’ Boise State’s Spencer Danielson on South Florida performance

Despite losing record-smashing tailback Ashton Jeanty to the Las Vegas Raiders, Boise State’s running game wasn’t expected to take a major step back in 2025. 

With talented returnees Sire Gaines, Dylan Riley and Breezy Dubar and experienced transfer Malik Sherrod, the Broncos had an impressive stable of running backs on paper. 

“Our room, it got better,” Gaines said during fall camp. “We lost Ashton, but we’re only improving. We lose one to improve some.”

There were no signs of improvement during Boise State’s opener at South Florida, a ghastly 34-7 loss in which the Broncos ran for 122 yards on 38 carries (3.2 yards per carry) as a team. 

“The run game was not even close to our standard,” head coach Spencer Danielson said during his Monday press conference. “And we’re talking about effort and mentality, because that’s really at the end of the day why this game went the way it did. It’s a 10-7 ballgame with (eight) minutes left in the third, and we still hadn’t played even close to our best football. 

“When you look at some schematics, there’s a lot of stuff that I’m excited about that we can improve on. But a lot of it starts with just our effort, our fundamentals.”

Gaines, a redshirt freshman, ran for a team-best 44 yards on nine carries. Sherrod received the start and had 11 carries for 27 yards while Riley added 20 yards on seven touches. Dubar did not play due to injury. 

The running game production was a far cry from last season when Jeanty rushed for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns en route to a second-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting. 

“We are a run-first football team, end of story,” Danielson said. “That is what we are built for, that is what we recruit for, and we’ve got to stay true to that. And we lost some of that in this game. We are a run-first football team, we will play-action second and we will drop back third. That is who we are, and that’s what we’re going to be built to do.”

When asked if the running back rotation may shrink moving forward, Danielson said it’s a possibility. 

“Right now we’re looking at what do our players do best, and what do those numbers look like and who’s earned (carries),” Danielson said. “Because yes, we want to make sure we share that. We have playmakers — when they’re doing what they’re supposed to do. But we’ve got to figure out what fits our players best and make sure we stay there, and I know we can.”