Wet weather incoming? Forecast for Boise State vs. South Florida

Tropical weather has impacted Boise State’s last two trips to the state of Florida. 

The Broncos were supposed to open the 2019 season against Florida State in a neutral-site contest in Jacksonville, but the game was moved to Tallahassee due to Hurricane Dorian. In his first career start, freshman quarterback Hank Bachmeier led Boise State to a 36-31 win. 

Two years later, a lightning storm delayed the start of the Broncos’ 2021 opener at UCF by nearly three hours. Boise State coughed up an early 21-0 lead in a 36-31 loss to the Knights and quarterback Dillon Gabriel. 

No. 25 Boise State is set to open the 2025 season on Thursday at South Florida, and thunderstorms are a possibility as the 3:30 p.m. Mountain time kickoff looms. 

The National Weather Service forecast for Tampa, Florida lists a 40 percent chance of afternoon thunderstorms with a high temperature around 90 degrees and a heat index between 100 and 105 due to high humidity. Thunderstorm chances peak around 2 p.m. Mountain time.

To prepare for Florida’s temperamental late-summer weather, Boise State regularly practiced in the heat and worked on wet ball drills. Head coach Spencer Danielson also put the Broncos through a mock lightning delay in practice that included a change of venue, sprinklers and hoses. 

“I’ve been a part of a lot of different trips out East for Game 1 from Florida State to Central Florida to Georgia Southern last year,” said Danielson, who has been with Boise State since 2017. “And there’s things that as you go through it, you learn and grow. Our prep, how we hydrate our guys, how we train, things you learn over the years. So we tried to put that into practice this fall camp.

“There’s a lot of things Game 1, the environment, that we just try … my goal as a coach is to make sure our guys are not thrown off by whatever it is. If it’s fill-in-the-blank weather, that’s the game. South Florida is playing in the exact same deal as we are.”

Danielson said it’s important for the Broncos to focus on what they can control entering Thursday’s opener. 

“We just have to stay consistent and keep our focus, especially with the tempo and all the things outside … the travel,” Danielson said. “I know without question that it’s going to be a packed house on Thursday night. That’s happening. We can’t control that, can’t control the weather. We can control our prep.”