1994 Boise State Broncos football team

1994 Boise State Broncos football
Big Sky Champions
National Runners-Up
Conference Big Sky Conference
Ranking
Coaches #2
1994 record 13–2 (6–1 Big Sky)
Head coach Pokey Allen
Home stadium Bronco Stadium
(Capacity: 20,000)

The 1994 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 1994 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Broncos competed in the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. The Broncos were led by second-year head coach Pokey Allen.

Boise State finished the regular season at 10–1 and 6–1 in conference to win their sixth Big Sky title, their first since the national championship season of 1980. The only blemish was a one-point loss at Idaho State in mid-October. To complete the regular season, BSU finally defeated rival Idaho for the first time since 1981, breaking a twelve-game winning streak for the Vandals. Both teams entered the game at 9–1 (and 5–1 in conference), and BSU head coach Pokey Allen promised to ride his horse down Boise's Broadway Ave, a street that runs past Bronco Stadium, if the game was a sellout. Allen fulfilled his promise.

I-AA Playoffs

Three Big Sky teams made the 16-team field for the I-AA playoffs: Boise State (10–1), Idaho (9–2), and Montana (9–2). Idaho lost a first round road game, and Montana won two home games before falling in the semifinals on the road to the eventual champion. The Broncos hosted and won three close games, against North Texas, Appalachian State, and Marshall to raise their overall record to 13–1. In the I-AA finals at Huntington, West Virginia, they were defeated by Jim Tressel's top-ranked Youngstown State 28–14. The 15 games are the most Boise State ever played in one season, and finished at 13–2.

The 1994 season is known by BSU fans as The Magic Carpet Ride, as the Broncos won all ten home games on the blue AstroTurf of Bronco Stadium. This was Boise State's last Big Sky title in football and final appearance in the I-AA playoffs; BSU moved up to Division I-A and the Big West Conference in 1996.

Schedule

Date Opponent Site Result Attendance
September 3 Northeastern* Bronco Stadium • Boise, ID W 36–26   19,509
September 10 Cal State Northridge* Bronco Stadium • Boise, ID W 40–19   19,489
September 17 Nevada* Bronco Stadium • Boise, ID W 37–27   21,669
September 24 Liberty* Bronco Stadium • Boise, ID W 35–7   21,584
October 1 at Northern Arizona Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ W 28–16   12,865
October 8 Weber State Bronco Stadium • Boise, ID W 24–17   23,226
October 15 at Idaho State Holt ArenaPocatello, ID L 31–32   10,267
October 22 at Montana State Reno H. Sales Stadium • Bozeman, MT W 38–10   7,407
November 5 Montana Bronco Stadium • Boise, ID W 38–14   22,630
November 12 at Eastern Washington Woodward FieldCheney, WA W 16–13   3,872
November 19 Idaho Bronco Stadium • Boise, ID - (BSU-UI rivalry) W 27–24   23,701
Division I-AA playoffs • 16 teams      
November 26 North Texas* Bronco Stadium • Boise, ID (Division I-AA 1st Round) W 24–20   14,706
December 3 Appalachian State* Bronco Stadium • Boise, ID (Division I-AA Quarterfinal) W 17–14   15,302
December 10 Marshall* Bronco Stadium • Boise, ID (Division I-AA Semifinal) W 28–24   20,068
December 17 vs. Youngstown State* Marshall StadiumHuntington, WV (Division I-AA Championship Game) L 14–28   27,674
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming.

References