Offensive line continues paving way for Bronco offense

BOISE — Boise State football coach Spencer Danielson said there’s a moment from Dylan Riley’s third touchdown in Saturday’s 64-38 win against Colorado State he keeps showing to his team in this week.

It’s not the Heisman pose Riley flashed after running 31 yards for a score, a pose which caught the attention of fans. Instead, Danielson showed the photo of right guard Roger Carreon knocking over Rams’ defensive end Kenyon Agurs, allowing the Bronco running back to run through the hole.

“That’s one of my favorite plays from the game,” Danielson said. “That’s team football. We have that picture in a lot of our power points this week because team, team, team. Dylan Riley is playing his tail off this season, but the only way Dylan can play his tail off is if the offensive line and coaches have a great plan, the tight ends and receivers, the quarterback. It takes everybody.”

The offensive line certainly has been a large part of a driving force behind an offense which ranks 10th in the nation, scoring 39 points per game this season. They’ve paved the way for the Broncos (8-1, 5-0 Pac-12) in both the run game and in pass protecting. Coming into Saturday’s game against Oregon State (5-4, 3-2), the Broncos have run for 237.1 yards per game and allowed just seven sacks, both of which rank seventh in the nation.

Just this week, the unit was named a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award, given to the top offensive line in the country. It’s the only major college football award given to a position group rather than an individual.

“Coach Danielson says it all the time, teams are going to have to do something different in order to challenge us or stop us,” said left tackle Tyler Ethridge. “So just with our chemistry and communication, even if we don’t know what we’re doing, we’re going to talk about it before the ball is snapped, that way everybody is on the same page. If we’re on the same page, that’s going for Mad Dog (quarterback Maddux Madsen) or Cutty (quarterback Max Cutforth), whoever is back there, and it’s going to open up the receivers and Dylan and the run game. So, we know it all starts with us, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Against the Rams, Boise State rushed for 352 yards, the 11th time since joining the FBS in 1996 that Boise State has run for more than 350 yards and the second time this season. The Broncos rushed for 357 yards against Memphis.

With Madsen, the starting quarterback, out with a minor knee injury against Colorado State, Boise State only allowed backup Max Cutforth to be sacked once as he threw for 317 yards, the first time this season that any Boise State quarterback has thrown for more than 300 yards.

“I think that’s just us taking pride in our assignment, being assignment perfect,” Ethridge said. “We know the less contact beforehand that we can allow, the better for the running backs. If we can block up, get a hat on a hat, we know that if our running back’s on the backside safety or frontside safety, wherever the unblocked person may be, we like our chances. If we can do that every single play consistently, it’s going to be a positive play.”

Riley, who leads the nation in both rushing yards and all-purpose yards, showed off his big-play ability on the second play of the game, catching a short pass from Cutforth and running 73 yards for a score.

It was the fifth time this season Riley had a play that went for 70 or more yards.

“If those guys up there couldn’t block, we wouldn’t have nothing,” Riley said after the game. “It’s really a testimony to them and everybody on that field. I’m just so blessed to have them as linemen. They’re in the trenches getting dirty, putting hands up, messing their fingers up, putting their bodies on the line. You can’t do anything but show those guys love.”