Texas Connection: The Frisco Bowl is a homecoming for the future of Boise State’s offense

The Frisco Bowl in Frisco, Texas, will be a homecoming for some prominent members of the Boise State football team.

The Broncos have 12 players on the roster from Texas, many of whom have been wheeling and dealing this week to get enough tickets to accommodate all their friends and family members who will be at Toyota Stadium on Saturday (7:15 p.m. MT, ESPN).

Players were allotted six tickets each, but that wasn’t nearly enough for wide receiver Latrell Caples, who said he needed 25, or edge rusher Gabe Hunter, who needed 20.

“It’s exciting because most years we don’t get that close to Texas,” Caples said. “It’ll be exciting to play in front of family.”

Arriving in the Lone Star State on Tuesday was especially meaningful for a core group of players from Texas who look like they are the future of the Broncos’ offense: Caples, quarterback Taylen Green, running back Ashton Jeanty and wide receiver Eric McAlister.

‘He’s the X-factor.’ Boise State’s new starting quarterback specializes in improvisation

Green, a redshirt freshman from Allen, Texas, took over at quarterback four games into the season after four-year starter Hank Bachmeier decided to transfer following a loss to UTEP that dropped the Broncos’ record to 2-2.

Green is 7-2 as the starter, and he’s thrown for 1,905 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also added 467 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground and was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year.

Jeanty — a freshman who played at Lone Star High School in Frisco — is No. 2 on the team with 643 rushing yards and No. 3 with six touchdowns on the ground. Redshirt junior George Holani leads the Broncos with 1,133 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.

Caples, a redshirt sophomore from Lancaster, Texas, leads the Broncos with 45 catches and 462 yards in his first season as a starter. He and Billy Bowens are tied with a team-high four touchdown catches. McAlister, a redshirt freshman from Azle, Texas, emerged as a deep threat this year. He’s averaging 23.5 yards a catch, and he hauled in the first three touchdown catches of his career.

The group has formed a bond this season, especially Caples and Green whose hometowns are only about 40 minutes apart.

“It’s going to be fun to be able to go back home and still be there with your quarterback and get that work in instead of working on your own,” Caples said.

This edge rusher passed on full rides to walk on at Boise State. His gamble is paying off

The foursome has been debating what they should call themselves. Green suggested the Texas Quad, but Jeanty, speaking to reporters after the Mountain West championship game, suggested a nickname that just might stick: The Texas Connection.

“It’s a great thing for a group of guys who are from the same place and have the same dreams and goals,” Jeanty said. “It’s great that we’ll be able to come together, and keep going, and keep getting better.”

The list of Texas products on Boise State’s roster also includes cornerback Markel Reed, defensive tackle Herbert Gums, safety Zion Washington, who played at Reedy High School in Frisco, and wide receiver Stefan Cobbs, who said in November that he plans to come back to Boise State next season as a sixth-year senior.

Playing a bowl game in such a hotbed of recruiting could be big for the program, Boise State coach Andy Avalos said. That’s especially true since the coaching staff got to visit with the five Texas natives who are verbally committed to the Broncos’ 2023 recruiting class between practices this week.

“It’s always exciting, as a player, to be able to go back and play where you grew up,” Avalos said. “For all the players on our team, what an awesome opportunity. We’re grateful to be in this bowl game.”

The Broncos (9-4, 8-0 Mountain West) also got to enjoy Frisco this week before they take on Conference USA runner-up North Texas. Barbecue was eaten, cowboy hats were worn and the Broncos even played a game called “fowling” — a mix of bowling and cornhole using a football.

Boise State also got to spend two days preparing for the game at the Dallas Cowboys practice facility, The Star. The players spent time with former Broncos Leighton Vander Esch, Tyrone Crawford and DeMarcus Lawrence. Vander Esch and Lawrence still play for the Cowboys. Crawford retired last year.

The Broncos will get down to business when they take the field Saturday.

Boise State heads into the Frisco Bowl in the midst of a serious bowl drought. The Broncos haven’t played in a bowl game the past two years because of COVID-19, and the 2018 First Responder Bowl was deemed a no contest after it was called in the first quarter because of a severe thunderstorm.

The last time the Broncos played in a bowl, they lost to Washington in the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl, which was former Huskies and Boise State coach Chris Petersen’s farewell game.

Boise State last won a bowl game when it knocked off Oregon, 38-28, in the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl. Heading into next season on the heels of a win would be huge for the Broncos, Avalos said.

“How we finish this season is everything,” he said.

North Texas (7-6, 6-2 C-USA) is dealing with its own bowl drought — not to mention a coaching change.

Seth Littrell was fired last week, despite leading the Mean Green to six bowl games in seven seasons. North Texas has lost five straight bowls, but it brings a potent offense into the Frisco Bowl that may help end that losing streak.

North Texas is averaging 463.8 yards a game, which is tied for No. 20 in the country, and 33.9 points a game, which ranks No. 3 in Conference USA.

Predictions, keys to victory, betting line for Boise State vs. North Texas in Frisco Bowl

The offense is led by the oldest starting quarterback in college football — 29-year-old Austin Aune. He originally signed with TCU out of high school, but he was a second-round pick in the 2012 MLB Draft and spent six years in the New York Yankees organization.

Aune returned to college football in 2018 and spent a year at Arkansas before transferring to North Texas. He has thrown for 3,309 yards, 32 touchdowns and 13 interceptions this season.

“Watching him and how he operates the offense, you can tell he has a lot of savvy to him,” Boise State defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson said. “He leads the team, leads the offense, takes a couple big hits and gets right back up and he can run the ball or stay in the pocket.”

North Texas also ranks No. 24 in the country with 201.7 rushing yards a game, thanks to a trio of sophomore running backs.

Ikaika Ragsdale leads the team with 121 carries, and he’s tied with Oscar Adaway III with a team-high five rushing touchdowns. Ragsdale is No. 2 on the team with 661 rushing yards, and Adaway is No. 3 with 583. Ayo Adeyi leads the Mean Green with 740 rushing yards, and he has four rushing touchdowns.

“I’m extremely impressed with what they’ve done offensively and how balanced they are doing it,” Danielson said. “They show a lot of different run schemes, and they do it with a lot of of different tailbacks.”

FRISCO BOWL: BOISE STATE VS. NORTH TEXAS

When: 7:15 p.m. MT Saturday

Where: Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas

TV: ESPN (Dave Neal, Deuce McAllister, Andraya Carter)

Records: Boise State 9-4, 8-0 MW; North Texas 7-6, 6-2 C-USA

Series: Boise State is 3-3 all-time against North Texas, but the programs haven’t played since 2000.

Vegas line: Boise State by 10.5

Weather: 39 degrees at kickoff, 0% chance of rain, 2 mph wind