1974 Boise State Broncos football team

1974 Boise State Broncos football
Big Sky champion
NCAA Division II Quarterfinal, L 6–20 at Central Michigan
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3 (small college)
AP	No. 5 (small college)
Record	10–2 (6–0 Big Sky)
Head coach	Tony Knap (7th season)
Home stadium	Bronco Stadium

1974 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Boise State $^	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Montana State	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Idaho	2	–	2	–	1			2	–	8	–	1
Montana	2	–	3	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Northern Arizona	2	–	3	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Idaho State	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Weber State	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP small college poll

The 1974 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University during the 1974 NCAA Division II football season, the seventh season of Bronco football (at the four-year level) and the second in the newly reorganized Division II. The Broncos were in their fifth year as members of the Big Sky Conference (and NCAA) and played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. This was the first season as "BSU" as the school had recently become a university.

Led by seventh-year head coach Tony Knap, the Broncos were 10–1 in the regular season and were again undefeated in conference (6–0), repeating as Big Sky champions.^[1] The only loss was by two points in-mid season at Las Vegas; the UNLV Rebels were led by running back Mike Thomas, a future NFL Rookie of the Year, and sophomore quarterback Glenn Carano. They built a 31-point lead, then hung on as Boise State answered with four straight touchdown passes from senior Jim McMillan.^[2] UNLV was undefeated until the Grantland Rice Bowl, the Division II semifinals.

Invited again to the eight-team Division II playoffs,^[3] BSU drew a road game in the quarterfinals at Central Michigan; the Chippewas won 20–6 and went on to win the national title. CMU moved up to Division I in 1975, joining the Mid-American Conference (MAC). In the regular season, the Broncos had scored at least 35 points in every game.

Following this season, Bronco Stadium was expanded with an upper deck added to the east grandstand, which increased the permanent seating capacity to 20,000. Part of the original design, it had been delayed for five years due to high costs.^[4]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14		at Cal Poly*		Mustang Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	W 41–21	5,700	[5]
September 21	7:30 pm	Chico State*	No. 3	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	W 41–7	14,686	[6]
September 28	1:30 pm	at Montana State	No. 3	Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 40–37	9,100	[7]
October 5	7:30 pm	Nevada*	No. 4	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (rivalry)	W 36–16	14,258	[8][9]
October 12	7:30 pm	Idaho State	No. 4	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	W 61–3	14,310	[10]
October 19	8:15 pm	at No. 5 UNLV*	No. 4	Las Vegas Stadium Whitney, NV	L 35–37	18,631	[2]
October 26		at Northern Arizona	No. 4	Lumberjack Stadium Flagstaff, AZ	W 45–13	8,000	[11]
November 2	1:30 pm	Weber State	No. 4	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	W 42–14	13,252	[12]
November 9	1:30 pm	No. 13 UC Davis*	No. 4	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	W 41–20	14,608	[13]
November 16	1:30 pm	at Montana	No. 4	Dornblaser Field Missoula, MT	W 56–42	6,000	[14][15][16]
November 23	1:30 pm	Idaho	No. 4	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (rivalry)	W 53–29	14,486	[17][18][19][20]
November 30	11:00 am	at No. 6 Central Michigan*	No. 4	Perry Shorts Stadium Mt. Pleasant, MI (D-II Quarterfinal)	L 6–20	9,913	[21][22]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[23]

Roster

1974 Boise State Broncos football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 8 John Crabtree Jr QB 12 Jim McMillan Sr QB 15 Lee Huey Jr WR 20 Mike Holton So RB 28 Tom Sims So FB 31 Ken Johnson Sr RB 33 Dave Nicly Sr RB 34 Bob Cleveland Fr RB 40 John Smith Jr RB 42 Ron Emry Jr C 50 Todd Whiteman Jr C 57 Ted Scoles Sr G 61 Glenn Sparks Jr OT 65 Greg Palin Sr G 69 Jim Ryan Jr OT 77 Carleton Ching Sr WR 89 Ray Hooft Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LCB 21 Gary Roslowich So RCB 24 Mike Campbell Sr SS 25 Pat King Sr FS 29 Rolly Woolsey Sr LLB 39 Gary Gorrell Jr RLB 45 Loren Schmidt Sr SS 49 Clint Sigman Sr MLB 51 Ron Davis Sr RDT 73 Saia Misa Jr LDT 78 Ron Franklin Sr RDE 85 Mark Clegg Sr LDE 88 Pete Poumele Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class KR 21 Gary Rosolwich So PR 29 Rolly Woolsey Sr P 39 Gary Gorrell Jr K 49 Clint Sigman Jr	Head coach Tony Knap (7th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Steve Buratto (DB) Charlie Dine (DL/LB) Dave Nickel (OL) Adam Rita (WR) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source:^[14][17]

All-conference

Six Broncos were named to the Big Sky all-conference team:

• Jim McMillan, QB, (unanimous); conference MVP (offense)
• Mike Holton, WR, (unanimous)
• Rolly Woolsey, S, (unanimous)
• Loren Schmidt, LB
• Ron Davis, LB
• Saia Misa, DT

Boise State also placed six players on the second team.^[24]

Quarterback McMillan was a first-team Little All-American; Holton, Woolsey, and Schmidt were honorable mention.^[25]

NFL draft

Three Broncos were selected in the 1975 NFL draft, which lasted 17 rounds (442 selections).

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
Rolly Woolsey	Defensive back	6th	148	Dallas Cowboys
Jim McMillan	Quarterback	14th	350	Detroit Lions
Ron Franklin	Defensive tackle	15th	386	St. Louis Cardinals

References

1. "Boise State Broncos -- College Football (NCAA)". college-football-results.com. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
2. "Las Vegas nips Boise". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 20, 1974. p. 14.
3. "Boise State makes playoffs". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. November 19, 1974. p. 1B.
4. "BSC wants $1.4 million for stadium addition". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 1, 1973. p. 15.
5. "Boise State takes 41-21 debut win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 16, 1974. p. 16.
6. "Broncos drop WIldcats". The Idaho Statesman. September 22, 1974. Retrieved December 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Broncos nip Montana State 40-37". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. September 29, 1974. p. 7, sports.
8. "Boise State rolls past Reno 36-16". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 6, 1974. p. 16.
9. "Final 1974 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
10. "Boise blasts way to 61-3 victory". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 13, 1974. p. 13.
11. "Boise State shells Lumberjacks, 45-13". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 27, 1974. p. 14.
12. "Boise State wallops Weber State 42-14". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 3, 1974. p. 17.
13. "Boise romps; Idaho State rallies". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 10, 1974. p. 17.
14. "Game program: Montana Grizzlies vs. Boise State". University of Montana. (ScholarWorks). November 16, 1974. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
15. "Boise State clinches crown". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 17, 1974. p. 1B.
16. "BSU's McMillen running away with offense honors". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 19, 1974. p. 1B.
17. Emerson, Paul (November 23, 1974). "Vandals-Broncos". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
18. Emerson, Paul (November 24, 1974). "Boise State roars past Vandals 53-29". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
19. "Boise State rips Idaho in shootout". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 24, 1974. p. 1, sports.
20. "Boise heads for playoffs". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 25, 1974. p. 16.
21. "Boise beaten". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 1, 1974. p. 9D.
22. "CMU whips Boise St.; meet Louisiana Tech next". Ludington Daily News. (Michigan). UPI. December 2, 1974. p. 5.
23. "Record book (football)" (PDF). Boise State University Athletics. 2016. p. 71. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
24. "Boise, Montana players MVPs". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 28, 1974. p. 1B.
25. "Little All-America: Boise State ace lone NW choice". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 5, 1974. p. 51.

External links

• BSU Arbiter – student newspaper – 1974 editions