Boise State Broncos College Football Pregame Quote, 12/26/2024

Q. When they’re at their best, what are they doing well?

COACH KOETTER: Top ten, sixth in the nation in scoring, fifth in fewest TDs, fourth in yards allowed, fifth in tackles for loss, third in rush TDs allowed, 12th in first downs a game, third in red zone touchdown percentage. I mean, they’re good. They’ve got good numbers, and they’re not fake. That’s all on tape.

Q. Probably the best defensive player [Abdul Carter] you’ve seen this year?

COACH KOETTER: Yeah, he’s really talented. I think most people got him as a top five pick, and that certainly wouldn’t be surprising. You can really see his linebacker training, where he played off the ball a year ago, and now he’s playing on the ball, although they move him around. The guy can really cover ground. He’s got a real nice spin move. He closes on the quarterback. He can turn the corner. He’s not their only good rusher. They have more than one.

Q. Because of your NFL background, when you watch film, do you notice guys and think: Okay, there’s, like, six guys on this defense that could play in the NFL? Is this an NFL defense with individual talent?

COACH KOETTER: Sure, sure. They should have NFL talent. It’s Penn State. I mean, they recruit at the highest level and they play in one of the top conferences. They definitely recruit guys that think they have a future in the NFL and it shows up. They’ve got them.

Q. The goal obviously is to get to the playoff. But as a coach, you’ve done a lot of great things in your career, but what does it mean to be part of this staff and coaching in this game to get this team where they’re at?

COACH KOETTER: Definitely as the year went on, we knew we were going to have a good football team. After the close loss at Oregon, as Coach D [Spencer Danielson] has said many times, we’ve been in playoff mode ever since then, because we knew ‚Äì even though we were trying to win the conference and get to the conference championship, get to a bowl game, of course, we knew that we had a chance if we could run off a bunch of wins. We definitely had no room to lose a game.

The players were aware of it. Obviously, the media makes sure everybody is aware of it, in a good way. It’s the first time it’s ever- it’s- added a lot to college football, for the little guys to have a chance.

As the year went on between the academies and UNLV and different teams that had a chance to get in there, slowly but surely, it narrowed down.

It’s very cool for these players. It’s awesome for our fans. It’s awesome for everybody involved with it.

Q. The two games that Penn State lost, what gave them trouble?

COACH KOETTER: They played other really good teams [chuckles]. They played really good teams. Let’s face it, all of us saw Oregon firsthand, and that was a close game. That went right down to the wire.

I think Dillon Gabriel is probably the best quarterback in the country. I think he’s perfect for what Oregon does on offense.

Oregon ran a lot of tempo against them; ran a lot of unbalanced sets, where they had everybody on one side. I’m not necessarily saying that’s what gave them trouble. I’m just saying that’s what Oregon did. Oregon does that to everybody.

Oregon is one of the teams that can match Penn State’s speed. Penn State has excellent speed on defense. Oregon, as we know, has excellent speed.

In the Ohio State game, Ohio State just played a real solid game. I think Ohio State matches up with them good physically. I’m talking the part I watched, Ohio State’s offense versus Penn State’s defense. That was more of a power game, a little bit less of a speed game.

Ohio State didn’t make mistakes. Ohio State did a decent job running the ball. They did what they needed to do. And the situations where they needed to run it, fourminute offense, for example, they did a good job running it. But the two teams that beat them, they were close games and they were good teams that beat them.

Q. When you have common opponents like Oregon, can you look at those games and directly compare and help you prepare? Or is it just two completely different games?

COACH KOETTER: No, you can. I think the fact that we played them so far apart, that seems like a year, year and a half ago when we played Oregon; and they just played them in a conference championship game. Oregon definitely changed throughout the year. We changed a little bit throughout the year, Penn State. Some players get better, some players get injured, et cetera.

But I think that’s a good comparison. We’re always looking for that in normal weeks. It’s strange where you only have that one game, common opponent. That’s a little bit different because you have so many common opponents. But definitely something I think that helps.

Q. Ashton [Jeanty] has had three weeks off.

COACH KOETTER: I think you’re making too big of a deal of that. You asked me; I told you.

Q. Is it advantageous having that much time off, other than maybe healing?

COACH KOETTER: I don’t think there is. I think most teams this time of the year that are playing well -which I think if you’re winning games, you’re playing well. I think most teams that are playing well would rather play than rest. The time off scares me more than I think it- helps us, with a couple of exceptions. There’s a couple of guys injurywise. Mason Randolph, for example, if we wouldn’t have had the time off, we probably wouldn’t have had a chance to get him back.

Q. Is it like getting out of a rhythm?

COACH KOETTER: Going against your scout team every day is different than going against any real team, let alone a team that’s as good as Penn State. The speed difference and then just time off. It’s been a really good schedule that Coach [Spencer] Danielson put together, as far as giving guys time off for Christmas; giving guys enough time to get their bodies back. But that’s just me personally. I would rather keep playing. But that’s just me.

Q. In the SMU game, they had some self-inflicted wounds with some of the turnovers and stuff. You guys have been very good taking care of the ball, not having any of those game changing turnovers. What has allowed Maddux [Madsen] and this offense to take care of the ball so well?

COACH KOETTER: Bill Parcells is famous for saying: More games are lost than won. I’m a big believer in that statement. SMU did a lot to lose the game. Even though you could make a very good argument that Penn State forced them into some of those errors.

But we have done a good job in that area, and Mad Dog [Maddux Madsen] in particular has done a really good job in that area. That’s one of the reasons he’s our starting quarterback. He takes care of the football. He doesn’t beat us. He doesn’t get us beat. Any player, but a quarterback touches it every play. Quarterback doesn’t always need to win the game, but he also can’t lose the game for you.

Unfortunately, SMU’s quarterback [Kevin Jennings] did a lot to lose that game last week. I know that guy is a fine player with a very bright future, but that was not pretty. It just wasn’t.

Q. What is it about Maddux [Madsen]? He’s been very, very consistent this year. I know you love the fact that he’s this winner. But what is it in his DNA that makes him so consistent? Going into a game like this where you don’t expect him to be consistent, but his track record says he has been?

COACH KOETTER: Just think back over time, over the best quarterbacks you’ve seen, that’s what they are. The best guys are that, they’re consistent. The best guys, the best quarterbacks, make players around them better. They magnify other players’ talents. The best quarterbacks make the plays in the critical moments that need to be made.

On Christmas Day, I got to watch two of the best in the world. You see [Patrick] Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, those are two guys that can win the game for you. But there’s just not a lot of those guys out there. That’s the exception more so than the rule.

Q. What stands out to you about Max Cutforth?

COACH KOETTER: Very sharp. Just solid. Good pocket passer. He’ll stand in there and take a hit and deliver the ball. For a backup quarterback, especially a guy that’s been a 3 most of the year, but whether you’re college or the NFL, unless you’re playing your third guy on scout team ‚Äì which we don’t, we play our fourth guy on scout team ‚Äì that third guy gets no reps, other than down there in the end zone when we’re doing drills during special teams.

For a second or a third quarterback to be able to function in a game without the benefit of reps, that’s what you’re looking for. Not all quarterbacks can do that, either. They can function pretty well, but they need the practice reps. I’m confident if Max’s number is called, he will go in there and do fine.

Q. Would you consider maybe giving Max [Cutforth] more QB2 reps than you typically would, just because he’s been the 3 all year?

COACH KOETTER: We definitely have been doing that, for sure. We’ve been making it a point to get him as many reps as possible. So going back to the original thing about the time off, there’s a guy who would definitely benefit from extra practices -has- benefited.

Q. You talk about doing this for 42 years. Before that, you were a player. I’m sure you’ve thought about this zero percent of the time. But is there any chance today is your last-ever press conference?

COACH KOETTER: I did think about that actually just a few minutes ago. I thought I might be going to my last-ever press conference. Man, how will I ever be able to survive? Will life go on? That is a question for us all to ponder today.

Q. You have got a game to win, and eventually you’ll have plenty of time to think about that. What does go through your mind?

COACH KOETTER: Just that, yeah, this might be it. I hope it’s not. I hope we keep going for a while. I know our players believe in what we’re doing, and I know they’re going to go down there and give it their best shot.

But other than that, I’ve not given it too much thought. I’ve done enough press conferences. I’m perfectly satisfied with my press conference career. You even said I was a player at one time. I don’t even remember that.

Q. You’re trying to win and nothing really changes. But in terms of the bracket of eight, perhaps the Fiesta Bowl is the last game. Now if you win, you do get to keep going. How different is that? Maybe as the week goes on, that will start to feel ‚Äì

COACH KOETTER: It’s a really strange feeling, because typically, in a bowl game -I was just looking at our master calendar with everything planned down to the minute, of course. In a normal bowl game, if you’re a coach and you come back on the plane, it’s the coaches, the coaches’ families, and the five local players on your team, and the rest of the plane is empty, because people scatter. It’s usually Christmas break. School doesn’t start up. But everybody’s got to come back on the charter, because hopefully we’re- still rolling.

There’s just different things like that. It’s hard to plan your life past the 31st. I really do want to watch that Texas-Arizona State game on the 1st, though, if I can swing that somehow.

Q. How many variations of the Statue of Liberty do you have now?

COACH KOETTER: You’re about the 500th person that’s asked me that. If you call Ashton right and Ashton left, if you could change the word to “statue right” and “statue left,” then we have -let’s see, he averages 32 carries a game. I guess we have 32 variations of it.

Q. Looking back on the history, what do you make of whether it be statue or fake punts or whatever it might be in the Fiesta Bowl in the past?

COACH KOETTER: One thing that’s crazy is I was living in Arizona at the time of that game. And I went to practice a day or two before that game. I went to practice at, I think, at one of the baseball fields in Scottsdale. Maybe it was at Scottsdale Community College.

I remember that day I was at practice. I said to myself: Man, they have got a lot of trick plays in the game plan. And then I went to the game and they hit every one of them. Every one of them hit. Hars [Bryan Harsin] kept calling them, and they kept working.

So I remember that part about it. But that is definitely a part of Boise State history, but I think the main part of that is the good guys came out on top.

Q. You haven’t called a ton of trick plays this year. Are you more of a “beat them with what you’re good at?” What’s kind of your philosophy?

COACH KOETTER: One time I was a trick-play guy as much as anybody. But I think the NFL kind of humbles you on that a little bit. Ben Johnson is doing a good job with them right now in Detroit. But especially when you’re maybe with a lesser team and you see how good those defenses are and you just don’t have many plays to give up.

Everybody talks about the trick plays that work, and they show those a lot on the highlights shows. They don’t show those ones that don’t work as often.

Q. Since you started the season, where do you think the offense is most improved?

COACH KOETTER: Most improved? Well, I would say one thing that jumps out at me is the depth in the O-line. And no teams have depth in the O-line. We were forced to develop depth.

I think that bodes very well for the future. I know every team in the country, in the portal, right now is looking for O-linemen. If we’re fortunate enough to hold on to all of these guys that played and the depth that we developed, I think that bodes well for the future.

Then just due to the fact that we had a little bit of a revolving door behind Ashton [Jeanty] at the backup running back, I think developing depth at running back. The emergence of [Matt] Wagner as a second tight end who could be a first tight end for a lot of teams.

Matt Lauter, we all knew that he was a good blocker, but he’s had a good year receiving.

No one except for me in this room thought Mad Dog [Maddux Madsen] was going to be a good college quarterback. I think we’re pretty set in that position for the next couple of years as well.

Q. Penn State’s pass rush. Kage Casey played well in the Oregon game. How much will a guy like him be tested in this contest?

COACH KOETTER: He will. Kage is a really good player, and Kage can play on that level. We ask a lot out of Kage. We very rarely help Kage. We help the right side a lot. A lot of teams in the NFL do that as well, where they help a certain guy. If you’re a left tackle in the NFL and you’re a starting left tackle in the NFL, you’re on the island a lot. Kage plays that role for us. He plays it well.

Q. I think the best part of this game -I remember going back to fall camp and you said Ben Dooley was toting around a notebook. But instead of overwhelming yourself by filling it up, it’s like really specific things to work on each and every day.-

COACH KOETTER: Kage [Casey] is very specific on the things that he works on. Kage is extremely soft spoken. He lets his actions do his talking for him. I still remember two years ago when I came back, the first couple games that Kage went in, I remember specifically I was on the sideline that year and Kage was getting ready to go into a game and he had a look of terror on his face.

I asked him in the huddle: Are you scared right now to go in? I said it kiddingly. And Kage just has a quiet confidence about himself. I think he’s really improved in the run game. His athleticism and his ability to block the edge as a pass protector has always been there. But he really takes pride in his run game now. And playing next to Ben Dooley, those two side by side have done a really nice job for us.

Q. Dirk, if this is your last press conference, [Ashton] Jeanty in the NFL, what type of career do you think he’s going to have? What are you going to tell Arthur Blank when he calls you and says: Should I take this kid?

COACH KOETTER: Ashton is going to do just fine for himself wherever he ends up. He’s going to do just fine. The running back is making a comeback. There are teams running the ball well right now. Ashton is going to make some team very happy.

Q. Is there a player on offense who has revealed from the beginning of the season what you thought he was going to be to what he is today?

COACH KOETTER: Well, Mad Dog [Maddux Madsen] for sure. I spent the most time with him over the last couple of years. There’s plenty of good stories out there, but I spend the most time around him. He would be my easy answer there.

Q. Talk about Maddux [Madsen]. You talk about his consistency and ability to limit turnovers. What is it about his sort of off-field approach that has allowed him to be successful in those areas so young in his career?

COACH KOETTER: That’s a good question. I don’t know if I could just narrow it down. Maddux studies the tape. He’s really good when it comes to how he can see something on tape; make note of it in his notebook or his iPad; and remember it in a game when it’s time to remember it. Not everybody can do that.

I don’t want to say the guy has got a photographic memory, because I think he just got a B in science. But the guy is sharp. Being smart and being able to apply what you know in the exact moment that you need to know it, that’s what great ones have. He’s not there yet as far as being a great one, but he’s come a long way.

Q. You talked about Abdul Carter and Penn State’s pass rush. From the interior of Penn State’s defensive line, what has been your takeaways from watching them on film? Overall, would you say this is the best D-line you guys have faced up to this point in the year?

COACH KOETTER: I would say this is the best D-line. They’re right there with Oregon. It’s just been a long time since I’ve studied Oregon, but they’re right there.

Right off the top, first off, I think Penn State has four defensive ends who I think could start for almost every team: 11 [Carter Abdul], 33 [Dani Dennis Sutton], 92 [Smith Vilbert], 15 [Amin Vanover]. They play them a lot. They play all four of those guys. They like to play three at a time on pass downs.

But the guy 28 [Zane Durant], inside, man, I would like to be that guy’s agent. Converted high school running back. He plays defensive tackle for them. He’s got a crazy combination of quickness and power. And I think that guy is very disruptive on the inside.

We know we have our hands full with that front. They’ve wreaked havoc on plenty of teams. That’s going to be a big key to the game, if we can neutralize that front.

Q. A couple of questions on Maddux [Madsen]. Obviously, we know he’s a guy who is not going to be afraid of any challenge he faces. How important is that when you get into a postseason game like this?

COACH KOETTER: I don’t think any of our guys will be afraid of the challenge. I mean, the way Coach [Spencer] Danielson approaches it with our guys, we know we’re playing a really good football team. We know we have to play our best, but it won’t be because we’re afraid of the moment.

That’s one thing that players at Boise State, they’ll be ready to answer the bell. That doesn’t mean anything to the scoreboard, but you don’t have to worry about us being afraid of the moment.

Q. With Maddux [Madsen] in particular, he’s a guy who you mentioned, he’s been accurate this year. He’s been not turning the ball over. Back when you were working with him two years ago, during his red-shirt year, did you realize how great he could be at that point? How good he could be?

COACH KOETTER: I don’t think he’s great yet. I did realize that. I love the way he carries himself. I like his moxie. I like his confidence. I wish he wasn’t however tall he is. I wish he was as tall as your quarterback, but he’s not. Mad Dog [Maddux Madsen] maximizes his talent, and that’s all you can ask out of any player.

Q. Speaking of being afraid of the moment, there’s a lot of talk of the underdog role. Spencer [Danielson] said: Count us out, that’s fine. Do you get a sense that this group is ready to kind of prove some people wrong?

COACH KOETTER: I think they’re ready to go out and do their best, and that’s all we can ask. Coach [Spencer] Danielson says it all the time: We can’t ask for more than your best, but we need your best. That’s a good way to look at it, and I think our guys have a good feel for that.

Q. You took over 20 years ago as the head coach, and now you are going to get to coach in the College Football Playoff team here at Boise State. How cool is it to see how far this program has come and to have a legit shot this year at winning a national championship for the first time?

COACH KOETTER: It’s very cool. I’ve said to several of my friends, when I came here in 1998 ‚Äì I might have told you guys this story once. I think I was staying at one of the Rodeway Inns. I was in my little tiny office down there in the corner of the Varsity Center. It was snowing and raining outside, and there were people walking by on the way to a basketball game.

One of the players I inherited had got caught stealing books from the bookstore that day. And I was thinking to myself: Why did I leave Eugene, Oregon, to come to this?

The press box wasn’t there. This theater wasn’t here. That indoor wasn’t there. Boise State was probably averaging about 19,000 fans a game. I’m very proud of where this program has gone and how we’ve been able to keep the chain of coaches and the way ‚Äì the culture in this program, where it’s gone from that second year in 1999 to 2024.

And to be in this playoff, I think, just speaks volumes about the administration here, the fans here, the players here, and the coaches here. It’s really cool to see. I’m very proud of it.

Q. Jared Zabransky said they deserved a shot at a national championship game. Are you glad there’s finally a true playoff format where you do have a shot?

COACH KOETTER: Yeah, very much. I think college football has a lot of problems right now, but the best thing they’ve got going is this playoff. I think that’s huge.

They’re going to change the way they seed the teams and maybe how they pick the teams and all that. But the fact that it’s a tournament right now and somebody is going to come out proving it on the field as the national champion.

The 13th, 14th, 15th teams, they can argue all they want. But whoever wins this thing by winning three or four in a row to get there, that is big-time. I think it’s awesome for the sport.