– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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FRISCO, TEXAS — At the end of his first season as a starter in college football, one which saw him go from backup to starter to being named the conference’s best freshman, Boise State quarterback Taylen Green the opportunity to show off his talents one more time in his hometown.
To say that Green took advantage of his unofficial homecoming game is an understatement.
Green threw for one touchdown while rushing for two more scores as the Broncos won a shootout, 35-32, against the North Texas Mean Green in the 2022 Frisco Bowl just outside of Dallas. Running back Ashton Jeanty rushed for 178 yards and a touchdown as Boise State rolled up 318 yards on the ground to finish its season with eight wins in its last 10 contests.
“It’s so gratifying to be able to see these guys celebrate,” Boise State coach Andy Avalos said. “It’s tough to leave the locker room right now being around the guys, just because they deserve this.”
After an uneven start to the season that saw two 17-point losses, including a 20-10 defeat in Texas against UTEP of September 23, Avalos made the switch at quarterback from Hank Bachmaier to Green, the spindly 6-foot-6 signal-caller from Lewisville, Texas, just 15 miles southwest from Toyota Stadium, the site of tonight’s bowl game. The Broncos proceeded to win seven of the eight games Green started in the regular season, clinching a spot in the Mountain West Championship Championship Game and an undefeated regular season in conference play.
After the Broncos’ loss to Fresno State in the conference title game, they made amends in winning their first bowl game since 2017. Green combined for 256 yards, and his three-yard touchdown run on the Broncos’ first drive of the third quarter gave Boise State its first lead of the game at 14-10 with 12:40 in the third quarter. That score was the first of five consecutive touchdown drives — and five consecutive lead changes — and Green’s second touchdown run, from 19 yards with 25 seconds remaining in the third, ended the see-saw action as Boise State took a 28-25 lead into the fourth.
Jeanty, another Texas native, scored on a one-yard plunge with 12:05 remaining in the fourth that proved to be the game-winning score.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday evening’s game, with all photos taken by Dallas-area photographer Ross James. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 17 pictures in total.
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