"Should be ashamed & embarrassed": Spencer Danielson gets grilled by CFB fans over questionable play-calling in Boise State's devastating 34-7 loss

Fans reacted to Spencer Danielson disappointing performance on Thursday as the Broncos, who won the Mountain West title and qualified for the 12-team playoffs last season, suffered a humiliating 34-7 loss to the South Florida Bulls.

Boise State had taken an early lead in the first quarter after Maddux Madsen found Chris Marshall with a six-yard touchdown pass. However, they failed to build on that momentum and struggled to make quality offensive plays the rest of the game.

South Florida started a comeback after Nico Gramatica's 52-yard FG in the second quarter. Their rushing game was on point, scoring touchdowns consistently. Quarterback Byrum Brown recorded 210 passing yards, with two rushing touchdowns.

Fans criticized Danielson for his playcalling in the season opener.

Spencer Danielson joined Boise State as a graduate assistant in 2017. He worked his way up the coaching staff before being named the head coach in 2023, winning two consecutive Mountain West titles.

Last season, Danielson helped the Broncos to the 12-team playoffs, but their quest for a national title was cut short following a first-round loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Spencer Danielson opens up about loss to South Florida

In his post-game radio interview, Spencer Danielson talked about how Boise State underperformed in their season opener against South Florida and didn't live up to expectations.

Danielson also admitted that his team was outmatched in every phase of the game while highlighting a few critical on-field mistakes.

"You look at this game- and there's going to be some good-but we got beat in all three phases," Danielson said (as per SI). "I told our team I'm not running from that, that happened. Offensively, defensively and special teams, we got beat.

"We just didn't execute well in the critical moments," he added. "The critical moments are a third-and-long, we get a sack and we throw the quarterback on the ground. Can't happen. Those are critical moments that are a lack of discipline. And I can go back and forth to either a penalty, a misalignment, to us no executing, to failing to win a one-on-one. ... And that's on me as a coach to look and see why."

The Boise State Broncos next take on the Eastern Washington Eagles on Sept. 5 at Albertsons Stadium at 9 pm ET. The game will be broadcast on FS1.

About the author

Priyam is a College Sports content executive at Sportskeeda with a master's in Advertising and Marketing Management and over two years of experience as a writer. When it comes to reporting, Priyam believes doing a technical deep dive is one of his biggest strengths and he loves to dissect plays on the field and factor out the strengths/weaknesses of players.

A fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Priyam sees Nick Saban as the greatest coach of all time. He is also rooting for Alabama quarterback Jalen Milore after following his progress over the years. The Michigan Wolverines football team is another of his favorite programs and it will be interesting to see how both these teams perform in new coaching eras.

When he’s not reporting, Priyam is usually at the gym or indulging in music. He has been a guitarist and a drummer for the past 17 years and finds his time of peace when playing music.

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Edited by Bhargav