Boise State Football: Andy Avalos is MWwire’s 2022 Head Coach of the Year
The Broncos head coach survived major early trials to become our staff’s overwhelming choice as the Mountain West’s best.
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Re-establishing dominance on the blue.
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Mountain West Wire’s 2022 postseason honors:
All-Conference Teams | Offensive Player of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Special Teams Player of the Year | Freshman of the Year | Newcomer of the Year | Breakout Player of the Year | Coach of the Year | Coordinator of the Year
Boise State head coach Andy Avalos didn’t always have it easy in 2022, but he shepherded the Broncos through a tough early slate and made difficult choices to engineer a dramatic turnaround, becoming our staff’s pick as the Mountain West’s top head coach this year.
You may not have though this at the end of September, when the Broncos had a 3-2 record with conference wins against New Mexico and San Diego State already in hand, considering that the offense had struggled enough in non-conference play to force the ouster of then-offensive coordinator Tim Plough. That had prompted the exit of incumbent starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier to the transfer portal and generated some heat under Avalos’s seat.
In the end, Boise State would finish undefeated in Mountain West play and rank in the top 20 among FBS teams in net points per drive, net available yards percentage, and drive yards per play. With yet another opportunity at a conference championship on the horizon, it seems safe to say that Avalos now has the program on as steady a foundation as ever.
https://twitter.com/WillHallKARE11/status/1459418768912699395?s=20&t=kHWNW8bUxoO9TSd23zidJw
Notable runners-up:
Jeff Tedford, Fresno State (16 points)
Tedford’s Bulldogs, like Avalos’s Broncos, didn’t have the start to 2022 that anyone envisioned. After dropping to 1-4 with a dismal road loss at Boise State, though, Fresno State ripped off seven wins in a row to close the regular season and wrap up the West division title, reclaiming the Valley Trophy and Old Oil Can from rivals San Jose State and San Diego State in the process.
Marcus Arroyo, UNLV; Troy Calhoun, Air Force (6 points)
Arroyo may have lost his job shortly after the regular season finished, but there’s little doubt his Rebels improved despite a rash of midseason injuries and rough close game luck. UNLV posted five wins for the first time since 2017 and took back the Fremont Cannon from rival Nevada in his last game at the helm.
Calhoun, meanwhile, ended up 15 points away from an unbeaten season while guiding the Falcons to a 9-3 record, the 12th time that Air Force has become bowl eligible in his tenure. Believe it or not, his team led the Mountain West with 1.25 net points per drive and a 21% net available yards percentage advantage, both of which also ranked in the top ten among FBS teams.
Also received votes: 3 points — Timmy Chang, Hawaii | 2 points — Blake Anderson, Utah State; Brent Brennan, San Jose State
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