Boise State’s all-time winningest head coach will return to Bronco Stadium this season. Chris Petersen, now the head coach of Washington, will mark his return one day sooner than initially expected. Boise State is scheduled to host Washington on Friday, September 4. The game will be aired nationally on ESPN.
A specific start time for the game has not been released just yet, although it would be likely to expect a later kickoff time considering other games kicking off on that same Friday. ESPN networks will also be carrying SMU’s season opener at home against defending Big 12 champion Baylor. Michigan State will also be playing Friday night at Western Michigan, although TV information for that has not been made available just yet either. With Michigan State playing on the road, odds are pretty good the Big Ten Network is out and ESPN will be airing that game as well. This is why it should be expected Boise State and Washington will get a later start time, which also accommodates the west coast audience expected to be watching.
The game itself will be the fourth all-time meeting between Washington and Boise State, but the first time Washington has traveled to Boise for a game. The big storyline, of course, will be Petersen’s return to Boise, where he coached Boise State to multiple conference championships and guided the Broncos to a pair of Fiesta Bowl victories in the BCS era. Petersen took over the Boise State program as head coach in 2006, where he put together a record of 92-12 as a member of the WAC and later the Mountain West Conference. Petersen won five bowl games at Boise, highlighted by the two Fiesta Bowl victories over Oklahoma and TCU.
Petersen accepted a coaching offer at Washington after the 2013 season. In his debut season with the Huskies, Petersen went 8-6 to pick up his 100th career coaching victory.