2001 Boise State Broncos football team

The 2001 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Broncos competed in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and played their home games at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. The Broncos were led by first-year head coach Dan Hawkins.

2001 Boise State Broncos football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	8–4 (6–2 WAC)
Head coach	Dan Hawkins (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Chris Petersen (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Bob Gregory (1st season)
Home stadium	Bronco Stadium (Capacity: 30,000)

2001 Western Athletic Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Louisiana Tech $		7	–	1					7	–	5
Fresno State		6	–	2					11	–	3
Boise State		6	–	2					8	–	4
Hawaii		5	–	3					9	–	3
Rice		5	–	3					8	–	4
SMU		4	–	4					4	–	7
Nevada		3	–	5					3	–	8
San Jose State		3	–	5					3	–	9
UTEP		1	–	7					2	–	9
Tulsa		0	–	8					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion

The Broncos went 8–4 overall and 6–2 in WAC play, in a tie for second place. This was their first year in the WAC after leaving the Big West Conference, which dropped football. Despite finishing bowl eligible, Boise State was not invited to a bowl game.

The loss to Washington State of the Pac-10 on September 8 was BSU's last regular season loss at Bronco Stadium for over a decade. Two weeks later, they began a 65-game regular season home winning streak that continued through October 2011 (BSU lost a bowl game at Bronco Stadium in 2005).

This was the first season that BSU and rival Idaho were not in the same conference since 1969, when the Broncos were an NAIA independent. This prompted the introduction of the Governor's Trophy by UI alumnus Dirk Kempthorne to continue the series. The first game for the trophy was easily won by BSU and ironically played out of state, in Pullman, Washington. Idaho joined the WAC in 2005 and it returned to a conference game for six seasons. BSU joined the Mountain West Conference after the 2010 season; that was the most recent meeting and the Broncos hold a twelve-game winning streak over the Vandals, who last won in 1998.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	5:00 pm	at No. 21 South Carolina*	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		L 13–32	83,019
September 8	6:00 pm	Washington State*	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID		L 20–41	27,697
September 22	6:00 pm	UTEP	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID		W 42–17	23,517
September 29	8:00 pm	at Idaho*	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA (rivalry)		W 45–13	20,359
October 6	6:00 pm	at Rice	Rice Stadium Houston, TX		L 14–45	14,630
October 13	5:00 pm	Tulsa	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID		W 41–10	23,123
October 19	6:00 pm	at No. 8 Fresno State	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA (rivalry)	ESPN	W 35–30	42,881
October 27	6:00 pm	Nevada	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (rivalry)		W 49–7	24,298
November 3	11:00 am	at Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA		L 42–48	16,621
November 10	9:00 pm	at Hawaii	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI		W 28–21	45,012
November 17	1:00 pm	San Jose State	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID		W 56–6	24,388
November 24	1:00 pm	Central Michigan*	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID		W 26–10	19,963
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time