Seven Boise State players ruled out ahead of Fresno State rivalry showdown

Broncos down three starters against Bulldogs

Boise State Broncos safety Zion Washington (21). | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Starting safety Zion Washington is among a group of seven Boise State players who will not be available for Saturday’s Mountain West rivalry game against Fresno State. 

Washington, a senior, also missed last week’s 24-3 road victory over Nevada. 

“Zion is not going to be able to play this weekend,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said on Thursday. “Worked on it, and he’s been battling, but he’s not going to be able to play.”

The 6-foot-1, 212-pound Washington has 25 total tackles and a pass breakup this season. 

• LIVE UPDATES, SCORE: BOISE STATE VS. FRESNO STATE

The Broncos (6-2, 4-0) will also be without starting wide receivers Ben Ford and Chris Marshall while taking on Fresno State (5-3, 2-2) at Albertsons Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Mountain time.

Ford suffered a season-ending lower leg injury against UNLV while Marshall is serving a one-week suspension.

Oct 4, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Boise State Broncos wide receiver Chris Marshall (5). | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

“Especially as you finish October and get into November, you’ve played a lot of games, you know a lot about yourself, you’ve got a lot of guys banged up, some guys injured,” Danielson said. “It’s next man up, carry the flag, and it’s all about us trying to be on the rise and be our best.”

Four other Boise State reserves were also listed as ‘out’ in Boise State’s player availability report, which was released on Thursday: running back Seth Knothe, linebacker Chase Martin, offensive tackle Hall Schmidt and wide receiver Demetric Whitlock Jr. 

After missing the last two games, senior nickelback Davon Banks will play against the Bulldogs. Jaden Mickey remains the starter at nickelback, but Danielson said Banks will be in the mix for playing time on offense and special teams.

“When Davon is doing what he’s supposed to do, he can really, really help our football team,” Danielson said. “So we’re going to get him back in the fold and find some packages and stuff to get him rolling, and then get him back on special teams because he can be an impact guy there, too.” 

The MWC implemented a player availability report policy for all conference games this season.  

Two days before a game, teams are required to list which players are questionable to play or will be unavailable. The designations are updated three hours prior to kickoff. 

The reports only include a player’s name and availability. No specific injury details are listed in the report. 

Schools are only required to submit availability reports for conference games. All available reports are posted on TheMW.com.