(MWC) The Broncos play on an artificial field (Blue Astroplay) at Bronco Stadium (seats 33,500).
- Chris Petersen is in his 6th year as head coach at Boise State. In his five years his record is 61-5. It’s an incredible record, but then again in the five years prior to his arrival, Boise State had a 53-11 record. Perhaps this team has been playing in the wrong conference? They thought so and last year was their final season in the WAC (Western Athletic Conference). This year they join the MWC (Mountain West Conference). And although the WAC isn’t an AQ (automatic qualifier refers to one of the top six conferences that each receives an automatic bid for one of its schools to appear in a BCS game), it is still an upgrade for a school whose biggest challenge over the past few years has been its lack of schedule strength.
- Last year Boise was ranked in the top 5 for almost the entire season (and as high as #2) until their upset loss at Nevada. It was no surprise they were so successful as they returned ALL but two starters from their 2009 undefeated team. Almost all of their players were upper classmen also, which spoke volumes not only about their experience on the field but also about their familiarity with the system.
- Quarterback Kellen Moore is a senior and in his 4th year as a
Quarterback Kellen Moore (Courtesy of AP Greg Wahl-Stephens)
starter. He was #1 in the nation in passing efficiency in 2010 (#2 in 2009). He is just 8 wins away from passing Colt McCoy as the NCAA;s all-time winningest quarterback.This year Moore loses his favorite targets wide receivers Titus Young and Austin Pettis. The passing numbers may decrease a bit as a result. And even though the passing game has been the strength, this team was balanced in terms of the amount of rushing versus passing attempts the past two seasons.
- Leading rusher Doug Martin returns. And while he had the most rushing attempts on the team, the next three rushers in terms of attempts all depart this year.
- The statistics for this team are staggering. If you look at the main statistics on offense and defense the only areas where they don’t rank in the top 10 in the nation are rushing (21th) and turnover margin (22nd).
- The secondary (defensive backs) loses several key players, including the #1 tackler on the team from 2010. It will be challenging for them to match last year’s success when they had the #4 passing defense (total yards allowed) and #2 passing defense (yards, completions, touchdowns, etc. allowed) in the nation.
- The schedule starts out with an SEC opponent in Georgia. Georgia is coming off a losing season, but has gained the gamblers
Bronco Stadium
confidence in early betting. It will be a good test for Boise to see how theyBronco Stadiumompare with Air Force, TCU and the other successful MWC members. But with so many starters returning and a team that arguably is playing the weakest schedule for a team of its caliber, an undefeated season is not out of the realm of possibilities for Boise State.
- And yes, the field is bright blue. I suppose the mention above that it is artificial was unnecessarily obvious. The odd part for team that play them in Boise is that it’s hard for them to distinguish the Boise players in their blue uniforms from the Boise blue field.
