Broncos Regroup, Throttle Utah State

What is the true sign of a good coach? Some may say that it is how the team does in big games. I have a hard time arguing against that, but I have another definition; How does the team do following a big loss? That is really how you know how good of a coach you have. Exhibit A: Yesterday at Bronco Stadium. Boise State had lost just about everything with the overtime loss to Nevada (especially for many fans). What else was there to play for? Yet Chris Petersen kept his players in check, treating them and acting like he has all year. His demeanor did not change despite the devastating loss last weekend. I will take Coach Pete over any other coach in the country, hands down. According to this story, he had his players "fake it" so as to maintain the focus and attention that they need during practice and the game. I will continue with this later on. For now, let's look at some numbers from the Broncos win over the Aggies of Utah State.

Yardage:
......Broncos......Aggies
Rushing-202.........250
Passing-251..........41
..Total-453.........291

First Downs:
......Broncos......Aggies
........26...........17

Average Gain Per Play:
......Broncos......Aggies
........6.6..........4.3


Rushing Attempts/Average Gain Per Rush:
......Broncos......Aggies
.......33/6.1......51/4.9

Number of Sacks on Opposing Quarterback/Yards:
......Broncos......Aggies
........4/21.........0/0

Turnovers:
......Broncos......Aggies
.........0............2

As you can see, Boise State significantly out-gained the Aggies in total yards. The biggest differential was in the rushing production. But that is somewhat deceiving. Utah State rushed the ball 51 times for an average of 4.9 yards per. They weren't as efficient as Boise State, but still had some success. The 41 passing yards for the Aggies came on only 4 completions on 16 attempts. Diondre Borel had a rough outing on The Blue. The average gain per play is an important stat because it shows that the Broncos were more efficient overall than the Aggies. Boise State yet again had a sack party and at the same time didn't allow one themselves. That is always good to see. The Aggies' two turnovers were both interceptions, one coming at the very end of the game in the end zone. Overall, Boise State played very well on offense and Utah State, not so much. That's what I like to see.


What We Learned:


Coach Chris Petersen is amazing. I know that I gushed about him already above, but it is worth it to mention it again. Think about it, how many teams would have just mailed it in and not cared after being tossed from National Title contention? The answer is a lot, most teams, actually (see Utah at Notre Dame after they lost to TCU). I am impressed. That is all I will say about that...


Utah State has some talent. There is no question about that. Unfortunately for them, the injury bug had hit them hard all season long and couldn't find any type of consistency. What Gary Anderson is doing there is great to see. I hope they find their way into the Mountain West Conference. It will be interesting to see how they continue to get better as the seasons go by.


This senior class has been one of the best in Boise State history. Look back at my last post and just see the guys that are graduating. They have been a huge part of the most dominating conference and post-season runs in Boise State, WAC, and national history. They will be sorely missed. Luckily, their production and success has allowed the Broncos to recruit some great players to follow in their footsteps.

WAC officials still suck. At least one of their terrible calls went our way yesterday. Just one more reason why I am glad that we are moving on.

Areas of Concern:

The only thing that concerns me is the way that the Broncos are defending a physical runner. Louisiana Tech's Lennon Creer gained some good yardage and he is a big guy. Nevada's Vai Taua gashed and gassed the Broncos. Kerwynn Williams plays very physical and was able to get some good runs in against Boise State. Byron Hout being done for the season has a lot to do with that, but only to a degree. The coaches will need to work on that for the bowl game, especially because Utah (the most likely opponent-in the Las Vegas Bowl) has some big, physical running backs.

Favorite Play:

Kellen Moore did it again. He shrugged a sack and ran for 11 yards or so and got the first down! It is great to see that part of his game coming along. The Dork Assassin still prefers to toss the rock, but he can tuck and run if he has to!

Thoughts and Tidbits:

The Aggies focus on defense was to stop the long ball. They did a very good job. Boise State was limited to 7 yards per pass completion, which is somewhat below their season average. They were exposed to the run game so Jeremy Avery and Doug Martin took advantage of it. The crowd at Bronco Stadium gave kicker Kyle Brotzman a huge round of applause when he was introduced as part of senior night. That was great to see.

Perception:

Boise State has fallen from the public eye and their ridiculous scrutiny. They are still eligible for a BCS Bowl Game, but it would take divine intervention or blackmail for that to take place. As I mentioned above, it looks like the Broncos will be taking on the Utah Utes in the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl. The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco decided to go with Nevada and to that I say, have fun. I am excited for this match up. It is against another top 25 team instead of a mediocre 6-6 ACC squad. Besides, it was obvious that Boise State and their fans didn't want anything to do with the bowl in California. The Utes will be without their starting quarterback Jordan Wynn, who is having shoulder surgery here in the next few days, if it already hasn't happened. Utah has won 9 straight bowl games and will look to continue that streak. The Broncos will be excited and geared up to play this game. Las Vegas is a very popular destination as it is, so there will be plenty of fans there to cheer the team on. The official announcement will happen tonight on ESPN after the BCS Announcement Show. I can't wait.

Photos:

You know what to do. Enjoy them!

Come back tomorrow for my WAC Weekend Recap. That is all!