A Smorgasbord of Info. for Bronco Fans

Just as the title suggests, today's post is going to be a whole mix of things. I figured it was only appropriate because there is a lot to discuss and only so many days in which I can post. I will itemize each subject and go from there. I know for a fact that I am going to contradict myself, but you will understand why.

Item #1: I feel obliged to start with the scene that went down in Bronco Stadium Saturday afternoon. I already mentioned it in my take on the beat down of the Rainbow Warriors here, but I wanted to go into more detail on it. I was thinking about this over the weekend and these are my thoughts: I am so proud of the team and coaching staff for what they did on Saturday. I mean that sincerely. Stephen Kinsey is a little hero and deserves everything he got and more. When he and Shea McClellin walked out onto the field holding hands, carrying their hammers, it was like everybody in the stadium was watching a Nicholas Sparks movie. Waterworks galore. My eyes were sweating…At least that’s what I told my wife…The performance of the team coupled with Coach Pete’s treatment of the Kinsey family made me so proud to be a Bronco. At some point I may get back to my proactive BCS-hating ways, but right now I do not care. If you could tell me of a coach or a team that would do what Petersen and the Broncos did, you would be making it up. Bronco Nation is amazing, and it all starts with the coach. The BCS can have their fun this year, we all know who the real winners are. Take a look at Bronco-loved Pat Forde's perspective on Coach Pete and the team. It is really touching in so many ways. Pete is known for not trying to make a statement or earn "style points" when his team plays. Forde explains why it makes sense that he is how he is. Seriously, I was crying when I saw Kinsey and McClellin come onto the field, and then again when I read about it the next day. For a moment in time, I was able to see what is important in life, forget this garbage about the BCS, and enjoy myself on a surprisingly sunny Saturday in Boise. I am a big baby sometimes, and this was one of those times. If we could strive to be like Chris Petersen, not just with our actions but in our thoughts as well, we would be better fans and enjoy the game more. It was indeed a needed break from the BCS madness.

Item #2: With that said, I now wish to harp on the BCS (I told you I was going to contradict myself. But hey, the Stephen Kinsey-induced euphoria can only last so long, right?). Start by reading Brian Murphy's take on TCU jumping BSU in the polls and BCS Rankings. It is a really good article. These two teams are so close in talent, coaching, offensive and defensive production, and skill, that it is so hard to determine who should be ranked higher. All that you have to help you make a decision is who they played against, common opponents, and strength of schedule. Boise State's is ranked 78th and TCU's is 85th. Boise State's marquee win was over Virginia Tech, who currently sits 20th in the BCS Standings. TCU's signature win was against an extremely overrated Utah team (strength of schedule; 99th), who now sits at 14th. As long as the Hokies keep winning, they will be in the top 10 and at BCS Bowl by the end of the season. Utah will lose at Notre Dame. Boise State also beat a red hot Hawaii team, and will still face a tough Fresno State squad as well as a ranked Nevada unit. TCU plays nobody for their last two games. With that said, there is still plenty of time and the possibility for the Broncos to pass the Horned Frogs in the Rankings. Time will tell. My main gripe is the voters. With as close as these teams are, how in the world can the Frogs be getting that much more love than Boise State? The difference in respect is astounding and ridiculous at the same time. Boise State beat them last year. You can and have to use last year's results. Everything that happens this year is based on it. Boise State has a lot of ground to make up on TCU, biased voters are not going to help. In the bitter end, the Broncos could be left out of a BCS Bowl Game, which would be ridiculous. Come on voters! Get over yourselves! As far as common opponents, there are two; Oregon State and Wyoming. Boise State was more dominant over the Beavers than TCU was, beating them by a larger margin. They also dismantled Wyoming on the road, not allowing a point to be scored and held the Cowboys to negative rushing yards. The Horned Frogs beat them at home by the same margin, but allowed Wyoming to score. It is important to point out that the Cowboys were without their starting quarterback against TCU. Without this, how else could you compare the teams? Boise State was more impressive against them, but yet again the voters do not care. Insanity.

Item #3: I received a comment on "Boise State's Nice List" from Raul. He was wondering why Andrea Adleson wasn't on there. In all honesty, I had never heard of her before then. But as a blogger aspiring to be a journalist, I did my due diligence and researched everything I could about Mrs. Adelson. I found that she is very supportive of the non-AQ schools, including Boise State. The most interesting piece I found from her is actually a conversation she had with Mark Schlabach. In it they debate the merits of these schools. Check it out here and see for yourself. She definitely belongs on the Nice List, so thank you very much Raul. I would put her at number three, bumping the former numbers 4 through 8 back one spot. She is that high because of how enthusiastic she is with her non-AQ supporting position. I will now pay plenty of attention to what Andrea Adelson does. It feels good to have another one on our side.

That is all I have for today. Thanks again to Raul for commenting and contributing to this blog. I hope there is a lot more from him as well as everyone else that reads. As a farewell and in honor of the rivalry game that will go down on Friday, enjoy this picture! I saw it in person at Bronco Stadium three years ago! Check back in tomorrow for more!

Weekly Player to Watch, 7th Edition

Here we have the biggest game of the season since Virginia Tech. Nobody saw this one coming, as the Rainbow Warriors were picked to finish toward the bottom of the WAC. Yet here we are, over-analyzing the crap out of the game in every way possible (including me!). I posted my picks yesterday, including a couple of extras. The highlight of the out of conference picks has to be Utah vs. TCU. That will be the one to keep your eyes on. I would imagine that they will be announcing that score throughout the Broncos’ game. I will let you know…Anyway, let’s get started with the Weekly PTW.

It has been a weird couple of weeks with the Tuesday night game and nothing to post about the Broncos for the weekends. It feels good to get back into the normal routine and schedule. That means back to normal Weekend Picks, PTW, and a feeling of complete normalcy with me. With that said, this week’s PTW is…Ryan Winterswyk!


Hawai’i passes the ball a lot. In fact, the only game where they have even tried to rush consistently was at Utah State. Alex Green went for 172 yards, and Moniz still ended up with 389 through the air. I think that even if they try to run against Boise State, Green will get swallowed up and most likely injured by the beasts on the D-Line. I took this into account when picking my PTW. I cannot help but get the images of two years ago out of my head. Hawai’i was on The Blue and their offensive line could not hold water in a bucket. Snap after snap the Broncos were in the backfield harassing whichever quarterback was there (they used a couple, if I remember correctly). This forced some poor throws and led to 3 Brandyn Thompson interceptions. Well guess what, this Bronco defensive line is the best they have ever had, and possibly the best in the nation. I see much of the same happening tomorrow. Bryant Moniz is in trouble. Just ask Andy Dalton.


Ryan Winterswyk is a senior from La Habra, California where he played safety (?). He was named All-state, All-CIF, All-Freeway League, league defensive MVP and team MVP, and finished his senior season with 150 tackles, two interceptions and three touchdowns. Surprisingly, he was not recruited by any big (or even small schools) and decided to walk on at Boise State. At 6’4” he was a little tall to stay at safety. The coaches decided to bulk him up and stick him at defensive end. Now he is an all-WAC performer and even found a place on the all-WAC decade team after his junior year. Those are pretty high honors for a man who has not graduated yet. But then again, he also found his way onto the cover of Sports Illustrated.


I know that ‘Swyk has not recorded a sack yet and a large part of that is due to the fact that he is getting double teamed basically all game. That in itself is important. It has left Shea McClellin, Chase Baker, and Billy Winn to terrorize quarterbacks and running backs alike. Now you have offensive coordinators and head coaches guessing who to double team and trying short, quick passes so as to not allow sacks. As much as the Rainbow Warriors pass, there are bound to be multiple sack and hurry opportunities. Winterswyk will be left one-on-one so as to double team McClellin, Winn, or Baker and ‘Swyk will get the sack. There is just too much talent across the line for the front four to always double team him. Even though Hawai’i’s offensive line has been playing well, Boise State should be able to get plenty of pressure. Bryant Moniz, it’s time to get Swyked!


So there we have it! Bronco Chase’s Weekly Player to Watch in its seventh appearance. Check back in Sunday my review and analysis of the BSU vs. Hawai’i game and then on Monday for the WAC Weekend Recap. I would also like to thank the Virginia Tech Hokies for playing well enough to win last night against Georgia Tech. The spoils of your victory go far and have a couple of great consequences. Number one, you got my Weekend Picks started off on the right foot. Number two and most importantly, your win does wonders for Boise State's reputation, perception, and strength of schedule. Keep it up. We will take care of our end of the deal by beating Hawai'i tomorrow. Go Broncos!

Broncos Rise, Rockets Crash

The Boise State Broncos did what they had to do on Saturday and crushed the Toledo Rockets by a final score of 57 to 14. I am continuously impressed by how Coach Chris Petersen is able to prepare his team every single week to get out there and play the best they can. The only time I have seen a let down or a lazy game from them was last year against UC Davis. In any case, Boise State is taking care of business week in and week out. With Alabama losing to South Carolina yesterday, it will be interesting to see what happens. Let's take a look at some stats that I found interesting from the Toledo game:

Yardage:
......Broncos......Rockets
Rushing-207..........65
Passing-293..........222
...Total-500.........287


First Downs:

......Broncos......Rockets
........25.............18

Average Gain Per Play:

......Broncos......Rockets
........7.9............4.8

Sacks on Opposing Quarterback:

......Broncos......Rockets
.........4..............0

Turnovers:

......Broncos......Rockets
.........0..............5

This game was a little weird to watch and take in. It appeared that Boise State was not able to stop Toledo's offense hardly at all (look at the average gain per play stat. They got almost five yards per play). But somehow the Broncos had a 36-7 lead at halftime. That is where the turnover stat comes into play. Every time the Rockets got something going and had pushed the ball close to the end zone, Boise State forced a turnover. Nabbing 3 fumbles and 2 interceptions is a good way to demoralize a team. Couple that with the fact that Toledo was amongst the best in the nation in turnover margin, and you have a blowout on your hands. The Broncos did give up a lot of yardage through the air, and most of it can be attributed to Eric Page. I said to watch out for him and he did not disappoint. Page ended the game with 11 catches for 120 yards. He also ran a couple of kick offs back, with a long of 41 yards. He did plenty of damage.

What We Learned:

The Broncos offensive line deserves a lot of credit for protecting Kellen Moore the way they have. Don't forget the massive, gaping holes they are creating for the running backs to rush through. They have only given up one sack this year, and that was against Virginia Tech. A lot is made about Moore's escapibility, but he is so protected and comfortable back there thanks to the big fellas up front. Even with the players shuffling positions and new guys stepping in, they get the job done. It's called great coaching and lots of talent.

Boise State is deep, everywhere. From Ricky Tjong-a-tjoe to Jonathan Brown (who?) to Joe Southwick, the Broncos have a lot of depth across the roster. It's nice to see these guys get playing time with huge leads, but they are also dominating when they are out there. Needless to say, the Broncos are set for years to come in just about every position.

Kellen Moore will be in New York in December, but he probably won't win the Heisman, even though he should. If Coach Pete would leave the kid out there the entire game, he would throw for 600 yards and 9 touchdowns every time! It is insane how calm he is. After throwing a touchdown pass to Tyler Shoemaker, he was seen on the sidelines not even sweating, chatting with his teammates, and laughing. Did he even play??? He should win the award, he is the best player in college football, but Petersen wants to save him for future games, and at the same time it possibly ends his chances of bringing home the stiff-arm trophy, much in the same way that he is not lobbying for the team to move up in the polls. They refuse to play "the game." Good for them! Stick it to the man!

You shouldn't try to run the ball against Boise State. It's just not a good idea and it won't get you anywhere. Toledo gained 65 yards on 31 attempts. That is 2.1 yards per rush. In fact, there have only been two teams to gain more than 100 yards against the Broncos this year. They are Virginia Tech (44 attempts, 2.9 yards per) and New Mexico State (41 attempts, 2.9 yards per). In other words, you might have more success passing it, maybe.

Maybe the WAC Sports Network isn't as bad as I thought it was. I think the big difference was that Dick Tomey was nowhere to be heard. The camera quality and camera work were just as bad, but at least I wasn't considering jabbing a rusty screw driver into my temple from having to hear the garbage pouring out of Tomey's mouth. The two commentators yesterday were much better and actually fairly intelligent. Like I said, the whole network is still a terrible idea, but I feel better this week about it. Sigh...

Areas of Concern:

Again with the penalties. We saw yet another time when the Broncos had forced their opponent to punt only to see it disappear with a penalty. The roughing the kicker was just a stupid play. Kick off coverage. It is still really bad. Granted, Eric Page may or may not be human, but that is still no excuse for letting them gash the coverage team for 30 or 40 yard returns every time. The secondary was pretty bad. Toledo had receiver's open all night. That will not fly against Hawai'i. That's it for this game. It seems like there has been a lot of improvement through 5 games, which is great to see.

Favorite Play:

There were so many to choose from. Let's make a list and go from there;

1. Titus Young's jump for a Moore pass, catching it, rolling over the defender, and getting into the end zone even though his knee clearly touched the 2 yard line first. Sick catch! Suck it instant replay!!!

2. Jarvis Hodge trucking some line backer who tried to get in his way as he was toting the rock up the middle. The fool got owned!

3. Shea McClellin sniffing out the screen pass from Dantin and Supermanning into the air to snatch it and take it in for a house call the other way. Pick-six baby!

4. The play where Moore faked an end around hand off, and the entire defense chased after the alleged hand off-e, even though Kellen still had the ball in his hands. They got duped bad!

5. The fake punt that was called back for holding. It was so beautiful! Too bad it didn't count, but it is still in the running for my favorite play! You will see it again this season, mark my words.

I don't know which one was the best. I think I will go with the McClellin interception just because of how athletic one must be to pull it off. Plus he outran the quarterback to the end zone. You could see he really wanted to stiff arm Dantin if he had gotten the chance. Remember, he played a lot of running back in high school, so it was familiar ground to him.

Thoughts and Tidbits:

Michael "Canadian Bacon" Atkinson was suspended for the game and as we found out later, is indefinitely suspended for the rest of the season for a violation of team rules. We don't know what he did, but this is his second suspension of his short career at Boise State. It would not surprise me if we did not see the Bacon for a
long time, if ever again. It's too bad too, because he is a really good player. Toledo lost a quarterback, a running back, and a defensive lineman to injury during the game. It was very physical out there.

My Weekly PTW was wide receiver Tyler Shoemaker. He finished the game with 2 receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown. His TD catch was the last pass Moore threw for the game. He was also the recipient of a Kyle Brotzman fake punt-pass that unfortunately got called back for holding. "Shoe" also laid down some pretty sweet blocks for his teammates when the situation called for it. He played a good game and finally we have a Weekly PTW who did something and did not get injured! Good job Tyler!

Perception:

The score of this game is a little mis-leading. Like I said, the Rockets were moving the ball down the field fine for most of the game. Unlike the Broncos, however, they were not able to make the plays when it mattered. 5 turnovers spelled doom for Toledo, especially when they happened they way they did, in the red zone and during almost every promising drive. Still, with the Broncos out of the spotlight, all the voters see is the final score and the stats. It will look very good and with Alabama's loss to South Carolina, they will move back up to number three in the nation. What will be interesting is where they will land when the BCS Rankings come out early Sunday evening. My guess is either 2, 3, or 4, but most likely number 3. As long as Boise State can continue to put up good numbers, play great defense, and be prepared mentally, things will stay looking good. Next up for the boys in Blue, the San Jose State Spartans!

Photos:

Thank you yet again idahostatesman.com for taking great pictures that I can post a link to on my blog. Enjoy.

Make sure to check back in tomorrow to see my WAC football weekend recap. I have chosen the upset two weeks in a row! Yeah baby! Go Broncos!!!!!!!

Broncos Take Down Hapless Aggies

In what may have appeared like there was only one team on the field, the Boise State Broncos completely dismantled the New Mexico State Aggies at their home stadium, winning 59-0. The game was over after the Aggies' second possession, when Ryan Winterswyk (that's right, a defensive lineman) intercepted a Matt Christian pass. The game was even more lopsided than the final score indicated, if that is even possible. Let's take a look at some stats to start off and go from there.

Yardage:

.........Broncos......Aggies
Rushing...299.......118
Passing...309.......90
Total......608.......208

First Downs:
......Broncos......Aggies
.........26............11

Turnovers:

......Broncos......Aggies
..........0.............3

Average Gain Per Play:

......Broncos......Aggies
........9.7...........3.3

I think the one that stand out to me the most is the average gain per play stat. Boise State was averaging almost a first down on every single play that they ran. You will always win if you can do that. Granted, New Mexico State is one of the worst teams in the nation, but those are still some impressive stats. The Broncos were giving up an average of just over 60 yards per game on the ground, but the Aggies were able to eat up 118. Some of you may ask why. The answer is this; of the 63 total plays they ran, 41 of them were rushing calls. When it takes a team 41 attempts to gain only 118 yards, the defense has done their job. Besides, it's not like they were getting anywhere throwing the ball anyway. When you beat a team so badly, there are not many story lines to follow, get all excited, and blog about, but let's see what my little brain comes up with...

What We Learned:

The Broncos defensive line is amazing. I believe that they are a bunch of man-yeti's out there mauling opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks. It is seriously amazing what Chase Baker, Billy Winn, Ryan Winterswyk, Shea McClellin, and all of their back ups have been able to do thus far this season. They only got one recorded sack last night, but that gives them 12 on the year so far. What they were able to do very well was bottle up the rushing attack and force turnovers. Ricky Tjong-a-tjoe stripped the quarterback twice (Boise State recovered both fumbles) and McClellin was able to bat a pass into the waiting arms of Winterswyk (actually, Swyk swooped in and took the INT from McClellin!). Giving your offense a short field to score with is great a sign of a successful program.

Michael Couglin and Joe Southwick are capable back ups: First of all, Coughlin can run and he scored the first 6 points of the game with his legs. It was great to see him have some success after what could only be considered a disappointing 5 years at Boise State (remember, he won scout player of the year when he was a gray shirt freshman. He was supposed to be the next great Bronco QB). When it was announced that Coughlin and Southwick were going to get a few more snaps per game during crunch time, I was excited to see what the heir-appearant to Kellen Moore could do. Southwick can do a lot with his legs, but when I saw that pass that he zipped to Chris Potter for a 78 yard TD, I almost peed my pants! It was a beautiful sight! Now if Moore goes down injured (please no! It won't happen, it can't!), I feel comfortable with who we have to replace him. Plus we know that Boise State will be set at quarterback for years to come.

The WAC Sports Network Sucks Really Bad: I thought Altitude Sports Network was bad! Listening to that verbal diarrhea spewing from the two commentators' mouths was enough to force me to change the channel (which I did frequently. That or mute the TV). Dick Tomey (the more annoying, less knowledgeable of the pair), I understand you coached at San Jose State and that means you have sub par intelligence and wit, but holy heck you are terrible! I have no idea how half the stuff they were talking about related to football, much less the Broncos or Aggies. Sadly and shockingly, it made me long for the days of KTVB broadcasting the games and Mark Johnson slaughtering the names of every player on the field, as well as screwing up the action on most plays. I would also prefer the muscle hamster guy from CBS CS over that garbage. Seriously, I am not looking forward to next week when they get to disgrace broadcasting again as the Broncos take on Toledo at home. Kill me now...


Coach Pete is a Master at Mental Preparation: The Broncos had made it through the toughest part of their early season schedule unscathed. Now they face a long line of cupcakes and crappy teams before finally getting to play Fresno State and Nevada. How many teams and players in the nation would have taken time off, plays off, or even games off (mentally, of course)? The answer is a lot. But from the beginning of time, Chris Petersen has preached the "one game at a time" attitude and it has never been more appearant than it was last night. Boise State never let up, never quit, never eased-up, and never even thought about doing anything but playing their best. Petersen wouldn't have it any other way. All coaches' attitude, morals, beliefs, and mentality are reflected in their players and how they perform on the field. There are few (if any) better than Coach Pete at instilling an attitude of preparedness in his players. Do not expect the Broncos to slow down at all. It will not happen.


New Mexico State Has a Long Way to Go, but They are Getting There: Coach DeWayne Walker is trying to pound toughness into his players, starting with a decent rushing attack. I have already mentioned that the Aggies gained 118 yards on 41 attempts. It is a long and hard road when the offense that was put onto the field before he got there averaged about 75 passes per game. It takes time to get your own style of players in there and install the offense and defense that you want. Like I said, there is a lot of work to do, but I think Walker is a good coach and the Aggies will be good with him as their leader, eventually.

Areas of Concern:

It gets pretty difficult to find any problems when we played such an overwhelming and complete game. Looking at the stats on si.com here, the Broncos were only 3 of 9 on third down conversions. That is 33%. They can definitely get better at that, although a few of them were towards the end of the game when they were running the ball and not even thinking about passing it. Special teams; they did not play as bad on special teams as they did against Oregon State, but there are some kick off issues that need to be ironed out. It seems that Boise State has not gotten a touch back after their first kick off in any games so far. It's either really short or they don't cover very well and it goes for a good return. There is a lot of work to do there. Penalties; I hate sounding like a broken record, but we had some mistakes that took back some points and gave the Aggies some extra yardage. A Jason Robinson late hit out of bounds added fifteen. I know it was his first game back and he was excited to play, but chill out dude. A facemask by an offensive lineman brought back a sweet touchdown pass from Moore. Again, it's getting better, but the Broncos need to cut down on the yellow flags.

Favorite Play:

It has to be the Shea McClellin batted ball for an interception. McClellin got some air when he went up to swat the Matt Christian pass. It was a very athletic play for which he deserves all the credit. The best part was when Ryan Winterswyk swooped in and stole the interception. It was great. Idahostatesman.com tells us that they are equal now, since McClellin jumped on a fumble in the end zone against Wyoming that Winterswyk had "gifted" him. Anyway, the play was great and showed the versatility and athleticism of the Bronco D-line.

Thoughts and Tidbits:

The touchdown pass from Southwick to Potter was Southwick's first TD pass as a Bronco and Potter's first TD catch as a Bronco. Ricky Tjong-a-tjoe (again, freaking awesome name) is a beast and will be for years to come. Jason Robinson played in his first game since pleading guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge. He was suspended for the first 3 games. Also coming back from suspension was Daron Mackey.

My player NOT to watch was Brandyn Thompson. He didn't do anything during the game. In fact, I don't remember his name being mentioned at all. I guess that means that he did another good job of taking care of the wide receiver he was on and took him out of the game. He did not have any interceptions, which is kind of disappointing, but the season is long and there are a lot of games yet to play. At least I did not get him injured! My player to watch, Boyblue Aoelua, got his name dropped quite a few times. It turns out he was starting as a linebacker and made some tackles. Good job Boyblue!

This game will do nothing to harm the national perception of the Boise State Broncos. They problem is nobody was able to watch it. A 59-0 victory on the road is a good thing, but will it be enough to keep them at number 3 in the polls? Oregon took control of their game against Stanford late and pulled away to win. The battle between two top ten teams was watched by a lot of people and the victory will go far for the Ducks. I don't know if they pass the Broncos this week, but if they keep winning like they are now, which is by scoring a lot of points, then I think it will eventually happen. Like I said, hopefully and probably not this week, but it's just a matter of time, unless Oregon loses, which isn't looking very likely right now. Just as I type this, I look and Oregon has jumped Boise State in the AP poll. The Broncos are now 4th. So I was wrong. I didn't think it would happen this early but it has. Oh well, let's go Broncos!

Photos:

Like always, I get my pictures from idahostatesman.com, mainly because they have some really good ones! Enjoy!

Here is a video on youtube that shows highlights from the game. I tried to embed it in the post but the loser who uploaded it disabled the feature.

Check in tomorrow for my WAC weekend recap. There is a lot to talk about!

Broncos Beat Beavers!

If you watched the Boise State Broncos home opener against the Oregon State Beavers, you saw a great football team make mistakes that almost cost them the game. But at the same time, it never really felt like the outcome was in doubt. If you did not see it, then join me in this next part. Let's all just pretend that we didn't see it and we don't know how it ended. I will show some stats from the game. Look at them, act as if you don't know the final score, and guess who won. Ready? Here we go:

Yardage:

......Boise State........Oregon State
Rushing-175..................78
Passing-294..................159
Total-...469...................237

First Downs:

Boise State........Oregon State
.....22...................16

Sacks on Opposing Quarterback:

Boise State.......Oregon State
.......4....................0

Time of Possession:

Boise State.......Oregon State
...33:18...............26:42

It sure looks like it was a complete shellacking that Boise State bestowed upon a crappy Beaver team. In many ways this was true. The final score was 37 to 24 in favor of the Broncos. But why did I leave the stadium with what I can only describe as a sour taste in my mouth? It is because the third quarter was really rough on fans of the Broncos. Bad special teams play (mainly Titus Young fumbling a punt that gave Oregon State fantastic field position) and some really terrible penalties nearly derailed everything Boise State had worked for. In fact, 17 points that Oregon State scored were directly related to miscues by Boise State's special teams. It's tough because the defense played so well and the points allowed by special teams will be put on them. It was definitely hard to watch for a while. Oregon State did what they needed to do; play well on special teams, keep it close, and don't be intimidated. But still, it wasn't enough.

What We Learned:

-Kellen Moore should just be given the Heisman Trophy now. Well, at least be extended an invite to New York for the trophy presentation right now. In a night where mistakes, nerves, hype, and emotions took its toll on the Broncos, Moore was as cool as a cucumber. He went 19 for 27 with 288 yards and 3 touchdowns. Every time Boise State needed a score to hold the Beavers at bay, Kellen delivered. It also helps a lot that he has some talented receivers to throw the ball to.

-Mike Riley is a really freaking good coach! Not only did he have his players prepared and ready for the game, the environment, and the competition, but he had his guys in it mentally. Oregon State was not intimidated or scared to play in Bronco Stadium. Through the noise, the pressure, and a lack of respect, Riley and his crew were up to the task. They may have been outmatched in just about every facet of the contest, but he did what he could to keep it close, and it almost worked. Mike Riley; one of the top ten coaches in the nation. Take it to the bank.

-Boise State's run defense deserves all the hype it got, and then some. The combination of Billy Winn, Shea McClellin, Chase Baker, Ryan Winterswyk, Tyrone Crawford, and co. absolutely man-handled Jacquizz Rodgers. They held him to a career low 46 yards on 18 carries. That is absolutely unheard of! Quizz never got going. All I can say to finish this off is; watch out Colin "Bird Leg" Kaepernick and Vai Taua. The Broncos D-line is really big and really good.

-Doug Martin is a beast and eats children for dinner. OK, maybe just steak. But Coach Pete went to him in the fourth quarter to eat up clock and gain yardage. That is precisely what he did. On their final drive that netted a Kyle Brotzman field goal, Martin gained 61 of the team's 67 yards. Yards after contact are his specialty and he had plenty. Tons of credit to the offensive line and Dan Paul for blocking perfectly for Doug. They don't call him the Muscle Hamster for nothing.


Areas of Concern:
Penalties, again. The Broncos cut down on the number of them, but the ones they did have came at really inopportune moments. On one particular drive the defense had two fifteen yarders that kept the Beavers' drive alive, both times after a stop on third down. There was a taunting penalty on Tyrone Crawford and a phantom unnecessary roughness call against Winston Venable (I say phantom because it didn't happen. In order for it to be unnecessary roughness you actually have to hit the guy, right? Ridiculous). Either way, Boise State needs to fix that big time. Another concern is still the secondary. I know they were playing a prevent defense and didn't give up anything deep, but they left some receivers wide open. It is still better than against Virginia Tech, but there is room for improvement. Turnovers; The Broncos need some! It is almost ridiculous that they did not force any against Oregon State. Jeron Johnson should have had an interception but mistimed the jump and it ended up as an OSU touchdown. They will need to be a lot better at forcing turnovers if they expect to do big things this season.


Favorite Play:
Although it was a catch and a first down for the Beavers, George Iloka delivered a huge snot bubbler on the OSU receiver. He went up for a high ball from Katz and was greeted with a full speed face mask in his rib cage. It was awesome! We need more of that from Iloka.

Thoughts and Tidbits:
Austin Pettis got out of the dog house and threw his first touchdown pass ever in the first quarter. It was awesome! Matt Kaiserman got into the game at running back before Jeremy Avery did. Kaiserman hasn't played since breaking his leg against Idaho last season. Brandon Thompson had a great game. He kept star wide out James Rodgers in check, limiting him to 2 catches for 11 yards. Let's hope he continues doing just this instead of reverting to his Virginia Tech "I can't tackle worth crap" self.

Maybe I should stop picking weekly PTW's. Everyone I choose gets injured. Shea McClellin last week and DJ Harper this time around. When I saw him go down after cutting to his right on that surgically repaired knee, I was like "oh crap!" He did not return to the game. He was limping a little bit on the sideline, but Coach Pete says he is fine and will play next week.

A huge part of the outcome of the game was the national perception of the Broncos. A lot of experts said they needed to win big to earn more respect. It looked good for the first half and the fourth quarter, but as mentioned, the third almost messed it up. That sour taste in my mouth and yours is our perception of the team, the game, and the public perception (yes, I said it is our perception of the public perception. Quite a quandary, huh?). What I mean by that is Bronco fans are afraid that they did not pass the test as well as they could have in the eyes of the voters and viewers. Still, beating a ranked team will bode well for the Broncos. Couple that with the fact that Virginia Tech is back in it with a shut out win at Boston College and the ship may be righting itself (please refer to a previous post where I cautioned people to not overreact when James Madison beat the Hokies). Boise State should stay put in the polls for at least one more weak. I think that even if they had blown out the Beavers, nothing would have changed. Boise State still needs chaos to reign down on college football in order for them to get to the National Championship game. There is still a lot of season to play. Overall, I think that in the end a win is a win and the Broncos need to keep taking care of business. Oregon State has got to be the best 1-2 team in the country. Let's hope they can start to win and make some noise of their own. Again, here is a link to the photos taken of the game on idahostatesman.com. Enjoy!

My thoughts and prayers go out to James Rodgers. The poor kid took a hit and was knocked out of the game. It's too bad because it was a big game and I know him and his little brother had been looking forward to playing in it. I wish him a speedy recovery and hope that there are no lasting effects. Those two kids are gamers and they should be applauded.

Keep checking back in for more thoughts and feelings about the Broncos, the WAC, and just about everything else as it comes to me.

Weekly PTW, 2nd Edition

As I stated last week, the day before every Boise State Bronco football game I will pick the player that I think will have a huge impact on the game and will put up some good numbers. Last week I went with Shea McClellin and all he did was pounce on a fumble in the end zone fore a touchdown. He did have to leave the game with a concussion, but he was effective when he was in there. Let's see who I went with for the game on Saturday against the Oregon State Beavers:

I found it hard to pick this week’s PTW. There are so many places I could have looked and been happy with whoever I chose. But at the same time, I didn’t want to just go with Kellen Moore and call it a day. We all know that Moore is going to play well because he always does. I thought a lot about it and decided to stay on Moore’s side of the ball and go with running back DJ Harper.


A handsome fellow, if I do say so myself!

I looked through the stats for Oregon State in their first two games of the season and the one thing that stood out to me was their rushing defense. Against TCU, the Beavers gave up 278 yards on the ground. Against Louisville they allowed 165. TCU has a couple of good running backs, but Louisville, not so much. Even with defensive lineman Stephen Paea clogging up the middle, teams have been able to get their run on against Oregon State. I couldn’t pick Doug Martin for the same reason that I couldn’t go with Kellen Moore. Besides, as deep and as talented as Boise State is with that position, they should have no problem keeping fresh legs in the game as the OSU defense gets tired. It seems to me that Martin will wear them down with his punishing style of running, and the Harper will crash through without mercy and outrun everybody to the end zone. It will look something like this:



Harper is from Cypress, Texas and was a standout all star at Cypress Creek High School. Despite being only a two-star recruit, he had scholarship offers from Boise State, Arkansas, Houston, Tulsa, UTEP, Texas Tech, and Colorado State. We are glad he chose the Broncos! He has done nothing but rack up the yardage since playing as a freshman. Unfortunately, an ACL tear last year in the third game of the season against Fresno State sidelined Harper for the rest of the season. The good news is that he got a medical red shirt for that year and will be with us for one season beyond what we thought!

It’s interesting that at the beginning of the season, no one was sure how DJ Harper was going to do. He had just gotten back from his ACL tear to participate in practices a few weeks before the trip to D.C. Sure, the media (The Idaho Statesman) had told us that he was looking good in fall camp, but you can’t be sure until he is seen in live game action. Also, by the time we got the depth chart for the first game, Doug Martin was the starter while Harper and Avery were slated as co-backups. As mentioned, this was possibly due to the questions about how a repairing ACL tear would do in live action. Well how does 4 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown against Virginia Tech sound? When he broke that tackle just past the defensive lineman and sprinted 71 yards into the end zone, I knew immediately that he was fine. The rest of the nation knew as well. He followed that up with 11 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown against Wyoming, and that was only 3 quarters of work as Harper and the rest of the starters sat for the 4th. It seems that the coaches are allowing him to get back into things slowly, increasing his workload more and more each game. He is ripe for a larger number of carries and subsequently some long runs against the Oregon State Beavers. Doug Martin will wear them down with his physicality and then Harper will be long gone down the sideline before they realize what happened. Call it Boise State's version of "Smash and Dash." It should be fun.

I know this is a different OSU team than the one that came into Bronco Stadium in 2006, but I can’t help but picture Ian Johnson gashing the Beavers for huge gains and touchdowns over and over again without dreaming of DJ Harper doing the same thing on Saturday. So keep your eyes on number 6, DJ Harper. He will look a lot like this guy:



But actually he will look like this:



Check back in for the weekend recap on Monday. We should have a lot to discuss! GO BRONCOS!

Blow Out!

Real quick: I hope you all like the new lay out and look of the blog! I have spent a lot of time crafting it into what I want! It is still a work in progress, but it is getting there. Enjoy!

The Boise State Broncos have done it again! But this time it was as convincing as ever. The Broncos completely dismantled the Wyoming Cowboys for a 51-6 victory in Laramie, Wyoming, and trust me, it wasn't that close. Let's start with some raw numbers and go from there.

Yardage:

Boise State..........Wyoming
Rushing-275...........-21
Passing-373...........156
Total-648..............135

First Downs:

Boise State..........Wyoming
32..........................7

Sacks on opposing quarterback:

Boise State..........Wyoming
10...........................2

As mentioned before, Wyoming has not been very good in the rushing game thus far this season. Still, the Broncos holding them to -21 yards is pretty impressive. A lot of that was due to the 10 sacks the Boise State threw down on QB Austyn Carta-Samuels. He was literally crapping his already brown pants in the backfield from the moment that snap flew past his head and into the end zone. Also, look at the differential in the total yards gained and first downs earned. This was a complete domination for Boise State in every aspect of the game. Kellen Moore was lighting up the Cowboys all night long with deep passes. When Wyoming started getting a little bit of a feel for that, Doug Martin and DJ Harper gashed them for huge gains. Great game to watch as a Boise State fan. Remember, this was the first home game for the Cowboys since freshman linebacker Ruben Narcisse dies in a car accident. Their emotions were riding high and the crowd was into it before the game started. However, the Broncos were able to crush their spirits early by jumping out to a 17-0 lead mid-first quarter. It was basically over before it got started, or I guess more accurately right after it got started. The win and the way it was executed should bode very well for the Broncos in the polls and in the media/public perception of how good they are. If the Texas Longhorns can beat the Cowboys at home by 34-7, and the Broncos win at Laramie 51-6, Boise State looks really good. I don't know if they will get any of their first place votes back, but they certainly won't fall back in the polls at all, even with TCU dismantling Big 12 foe Baylor at home. As has been mentioned numerous times, Wyoming has historically been a tough place for the Broncos to play, but it sure didn't look like it last night. Trap game my butt!

Areas of Concern:

The secondary. Wyoming was much less formidable an opponent than Virginia Tech was. QB Carta-Samuels never really had much of a chance to pass the ball, as he was on the ground frequently, and a wide open receiver dropped a pass on their first possession. But he did burn the Broncos once for their only touchdown of the night. They did have two interceptions, but i still remain skeptical. Also, penalties. Once again, the Broncos had too many of them, 8 for 70 yards to be exact. That is better than game 1, but there is still room for improvement. I can't believe I am saying this, but Kellen Moore. He threw one interception (that wasn't nullified), but should have had three. One was waived off for a roughing the passer penalty and the other one the defender dropped. We'll just blame the high altitude and thin air

Thoughts and Tidbits:

Outstanding wide receiver Austin Pettis was benched for his first quarter flip into the end zone. He played sparingly on special teams afterwards. 135 total yards was the lowest total allowed by the Broncos since they began playing football. On the other hand, 648 total yards from Boise State was the fifth most in school history. DE Shea McClellin suffered a concussion early on in the game. The commentators were complete morons. They talked about cookie jars, muscle hamsters (they called Doug Martin a muscle hamster. I don't even know what that is!), and were completely off base claiming the referee's were reviewing whether or not a penalty flag should have been thrown. They were bad, really bad. Thank you CBS College Sports for your fine broadcasting quality.

My PTW for the week was DE Shea McClellin. He started off really well by pouncing on an errant snap in the end zone and scoring the first touchdown for the Broncos. But as I mentioned, he suffered a concussion (possibly on that same play, judging by the way his head snapped back) and didn't play the rest of the game. So in a way, the PTW was a good one, but unfortunately injuries often change plans. So next week we will have a new one and hopefully he can stay on the field. Best of luck to Mr. McClellin and I hope he gets better soon. We will need him against the Beavers on Saturday.

WAC Recap:

I made some predictions for how all of the Western Athletic Conference games would go and I picked the right on all of them except one; Nevada vs. California. The Wolfpack ate Cal quarterback Kevin Riley's lunch. He was in completely over his head and played very poorly. My prediction was lots of point scored and Cal finishing on top 45-42. Bird leg Kaepernick had other plans and Nevada smoked the Golden Bears 52-31 (I told you there would be plenty of touchdowns!).

Colorado vs. Hawai'i ended how I expected, although it did not look good in the first half. The Rainbow Warriors took a 10-0 lead at half time, but the Buffaloes came back with a vengeance and took control. My prediction was Colorado wins 42-35. The final score ended up being not as point happy. Still, I called it correctly. Buffs won 31-13.

The only WAC head-to-head match up pitted Fresno State on the road against Utah State. I was pretty close on this one, picking the Bulldogs to win 34-21. The final score ended up being Fresno State Bulldogs: 41, and Utah State Aggies; 24.

San Jose State is really bad, just as I expected. But they did win...against a FCS school. Hey, a "W" is a "W," right. My prediction was Spartans win 24-17. I over-estimated the output of both teams. Still, the Thunderbirds couldn't close the deal and San Jose State did win 16-11. Yikes...

San Jose State's competition for worst team in the WAC (possibly the nation) is the New Mexico State Aggies. They went to El Paso and I said they would get smoked 35-14 by the UTEP Miners. I got the winner right, but it was much worse for NMSU. Miners won 42-10.

Either Idaho is better than I thought (or want them to be), or UNLV is a lot worse than I thought. I think it's a combination of the two. I had picked the Vandals to take care of business at home and win 42-28. Idaho's offense was not as effective this game, but their defense came to play. The final score ended up being Idaho 30, UNLV 7.

Louisiana Tech is pretty bad. They came up against the Navy Midshipmen, one of the better non-AQ schools. I predicted Navy to take it in a close one 31-28. I was generally right. Navy did win, but the final score was 37-23.

You've read everything I have on the Boise State game. But I predicted the final score to be Broncos 41, Cowboys 24. Wyoming was just really bad and the Boise State cleaned house, as you know, 51-6. Huge win!

Pictures!:

Here is a link to idahostatesman.com and their photo gallery from the game. They have some pretty sweet shots. Enjoy!

This Week's Player to Watch

I hate it when all of the sudden people want to have a new tradition. Here is my mom one random year before Christmas: "Our new family tradition is to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation every year on Christmas Eve!" Lame. A tradition forms itself, it is not put together. In other words, you can't label something as a tradition when you first start out doing it. Let it evolve organically and before you know it, BAM!, a tradition is born. With that said, I am starting something new here on BroncoChase's Sports Plus; Each week before a Boise State football game, I will give you the name of a player to watch. Along with that name, I will quote a few stats and tell you why I think this individual is poised to have a big game and do a lot of good things for the team. Hopefully, the player does exactly what I say and doesn't make me look like an idiot! Good luck, Bronco Chase! Who knows, I may extend this into other sports or the NFL when college football is over. We will see how it goes.

Saturday vs. Wyoming player to watch (The weekly PTW, as we will call it): Defensive end Shea McClellin.



Let's start with some bio information first. Consider Mr. McClellin a hometown hero. Hailing from the small Nampa suburb of Marsing, Idaho (you have to pass Chicken Dinner Road to get there, which is some awesome random information), Shea was a man among boys on his football team. Marsing (as well as other small, farming towns in Idaho) is known for raising its corn-fed sons to be huge monstrous beasts. McClellin was by far the most talented individual to come out of that town for quite a while. At 6'3" and 262 pounds (he was obviously somewhat smaller in high school), he was a stand out on the field, making plays almost every down. He played both offense (running back) and defense (tackling a lot of poor boys and probably injuring a lot of them). Bronco coaches offered him a scholarship and McClellin has taken off from there.

Now some of you might say that this one is too easy or that he already had his big game against the Hokies on Labor Day. To that I say, get over it. I am basing this one on a lot of things. Number one, in fall camp McClellin terrorized any and all Boise State quarterbacks, regardless of what lineman/linemen were placed in his path. Number two, this trend continued as he became a recurring figure in the nightmares of one Tyrod Taylor. They probably look something like this;



Or perhaps this;



By nightmares I mean 4 tackles for loss, including 2 1/2 sacks, and he disrupted the offense almost every play he was on the field for and was a key component in shutting down Virginia Tech's outstanding running game. As a junior, a lot of big things are expected from McClellin, and if his play against the Hokies is any indication, then we are all in for a treat.

The Wyoming Cowboys are not a very good rushing team. With the exception of their quarterback, they are actually really crappy. Shea McClellin will play a huge part in keeping it that way. Also, he will get a couple more sacks of the QB Austyn Carta-Samuels. Mark my words. With the run game shut down (or non-existent to begin with), the defensive backs will ball-hock everything in the air and Shea and his buddies will be in the backfield more often than Reggie White. Carta-Samuels will have a long night and the crowd will stay quiet and leave early. McClellin and the Broncos dominate. Bad dreams for the Cowboys are in the works and Shea McClellin will make sure of it!

Shea McClellin, our weekly PTW.