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.
Showing posts with label Brandon Thompson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brandon Thompson. Show all posts
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
The Aftermath/Reaction/Ridiculous Generalizations
Well, the Boise State Broncos came out of Washington D.C. victorious Monday night, although, it did not look good for a while. As it turned out, not only was "The Clash in the Capitol" the best game of the opening weekend of College Football, it was dubbed an instant classic by ESPN and replayed the following day on ESPNClassic. It sure was a good game. As a huge fan of the Broncos, I was living and dying from play to play. There were so many momentum swings, ebbs and flows, and great and stupid plays from both sides. I thought there was no chance for the Broncos to beat the Hokies that night when the second and third quarters played out the way they did, but they pulled it out. ESPN's Heather Cox interviewed Boise State head coach Chris Petersen just before kick off and he said that the Broncos HAD to play for all four quarters in order to win. They definitely competed for all four, but relaxed too much in the second and third, only to pick it back up in the fourth. There are many angles that I wish to cover right now and I will try and get to them all.
First of all, the uniforms. Virginia Tech's were sick! I really liked them. Boise State's were pretty good. I would like to see the Broncos wear them for all away games. But they have to wear the orange pants in the bowl game. They are a good luck charm to the Broncos.
Please refer to my previous post when I thought Boise State's experience with returning starters would prevail over a relatively young Hokie squad, especially on defense. I also stated that Boise State would score early (which they did) and tack on a couple more late (which they kind of did) and that the final score would be 35 to 17 in favor of the Broncos. However, when I made that prediction, I completely underestimated how beastly amazing Tyrod Taylor was! The plays he was able to extend and make were nothing short of super-human. The one that stands out the most was when he kept his balance through a tackle, didn't let knee, elbow, or ball touch the ground and broke off for a big gain. I have never seen anything so athletic and (pardon the term) majestic! I am convinced that the ball did touch the ground, but obviously it wasn't enough to merit a "spiked ball" which would have stopped the play and the clock. As good as Taylor was, Boise State's secondary made him look even better. It's amazing what losing one first round draft pick will do to the entire defensive back unit. His replacement Jamar Taylor will be very good, he just needs some more work and experience. Also, Winston Venable was plagued with cramps and couldn't play except for a little bit in the beginning. Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and Coach Petersen have some work to do to get them back up to the level that they can and should be at. Also, Fiesta Bowl defensive Brandon Thompson made some really stupid plays that were very hard to look at. As bad as some of those plays were from Thompson, he made a fantastic stop in the last seconds on a deep pass from Tyrod Taylor that saved a huge gain and at least a field goal. Also, Jamar Taylor broke up the final pass of the game for the Hokies to seal the win for the Broncos. So call them the cardiac kids; stupid plays and then some good ones. They will need to be more consistent to have the team success that they want.
In the end, it was the experience of the Broncos that prevailed. The fast start in the first quarter and the amazing fourth quarter were what being a veteran team is all about. The second and third quarter were moments of unfocused non-execution and relaxation. The coaching staff will have to work on and fix that. But the big players came up big in crunch time and made the plays that they needed to make. All in all, it all made for a great game and a lot of fun to watch.
Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer is a class act and then some! The post-game press conference was nothing but owning up to his team's mistakes and giving the Broncos credit for the win and playing well. Those press conferences are the lamest thing in the world and extremely difficult for the coaches. Think about it, you have a room full of reporters who are trying their hardest to get a rise or a incriminating remark out of the coach through asking loaded, biased, unfair, and difficult questions. The coach has to try and stay neutral and not throw his team, the opponent, or the referees under the bus. If he bad mouths the refs, a fine will be coming his way and he won't get the 50/50 calls from them in the next game. If he talks smack about the opponent, he is seen as a sore loser and doesn't give credit where credit is due. If he undercuts his own team, he loses respect. It is a fine line he must walk and Frank Beamer was great. He is a class act above and beyond what you normally see.
All in all, the game was amazing and a great way to start the season. Boise State has a long way to go before they can get to the national title game, but they have kept themselves in the conversation for the time being. Wyoming will be a stiff test on the 18th and then the Oregon State Beavers come into town. This season should be a good one!
First of all, the uniforms. Virginia Tech's were sick! I really liked them. Boise State's were pretty good. I would like to see the Broncos wear them for all away games. But they have to wear the orange pants in the bowl game. They are a good luck charm to the Broncos.
Please refer to my previous post when I thought Boise State's experience with returning starters would prevail over a relatively young Hokie squad, especially on defense. I also stated that Boise State would score early (which they did) and tack on a couple more late (which they kind of did) and that the final score would be 35 to 17 in favor of the Broncos. However, when I made that prediction, I completely underestimated how beastly amazing Tyrod Taylor was! The plays he was able to extend and make were nothing short of super-human. The one that stands out the most was when he kept his balance through a tackle, didn't let knee, elbow, or ball touch the ground and broke off for a big gain. I have never seen anything so athletic and (pardon the term) majestic! I am convinced that the ball did touch the ground, but obviously it wasn't enough to merit a "spiked ball" which would have stopped the play and the clock. As good as Taylor was, Boise State's secondary made him look even better. It's amazing what losing one first round draft pick will do to the entire defensive back unit. His replacement Jamar Taylor will be very good, he just needs some more work and experience. Also, Winston Venable was plagued with cramps and couldn't play except for a little bit in the beginning. Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and Coach Petersen have some work to do to get them back up to the level that they can and should be at. Also, Fiesta Bowl defensive Brandon Thompson made some really stupid plays that were very hard to look at. As bad as some of those plays were from Thompson, he made a fantastic stop in the last seconds on a deep pass from Tyrod Taylor that saved a huge gain and at least a field goal. Also, Jamar Taylor broke up the final pass of the game for the Hokies to seal the win for the Broncos. So call them the cardiac kids; stupid plays and then some good ones. They will need to be more consistent to have the team success that they want.
In the end, it was the experience of the Broncos that prevailed. The fast start in the first quarter and the amazing fourth quarter were what being a veteran team is all about. The second and third quarter were moments of unfocused non-execution and relaxation. The coaching staff will have to work on and fix that. But the big players came up big in crunch time and made the plays that they needed to make. All in all, it all made for a great game and a lot of fun to watch.
Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer is a class act and then some! The post-game press conference was nothing but owning up to his team's mistakes and giving the Broncos credit for the win and playing well. Those press conferences are the lamest thing in the world and extremely difficult for the coaches. Think about it, you have a room full of reporters who are trying their hardest to get a rise or a incriminating remark out of the coach through asking loaded, biased, unfair, and difficult questions. The coach has to try and stay neutral and not throw his team, the opponent, or the referees under the bus. If he bad mouths the refs, a fine will be coming his way and he won't get the 50/50 calls from them in the next game. If he talks smack about the opponent, he is seen as a sore loser and doesn't give credit where credit is due. If he undercuts his own team, he loses respect. It is a fine line he must walk and Frank Beamer was great. He is a class act above and beyond what you normally see.
All in all, the game was amazing and a great way to start the season. Boise State has a long way to go before they can get to the national title game, but they have kept themselves in the conversation for the time being. Wyoming will be a stiff test on the 18th and then the Oregon State Beavers come into town. This season should be a good one!
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