This is the year. It has to be. To quote Elvis Presely “It’s now or Never.” (by the way, anyone notice that song is a blatant rip off of “O Solo Mio” just like “My Country Tis of Thee” is a rip off of “God Save the Queen) Anyways, the Boise State Broncos, the mid-major darlings of college football, will be fielding a team dominated by seniors and seven returning starters on each side of the ball.
Their offensive backfield and defensive front seven are all seniors, and they’re names you should get to know. Some of the them will be playing on the next level. With the stronger schedule, and a jump from the WAC to Mountain West, this is the year for BSU to reach the title game. Granted the MWC isn’t a power six, auto-qualifyer conference, and the TCU Horned Frogs are bailing on it for the Big East next year, but it’s a step in the right direction. And it’s a stepping stone, if Chris Petersen (61-5 in Boise) keeps doing what he’s doing; building on what Dan Hawkins did, Boise will get into a big time league soon enough.
This year though, they could reach the title game without it; possibly.
2010 was: best summed up by a Whitney Houston song, “Didn’t we Almost Have it all?” After the 10-0 start, BSU slipped up at Nevada on Thanksgiving weekend in overtime, and the 34-31 defeat was enough to screw up their national title hopes. Maybe it was all a foundation for this year. The defense was dominant- finishing in the top seven in the nation in seven major categories: scoring defense, total defense, rush defense, pass defense, pass efficiency defense, sacks and TFL. The Broncs were just three points from perfection last year; now they’re motivated to finish the job.
BMOCs: QB Kellen Moore is a Heisman Candidate and ahousehold name. His backfield mates FB Dan Paul and TB Doug Martin are rather noteworthy too. LT Nate Potter can bring it, and look out for DE Shea McClellin and Tyrone Crawford. DT Billy Wynn is the best of them all, and that really says something, cuz most teams in the nation are envious of this ferocious DL.
2011 will be awful if: injuries strike at corner and linebacker, as there is little depth there. Also, they need to replace some of the best receivers in school history, and a big time safety. So there are plenty of questions left to be answered.
2011 will be fruitful if: everyone stays healthy, and they find a true successor to kicker/punter Kyle Brotzman. The talent is all there, the pieces are in place.
Bottom Line: They open for the third straight year against a name opponent. They sent a message with wins over Oregon in 2009 and Virginia Tech last year. Georgia is first on the docket this time. Showdowns with Air Force and TCU will help the SOS, should they run the table and make a play for the national title game. Will it be enough or will we have more BCS BS? Or just BcS? Boise should hope that every SEC, Pac-12, and Big Ten team gets at least one loss. If you have two undefeateds from the AQs, sorry….
BSU Rankings: #5 Athlon, AP, #4 Phil Steele #6 Lindy’s, #7 USA Today
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site that generates millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
He does regular weekly radio spots in Chicago and Cleveland and has appeared on live shows all across the world from Houston to New Zealand. You can follow him on Twitter
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