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Broncos look to tame WAC’s
all-time leading passer Friday night
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Less than a week after shutting down one of the best running
offenses in the nation, the Boise State football team will look to
shut down one of the best passing offenses in the nation.
The Broncos (7-0, 4-0 Western Athletic Conference) will play host
to Hawaii (3-3, 3-2 WAC) in front of another nationally televised
audience tomorrow night at 6:06 p.m. at Bronco Stadium.
Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang will look to break the all-time NCAA
passing yards record. Chang needs just 241 yards to pass Ty Detmer
who holds the record with 15,031 yards. With only one game this
season, with less than 300 yards passing, and the Broncos (15th
ESPN/ USA Today Coaches Poll, 18th AP Poll) boasting the worst
passing defense in the conference—there is certainty that the
record will fall tomorrow night.
Both teams have high-octane offenses that should light up the
scoreboard. The Broncos lead the WAC in scoring at 44.1 points per
game, and Hawaii is second, averaging 35.8. Hawaii leads the
conference in passing yards with 347.3, and the Broncos are second
in the category with 281.7 per contest.
“They can be very electric,” Broncos’ Head Coach Dan Hawkins said.
“Chang is awesome, and (Head Coach June) Jones knows what he is
doing.”
The Broncos lead the series between the two schools at 3-2,
including a three-game winning streak since the Broncos have joined
the WAC.
at home versus San Jose State. Chang passed for 318 yards and two
scores, while receiver Britton Komine caught nine passes for 159
yards and both scoring passes.
As long as Hawaii doesn’t throw all over the Broncos’ secondary
early in the game, the Broncos should look to run the ball as much
tomorrow as they have all season. Hawaii’s defense is giving up
over 222 yards per game on the ground. And once again, the run
defense of the Broncos will look more than impressive. The Warriors
are the worst running team in the WAC, and the Broncos now have the
best run defense in the nation, giving up only 62.9 yards per
game.
Bronco quarterback Jared Zabransky will also need to be mindful of
Hawaii cornerback Abraham Elimimian. The senior leads the nation
with five interceptions and trails only Bronco cornerback Gabe
Franklin in the WAC with 11 passes deflected.
Senior wide receiver Chad Owens may be over shadowing his
quarterback this season. Owens is averaging 86 yards receiving per
game. However, the most impressive stat is the three punt returns
for touchdowns he has scored in only six games.
Once again, the game will be about the numbers for the Broncos.
They have four different streaks on the line. The nation’s longest
winning streak at 18 is still alive, as is their 23-game home win
streak and the second longest WAC win streak at 22 games. The
Broncos also possess a perfect 12-0 record on ESPN televised
games.
Senior linebacker Andy Avalos was given WAC Defensive Player of the
Week honors on Monday after recording six total tackles. Avalos
also recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass in the Broncos 33-16
victory over Fresno State.
The Broncos also moved up in the BCS rankings after the victory
over the Bulldogs. Jumping up one spot to 13th, the Broncos will
need four impressive victories to finish out the season, and need a
Utah loss to even think about consideration for a BCS bowl berth.
Utah moved up to 6th in the BCS poll. If the season ended today,
the Utes would be the first non-BCS conference team to get an
automatic bid to a BCS bowl.
Trevor Horn
Sports Writer
