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Boise State rebounds
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Broncos need to make basic adjustments if they hope to dominate Cowboys in Homecoming game on Saturday
Boise State football will arrive at a crossroads Saturday night when it meets up with the Wyoming Cowboys. Just about every fan in Bronco Nation is anxious to see which direction this team is going to take.
That direction could ultimately determine the type of season this could be for the Broncos. Last weekend’s crushing defeat to the University of Washington, 24-10, was, in more ways than one, painful to watch and was the Broncos’ first loss in more than 600 days.
Uncharacteristic penalties and turnovers doomed BSU from the start and from there the Broncos could never establish a rhythm offensively and put points on the board.
Meanwhile, BSU was held scoreless during the second half; a sight very unfamiliar to the Bronco faithful. BSU has averaged just less than 42 points per game since the 2000 season. That is a remarkable statistic considering they score more points per game than teams like University of Southern California, University of Texas and Oklahoma University over the past seven seasons.
Thankfully for the Broncos, they play their next four games on the Blue. The infamous turf has served as a sanctuary for players and fans alike. The University of Florida has the Swamp, Ohio State University has the Horseshoe, University of Hawaii has the Island and Boise State has the Blue. The Broncos are 40-1 on the turf since 2001. Blue has never looked so good.
“We’re glad to be back home and playing on our turf,” BSU Head Coach Chris Petersen said. “We love playing here. Our fans are awesome and we feed off their energy. We seem to play better here and right now that’s to our advantage.”
BSU has the second best home winning percentage over the past five years (.963 percent), second only to USC.
The Broncos also boast one of the nation’s most successful programs in the nation with a 77-14 overall record since 2000.
Regardless of any record or statistic its been a long time since BSU football has suffered a loss. The date was Dec. 28, 2005 to be exact. The Broncos fell to Boston College in the MPC Computers Bowl here in Boise.
“It’s been a while for us,” Petersen said. “But, to go undefeated every season, every year is near impossible to do in college football. But, we’ll regroup and we will prepare for Wyoming and be ready.”
So then, the loss to Washington exposed the Broncos youth and inexperience and brought them to a crossroads unfamiliar to this roster.
“We made some mistakes and did not play well in a lot of areas,” Petersen said. “Now we have to decide which way we’re going to go this season and we’ll do everything we can to prepare and make sure we go the right way.”
The Broncos have every intention of taking the right turn Saturday night against Wyoming and get the season back on the winning track and here are a few things they can do to get there:
Penalties
BSU was flagged for way too many penalties. Nine infractions were thrown on BSU and that has got to be fixed for the Broncos to compete with the 2-0 Cowboys. “We made lots of mistakes that cost us in a lot of areas,” Petersen said. “Had we not committed some of those the game could have been different for us.”
Petersen was referring to the Broncos opening kick-off that Kyle Wilson returned 97 yards for the touchdown. That score however, was called back on a holding penalty that negated the Broncos momentum.
“Some of the penalties were just so close,” Petersen said. “Sometimes you’ve gotta learn the hard way.”
Turnovers
BSU turned the ball over four times against Washington. Each time the Broncos mounted a drive and built momentum they turned the ball over and gave the Huskies opportunities to pad their lead. Quarterback Taylor Tharp threw three interceptions and muffed a handoff to tailback Ian Johnson late in the third quarter. If BSU hopes to handle the Cowboys they must minimize turnovers.
Big Play Ability
One major piece the Broncos were missing last week in their offense was their ability to make big plays. Other than one 47-yard pass to freshman Titus Young from Tharp, BSU failed to spark any big plays on either side of the ball against the Huskies. This has to change on the Blue or BSU may find themselves playing catch-up again like they did in Seattle, and they want to avoid that against Wyoming’s hard-nose defense.
TATE CASTLETON
Assistant Sports Editor
