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Petersen focused on Spartans, not BCS
Trent Lootens
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JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER. Chris Petersen congratulates UC Davis after Boise State’s victory over the Aggies.
Now isn’t the time to talk to Boise State head coach Chris Petersen about the BCS. That conversation should be reserved for five weeks down the road.
The coach seemed not at all bothered about the Broncos’ recent plummet in the BCS standings from No. 4 to No. 7. In fact, he thought it was comical when asked if he was disappointed.
“It made me chuckle just as much the other weeks when we played a game that was probably our worst of the season then had a bye and rose in the standings. Now, we play one of our better games at a very tough place and go down in the standings. It is what it is,” Petersen said grinning.
Petersen continued to reiterate why he and his players shouldn’t worry about the standings because it could ruin their focus.
“You’re right. They would be frustrated if they payed attention to that stuff,” Petersen said when asked if he had talked to his players about the frustrations with the BCS. “That’s why we don’t pay attention to it.”
Coaches in the past who have lobbied for their teams to get “fair,” treatment from the BCS selection committee include the likes of Texas head coach Mack Brown. Brown pled his case for Texas to be selected as an at-large team a few years ago and it worked for the Long Horns.
Petersen doesn’t feel the same approach will help the No. 7 Broncos 7-0 (2-0 Western Athletic Conference) at this point in the season.
“Do you think that’d make a difference? I’m not Mack Brown and this isn’t Texas. In five or six weeks we have those conversations. Until then I think it’s just a bunch of drama that a lot people like to get caught up in,” Petersen said.
For now, Petersen and the Broncos are focused strictly on the San Jose State Spartans 1-5 (0-2 WAC).
The Spartans, coming off a bye week, have one win this season against Cal Poly. Their most recent loss was to Fresno State 41-21, but Petersen and the Broncos have too much of a past with SJSU to overlook them.
“Coach (Dick) Tomey gets those guys ready to play hard and they’re extremely athletic. We always have hard fought games with them,” Petersen said.
SJSU has been the victim of a brutal non-conference schedule. Their first three games of season were against No. 5 USC, No. 16 Utah and Stanford. Their other WAC loss came from the Idaho Vandals. A game the Vandals won on their last drive.
“They’ve played a really difficult schedule and that can make things tough especially coming out of the gate,” Petersen said.
Senior wide receiver Kevin Jurovich leads a dangerous core of offensive players for SJSU and has made numerous big plays for the Spartan offense. Look for him to continuously battle with BSU senior cornerback Kyle Wilson.
Defensively SJSU pride themselves on getting to the quarterback and disrupting plays with their defensive line. Senior defensive end Carl Ihenacho leads the group with his playmaking ability and experience. The BSU offensive line will have their hands full with Ihenacho, while trying to protect Kellen Moore.
“They’ll attack you and they’re aggressive. They’re not going to back down. They’ve really held their own well. Even against USC,” Moore said.