The murmurs of disappointment were apparent early this season about Bronco quarterback Joe Southwick.
Bronco Nation had been spoiled, they wanted wins, immediately.
Many wondered if and when Coach Pete would go with another quarterback, maybe get a glimpse of heralded freshman Nick Patti, after minimal offensive output.
Rewind to Aug. 31, against the then-ranked Michigan State Spartans. The offense was dismal on the ground and extra regular through the air.
Southwick finished 15-of-31 for 169 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
A few misreads here accompanied by some questionable decision making and immediately fans were searching for answers behind center after the
17-13 loss.
Fast forward to this Saturday’s homecoming game, where Southwick has completed 104-of-170 passes for 1,237 yards nine touchdowns and four interceptions, leading the No. 24 Broncos to five consecutive wins.
Saturday Boise State hosts the 1-6 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels in which he will look to extend the winning streak to six.
Newsflash folks: not every quarterback is going to be a record setter or breaker.
When they are awarded the starting job they’re asked to do a handful of things.
Lead, take care of the ball and win.
Granted, it hasn’t been all puppy dogs and rainbows, but Southwick has done a decent job of all of those, mainly helping produce wins.
Between the backlash of fans, having to replace you-know-who and fending off all of the young talent gunning for the No. 1 spot, he has proved he’s a thick-skinned individual.
One could argue if it wasn’t for the defense Boise State would have lost against BYU at home.
That argument could be countered by the defensive let down against New Mexico, when the Lobos made a game out of what should have been a blowout.
It’s easy to blame one or the other, offense or defense, but in a losing scenario it comes down to who has the ball in their hands the most and control of the game: the
quarterback.
I’ll admit I had my doubts, along with the masses, about Southwick, and some of those may still linger.
Pete knows how to win games and up until now Southwick has delivered.
When the kitchen was getting hot, Pete stuck by Joe, and with the back half of the season coming Boise State has good news on the way as the teams they’ll face have a combined 14-26 as of now.
The Broncos will be bowl bound again; where they go will depend on how they finish.
Obviously fans will wonder what would have been with the victory over Michigan State, as far as the BCS is concerned, it’s just the nature of the beast as a mid-major supporter.
His transition is still a work in progress, but if this Joe can stay above average and win like he is now, then Bronco Nation should be cool with it. It doesn’t seem like he is going anywhere just yet.
