Both the Boise State Broncos and BYU Cougars have looked good and bad through the first three weeks in the season. They’ll match up on Thursday night in a contest that will send one team’s stock soaring higher and one team back to .500.
The Broncos opened up the season with a tough four-point loss to Michigan State. They followed that up with a 39-12 win over Miami of Ohio and will now welcome the Cougars to their blue turf. Meanwhile, the Cougars had a surprising start to the season with an easy win over Washington State and then an expected victory over Weber State. They entered last week as a Top 25 team but will fall out of the rankings after losing to rival Utah.
Boise State is a tough team to beat at home but they’ve proven to be somewhat vulnerable this season. Replacing quarterback Kellen Moore has proven to be quite the challenge as new starter Joe Southwick has shown his talent but has also turned over the ball quite a bit. He’s thrown two interceptions and turned the ball over four times in the first two games of the season.
Even so, that’s to be expected with a very young roster just beginning to find their feet.
People making their college football picks should expect the Cougars defense to be the breaking point. The Broncos are coming off a game where they totaled 599 yards of offense but BYU hasn’t allowed more than 300 yards of offense in any of their last eight games. If they can force some turnovers and keep the Broncos offense under wraps, they’ll have a chance to go on the road and steal this game. If Boise State’s dictates the pace, they’ll earn the win.
