Chris Petersen and QB Kellen Moore plan to defy the odds and secure a spot in the NCG
There is a lot of hype over in Boise that the Broncos will be in the national championship mix come season’s end. Unfortunately, hype is not real and neither is Boise State’s shot at traveling to Glendale, Arizona in January. All the prognosticators have Boise State ranked up there with Alabama, Ohio State, and Oklahoma, but you should think otherwise. There is no denying the Broncos’ recent success as Chris Petersen has led the Blue and Orange to a 49-4 combined record under his tenure. However, the school’s biggest obstacle is its schedule. Some experts rank Boise’s 2010 strength of schedule at 87th in the country—by far the weakest ranking for any team competing for the BCS crown.
Boise State’s very soft schedule will hurt them come ranking time. Outside of Virginia Tech and possibly Oregon State, not one team on the schedule will be ranked in the Top 25. If you had put Boise State in any of the major conferences last season, the team would not have gone undefeated and QB Kellen Moore certainly would not have posted a 39 TD to 3 INT ratio. Boise’s gimmicky blue turf also gives them a strong home field edge, but with home games against Oregon State, Toledo, LaTech, Hawaii, Fresno State, and Utah State, does it really matter?
The month of September will be the make or break time for the Broncos. Boise State opens the season with an east coast trip to Landover, Maryland to face top ranked Virginia Tech. If the Broncos can survive the difficult road game, the team will have one more opportunity to shine when they face Oregon State two weeks later. After that, the rest of the season is littered with cupcake teams that shouldn’t pose much of a threat for the Broncos.
From a personnel prospective, Boise State returns 22 of 24 Fiesta Bowl starters. There is a Heisman candidate triggerman in QB Kellen Moore and with RB Jeremy Avery and a slew of talent at the skill positions, Boise State should have a statistical windfall while cruising through the conference. The defense, which ranked 1st in practically every statistical category in the WAC, returns 9 starters that are now bigger, faster, and stronger than last year.
Boise State is doing everything in its power to contend for the national championship. Unfortunately, the team’s schedule puts them behind the eight-ball (see Auburn 2004). It will take more than a 12 win season for a shot at the title. Boise will need a little luck– top ranked teams must lose multiple games for Boise State to have a remote chance at punching a ticket to Glendale. There is no way a voter will pass over a 1-loss Alabama, Ohio State, or Oklahoma squad for a Boise State team that played 2nd and 3rd tier schools all season long.
