WAC countdown: Boise State
With Utah State’s football camp kicking off on Monday, it’s time to take a look at the Western Athletic Conference. Here’s the last installment in our daily look at each team, starting at the bottom of the WAC preseason coaches poll — the No. 1 Fresno State Bulldogs.
Boise State
2009 Record 14-0 (8-0 WAC)
Returning starters: 22 (10 offense, 10 defense, punter, kicker)
Coach: Chris Peterson, 5th year
WAC Preseason Polls: 1st coaches, 1st media
Typically a team from a non-BCS conference that runs the table of the regular season and wins a BCS bowl game has a few holes to fill.
That’s not the case with Boise State. The Broncos’ 14-0 year that ended with a 17-10 win over TCU in the Fiesta Bowl was accomplished with a team full of underclassmen and now virtually every important cog in that season returns — 22 starters are back.
It’s no surprise, then, that Boise State was a near unanimous pick to win the WAC — the Broncos got every possible coach’s vote and all but one first-place vote from the media in the preseason polls. Oddly, the radio voice for New Mexico State chose to be the contrarian and voted Nevada as the eventual champion.
The biggest star returning for coach Chris Peterson’s team might very well be quarterback Kellen Moore — the reigning WAC offensive player of the year and the preseason pick to repeat as such. But the system that runs wild on the blue turf of Bronco Stadium is the real star. Peterson has successfully kept the Broncos near the top of the national rankings and unstoppable in the WAC.
Rather than look at individual players, let’s look at what might be Boise State’s biggest worries.
1: Complacency. Though it hasn’t been the case in recent years, there is always the worry that a team this good for this long might let its guard down and start taking things for granted. That could prove especially troublesome as Boise State leaves the WAC for the MWC after years of public lobbying for such a move. That can’t set well with the remaining WAC schools and there is no doubt BSU will get the best shot from every team it faces. If the Broncos get as overconfident as their fans, someone will sneak up and beat them.
2: Virginia Tech. A season opener in Washington D.C. against a nationally-ranked opponent will either make or break the season for the Broncos. A win sets them up nicely for a possible run at a BCS title game. A loss means the season is a bust in the eyes of many — even if BSU wins the next 12 games.
Boise State visits Wyoming and hosts Toledo as well as Oregon State.
The final four games of the season may be as tough as they get. After a trip to Moscow to face the hated Vandals, BSU must face a dangerous Fresno State and then travel to the even-more-dangerous Nevada Wolf Pack. The regular season ends with Utah State in Boise.
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