• The defense looked unbelievably better in every aspect. Sure, Boise State scored 24 points, but 1) Boise State does that and worse to everyone, and 2) Boise was given too many short fields to work with, which brings us to…
• The 4th-and-1 call early in the 2nd quarter was dumb as a box of rocks on Larry Fedora’s part. Yes, you have to expect to gain one measly yard. Yes, it’s a big boost if you make it. HOWEVER, the coach has to consider the consequences of not making it, which in this case was giving a superior opponent the ball on your own 45 yard line after your defense had put up a yeoman’s effort to kept them off the scoreboard in the opening quarter. That was a game-changing decision, and Fedora blew it, as I’ve seen so many new coaches (including future two-time National Champion coach Steve Campbell back in his first season at Southwest Mississippi CC) do in that situation. The good news is that you never see any of them repeat the mistake.
• The offense was just off. To spend that much time in Boise State territory and only score one TD was awful. How much of that was to Boise’s credit and how much was the proverbial growing pains, who knows? Specifically…
• The game still seems just a little too fast for Austin Davis, which is to be expected when you’re talking about a redshirt freshman (especially one who came to school on a baseball scholarship). His decisions aren’t bad overall, but against a quality team, he has got to make them more quickly. He could potentially become a holy terror for those on our remaining schedule.
• What in the WORLD is up with our FG kicking game? The woes there continued with a block of the potential go-ahead score to start the game.
• All props to the Boise State fans, who may have brought the largest visiting crowd so far this year. The only other possibility is UL-Lafayette. As much as we fuss about CUSA being so spread out as to discourage travel, all those folks in blue and orange Saturday proved its more just a matter of giving a damn.
• Two words on Reggie Collier’s jersey retirement: About time.
• I cried because I had CUSA refs, until I saw the man who had WAC refs.

#15 AP/16 USAT Boise State (4-0, 1-0 WAC) at Southern Miss (2-3, 0-2 CUSA)

Thursday’s line: Boise State -10

First meeting: 2007 in Boise

Last meeting: 2007 in Boise (Boise State won, 38-16)

Boise State leads the series 1-0

Last week: UTEP def. USM 40-37 (2OT); BSU def. Louisiana Tech 38-3

With their season not going very well as it nears its mid-point, the Golden Eagles are presented with a golden opportunity as #15/16 Boise State, the poster child for teams outside the BCS automatic qualifier pool, visit The Rock for an out-of-conference tilt. As a program, the Broncos need little introduction, as they are both the winningest FBS program in the country since 2000 and keepers of college football legend. However, as we do (most) every week here at KTE, we’ll take a look at the specific names to know and trends to watch headed into this week’s contest.

As has always been the case in recent memory, Boise State brings with them an offensive juggernaut. The Broncos are led on the ground by senior Ian Johnson, who in addition to seemingly having been at Boise forever and having made the Marriage Proposal Heard ‘Round the World, entered 2008 as the active FBS leader in both rushing and total touchdowns. Currently, Johnson is having a less-than-stellar year statistically, averaging “only” 66.5 yards per game and 4.84 per carry. This doesn’t bother the Bronco faithful all that much, however, as freshman quarterback Kellen Moore is having a banner year under center, currently 6th in the FBS in passing rating and 8th in yards per game (291.3). As shown above in the game basics, Boise State has played 4 games. Moore has already been the WAC Player of the Week twice. Moore shows little favoritism in where he throws the ball, with 5 of his teammates already over 100 yards receiving and 3 at double-digits in number of receptions. Junior WR Jeremy Childs leads the pack with 14 catches and a 72+ yards per game average, while sophomore WR Titus Young (10 catches for 168 yards) and senior TE Chris O’Neil (10 for 131) round out the triumvirate of players with 10 more receptions. Johnson (6 for 177) and senior WR Vinny Perretta (8 for 132) are the others with over 100 yards receiving.

Boise State also packs a special teams weapon in placekicker/punter sophomore Kyle Brotzman, who was a Lou Groza Award semi-finalist his freshman year. Brotzman is 4 out of 5 in field goal attempts thus far in ’08–2-for-2 from 40 yards or more–and has yet to miss a PAT in 18 chances.

Unfortunately for Southern Miss, the Broncos have not been slouches on defense, either, thus far in 2008, coming into Hattiesburg 12th in the FBS in points allowed–in large part due to a red zone D that allowed only 3 points to Louisiana Tech in 6 visits inside the Broncos’ 20–and 37th in passing yards allowed per game. If there is any consolation, it is that Boise has actually been pretty average vs. the run, ranking 60th in yards allowed per game. Key players to watch include the DE tandem of sophomore Ryan Winterswyk (3 tackles for loss, one-half sack) and senior DE Mike T. Williams; safeties sophomore Jeron Johnson and senior Ellis Powers, who rank 1-2 in tackles; and freshman OLB Aaron Tevis, who leads the team in sacks with 2.

In what may be the hidden stat of the game, it’s interesting to note that the Broncos’ high pass-defense ranking is considerably skewed by a 92-yard performance vs. FCS Big Sky Conference member Idaho State. In fact, 2 of Boise State’s 3 FBS opponents have had above-average passing performances vs. the Broncos: Louisiana Tech passed for 202 yards vs. Boise State while averaging only 173 over the season, and Oregon–despite starting their 3rd-string QB and being forced to go to their 4th–passed for 237 vs. BSU while averaging only 215. Can Southern Miss—#32 nationally in passing yards per game—do the same and expose the Broncos defense? If so, we could be looking at real shootout Saturday night.

That said, the obvious prediction for this game is that it will come down Boise’s defense vs. the Southern Miss offense. The chances of Southern Miss’ young–and awful–D even slowing down the Broncos are slim. USM simply has to be able to answer when–not if–Boise State puts points on the board. If that happens, you can expect the kind of game that’ll make USM’s basketball team jealous, and it could come down to who has the ball last or makes the last mistake. If Boise State can make stops, however, the game could get ugly in a hurry and stay that way.