Boise St. Football: Some Advice for Our Brothers to the South, BYU

During their climb to national prominence, Boise St. has had one of the most impressive runs of success in college football.  While there are countless arguments against their success, you must give credit where it is due.  Few schools have ever risen to prominence so fast, and none from Idaho, where potatoes are what they are known for, not football.

As a diehard BYU fan, I have watched their growth with envious eyes,  read more here.

I know how much BYU fans hate Boise State so to see one admit their envy, makes it worthly for a post.

Boise State’s Chase Baker finally gets his interception

TOLEDO, Ohio — Boise State senior defensive tackle Chase Baker has dreamed of his first interception for nearly a decade — since his high school career began.

He couldn’t have picked a much better time to grab it.

Baker caught a tipped pass while falling to the Glass Bowl turf on Friday night to help the No. 4 Broncos turn back a potential rally by the Toledo Rockets.

“You could tell they were on the verge of getting huge momentum going their way,” Baker said. “They almost drove the whole length of the field.”

Boise State led 20-9 in the third quarter when the Rockets marched from their own 33-yard line to the Broncos’ 11, where they had a first-and-10.

Quarterback Terrance Owens set up a screen pass, the play that had driven the Broncos nuts much of the night. The defensive line smelled it this time — end Shea McClellin batted the pass and Baker corralled it. Moments later, the Broncos scored for a 27-9 lead.

“That ball seemed like it was up there forever, but I managed to come down with the ball,” said Baker, who plays catch frequently with fellow tackle Mike Atkinson. “I was trying not to (fall down), but that’s how it ended up. It probably looked pretty unathletic.”

Baker is the third Broncos defensive lineman to record an interception since the start of the 2010.

Boise State set up for a national-title run

Great QB could spur undefeated season

By Reggie Hayesof The News-Sentinel

TOLEDO – Someone’s going to be irritated by Boise State before this college football season is over. So what else is new?

Actually, this would be new: Irritation with Boise State could easily extend to the national-championship game this time around.

After watching the No.4 Broncos beat unranked Toledo 40-15 on Friday at the Glass Bowl, marveling at the confident precision passing of quarterback Kellen Moore and looking at their less-than-intimidating Mountain West Conference schedule, I’d say an undefeated season seems well within reach.

Will Boise State be one of the top two teams in the country? They very well could be. The Broncos have speed, strength, a great quarterback, a breakaway running back, dependable receivers and necessary defensive swagger. The problem remains the same: We’re not likely to know for sure how good they are before a championship game.

“Boise State’s offense is very good,” said Toledo defensive end Malcolm Riley, a Snider High graduate. “Their O-line is good, a physical bunch. Obviously, Kellen Moore’s a great quarterback. …They’ve been good for the past few years. They’re rated No.4 for a reason.”

If Boise State remains unbeaten, it might take further NCAA sanctions to keep it out of the Bowl Championship Series title game. Don’t like the idea of Oklahoma vs. Boise State or Alabama vs. Boise State or LSU vs. Boise State? Better switch to the NFL.

Boise State is already ranked fourth, already receiving a couple of first-place votes and looking at stretch of unranked teams to beat up on from here until it plays TCU on Nov. 12 in Boise, Idaho. TCU does not appear to be the team it was a year ago. Boise State looks better.

Boise State can’t match the schedules of the teams in front of them. No.1 Oklahoma plays five Top 25 teams, No.2 Alabama plays six and No.3 LSU plays seven. Boise State plays only two ranked teams: Georgia, which it beat in its season opener, and TCU.

But the lopsided strength of schedule is not necessarily boldness on the part of the Top 3. It’s conference affiliation. Of those schools’ Top 25 opponents, Oklahoma plays one outside the Big 12 (Florida State), Alabama plays one outside the SEC (Penn State) and LSU plays two outside the SEC (Oregon, West Virginia).

Give Boise State credit for going on the road to Toledo. It’s not an easy road trip, and Mid-American Conference teams are notorious for upsetting higher-ranked opponent. Toledo entered the game 4-0 against Top 25 teams at home in its history. It had Ohio State all but beaten in Columbus, Ohio, a week ago before letting the Buckeyes off the hook.

But if Boise State does crash the BCS party, Moore will guarantee to make it interesting. He’s the NCAA’s active career leader in passing efficiency and the career leader in wins (40). He’s a pro prospect, although opinions on his potential sometimes vary like a rerun of Tim Tebow. Moore is the type of clutch college quarterback necessary for a national contender.

Moore came out on target from the start Friday, but his receivers dropped his first two passes – throws right in the hands. They would make up for that later. Moore hit wide receiver Tyler Shoemaker, guilty of the early drop, with a pair of first-half touchdowns. The first was an in-stride beauty over the middle. The second was a lofted fade in the end zone, with Shoemaker leaping high over Jayrone Elliott, who couldn’t have covered him any tighter.

Moore was 19 of 23 in the first half for 298 yards and three scores – the other was a short pass running back Doug Martin turned into a 71-yard score. Moore’s four incompletions were two drops and two tips. He cooled off in the second half, but not much. Final numbers: 32 of 42 for 455 yards, five touchdowns and one pick.

“Whatever’s working is working, whatever presents itself presents itself,” Mooore said. “I didn’t realize we apparently threw the ball a lot tonight.”

Moore was near flawless in hitting receivers on curls, out-routes and deep patterns, throwing one pass where only his brother, Kirby, could pull it in. Kirby did, and lost his helmet while hitting the ground. Shoemaker added a third touchdown catch in the second half and Martin finished with 122 yards receiving.

It wasn’t until the second half, when Moore overthrew a receiver for an interception, that he made anything resembling an obvious mistake.

Moore made one other mistake when he lined up wrong in the ‘Wildcat” formation as a receiver and drew a penalty. The next play he threw a touchdown pass, naturally.

It’s hard to say if Moore’s an early-round NFL draft pick. He could be a college stud who’s at his peak. Yes, he put up 455 yards Friday. But it was the Toledo Rockets, not the Oklahoma Sooners, let alone the Baltimore Ravens.

That discussion is for another day. The issue today is Boise State’s staying power.

Can the Broncos stick around long enough for the inevitable debate about their worthiness for the national-title game? They can. And it might be even money that they will.

Looking ahead to next year: Michigan State eager to host Boise State

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Michigan State Athletic Director Mark Hollis spent nine years working in the WAC office, so he’s sympathetic to the scheduling plight of programs like Boise State’s.

That’s one reason Michigan State was willing to do something only three BCS-conference schools had done before — sign a contract to play the Broncos on the blue. The Spartans also have agreed to a series of road games against the Michigan members of the MAC, Hollis said.

“It comes back to (basketball coach Tom) Izzo’s roots, (football coach Mark) Dantonio’s roots and my roots,” Hollis said Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. “We came up through the system and we believe in that kind of schedule. As long as financially it works out good for the program and we get our seven home games, we’re very eager to go out and see what the blue turf looks like.”

The Broncos and Spartans will begin a three-game series Aug. 31, 2012, in East Lansing — a Friday night season opener that will air on ESPN.

The Spartans will play at Boise State in 2022 and the Broncos will return to East Lansing in 2023.

The 2012 game and the home-and-home series are separate contracts. Each contains a $2 million buyout, a sign of the Spartans’ commitment. Michigan State is paying Boise State $1.2 million for the 2012 game.

Oregon State, Washington State and Oregon are the only BCS schools to play regular-season games in Boise. Washington has agreed to a 2015 game on the blue.

“People are very excited about it,” Hollis said. “Boise has a national reputation. It’s a program that you want to play. We take them with the highest, highest respect both as a football coach and as an athletic director. It wasn’t something I had to talk Coach D into. He was very excited about it. It’s going to be a fun series.”

Michigan State held a dress rehearsal of sorts for Boise State by moving this year’s opener, against Youngstown State, to a Friday, too. It was the 10th night game in Spartan Stadium history. The above-capacity crowd of 75,910 was significantly larger than the crowd for the Spartans’ first Saturday game of the season.

Boise State gets 5,000 tickets for the 2012 game.

“It was a great environment,” Hollis said. “Night games are always special, especially when you don’t have them frequently. I know it will be a heck of an environment come next year.”

Monday Morning Quarterback: Boise State vs. Toledo

OFFENSE

QB Kellen Moore was brilliant, completing 32-of-42 passes for 455 yards and five touchdowns, including three to senior wide receiver Tyler Shoemaker. Boise State amassed 610 yards of total offense against the Rockets. The Broncos probably should have scored even more points. Four drives that crossed Toledo’s 40-yard line yielded no points, thanks to an interception, a punt after a big loss on third down, a failed fake field-goal attempt and a failed fourth-down try. The Broncos’ running game struggled to get going early in the game, but eventually wore down the Toledo defense with 145 yards on 38 attempts. Running back Doug Martin led the team with 122 yards receiving, including a 71-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown. Moore completed passes to nine different receivers, with Mitch Burroughs (six catches, 76 yards) and Matt Miller (6-65) leading the way. The missed opportunities will gnaw at the offense this week. Grade: A-

DEFENSE

It was not the Broncos’ best effort, but the defense came up with two huge turnovers deep in its own territory. Toledo’s scheme — quick passes, screens, misdirection — was designed to keep Boise State’s stellar defensive line in check. The Broncos had two sacks for minus-12 yards. Some sloppy tackling allowed the Rockets to convert 6-of-10 third-down attempts in the first half. The Broncos made adjustments in the second half and got stingy in the red zone. Defensive tackle Chase Baker intercepted a tipped pass to stall a Toledo drive at the 11, and safety Cedric Febis, back from an eligibility-related suspension, forced a fumble to end a drive at the 9. Look for future opponents to try to spread out the Boise State defense and throw more screen passes as Toledo had some success with those concepts. Grade: B

SPECIAL TEAMS

A poor performance all around, particularly for the kickers. The Broncos missed two extra points — one by Dan Goodale and one by Michael Frisina. Frisina also botched a short kickoff that ended up costing the Broncos three points. “I’ve been doing this long enough to know when I shouldn’t say anything,” coach Chris Petersen said when asked about the kicking game. “I’ll leave it at nothing.” A fake field-goal attempt also failed to pick up the first down. Boise State has yet to attempt a field goal through two games. After Friday’s performance, you can see why the coaches are reluctant. Grade: C-

COACHING

The defense made necessary adjustments in the second half, particularly against the Toledo screen game, which was so effective in the first half. The Broncos have spent a lot of time on red-zone offense and defense, and it showed Friday night. Boise State was 4-for-4 with four touchdowns in the red zone, while the defense got two big stops inside the 20-yard line. The fake field-goal attempt was obvious to just about everyone in the crowded Glass Bowl. It seemed implausible that the Broncos would trot out a freshman kicker for a 51-yard attempt. Grade: B+