Boise State has a football program. It was evident Saturday night in the Nevada game. You lose your starting quarterback on the first offensive play and find a way to come back after being down 17-7 at the half. The Broncos came back for a lot of reasons. Grant Hedrick's play at quarterback improved as the game moved along and he got more comfortable. Jay Ajayi, like most good running backs, gets better the more he carried the ball. The two of them will make defending the zone read even more difficult.
Other position groups came through. The offensive line opened up some big holes. The defense clamped down allowing no points and just 127 yards in the second half. DeMarcus Lawrence's 3 1/2 sacks is the most in a game in college football this season and earned him the Mountain West's defensive player of the week. Redshirt freshman linebacker Ben Weaver led the team in tackles again – this time with a career high 14.
The 34-23 win over Nevada puts the Broncos at 3-1 in the Mountain West, and more importantly leaves them controlling their own destiny in the Mountain Division. Utah State is 3-1 and Wyoming is 2-1, but the Broncos have the tie breaker over the Aggies (who didn't have near the fortune with their backup qb as BSU did), and still play the Cowboys.
The game of the year in the West Division is Saturday in San Diego. Fresno State and San Diego State are the last two unbeatens in conference play in that division. The Bulldogs have a great season going, unbeaten and 17th in the BCS. The Aztecs struggled out of conference, but appear to have righted the ship with a new quarterback. SDSU comes off a bye. The winner will be in the driver's seat in the West. I think Fresno is just too talented, especially at quarterback, but the Aztecs two running backs (Pumphrey and Muema) are pretty good. They will need a big day to pull off the upset.
Boise State's game with BYU shapes up to one that will feature two very athletic and quick quarterbacks. But in the grand scheme of things, it isn't as important as the Mountain West games to come. That being said, I think it will be a great game in Provo.
To have a great football season, you have to have depth. Programs have depth. Boise State won that game Saturday night with depth.
