The college football season is just about ready to start. About one more week of practice before the Broncos tee it up in the Georgia Dome against Ole Miss.
Most polls have the Rebels ranked around 18 or 19 to start the season. Enthusiasm is high as most of their fans think this could be the best team since Eli Manning played there. They return a three year starter at quarterback in Bo Wallace. Fans there have been hot and cold on him throughout his career. He has made a lot of great plays but also has thrown some big turnovers.
The last two nights I watched last year's regular season finale against Mississippi State. He threw three picks and fumbled going in to the endzone in overtime. The Bulldogs ended up with a 17-10 win in OT. I have their bowl win over Georgia Tech to look at tonight.
The Rebels look like they have a couple of special players that will play in the league in the future. Wide receiver Laquon Treadwell is 6-2, 230, and caught 72 passes for 608 yards. Offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil at 6-5, 305, looks as good as any lineman in the country. Defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche is 6-4, 280, and very athletic. He had 34 tackles last year. Cody Prewitt returns at safety with 6 interceptions a year ago. Prewitt is a senior the other three are true sophomores. These guys are all SEC caliber players. Boise State is going to have game plan specifically for the Rebels stars.
They look like they want to speed the tempo up and run a short passing game. They'll use multiple running backs that appear to be interchangeable. They have one starter back on the offensive line and six overall. They have nine starters back on defense. C.J. Johnson at defensive end was hurt a lot last year, playing in only four games last year. He had 6 1/2 sacks in 2012 and they are counting on his retu
Boise State will need to have their skill players offense make plays and have the new offensive line come together quickly. The defensive line will be undersized against an Ole Miss offensive line that has its smallest starter listed at 300 pounds. The experience at linebacker and in the secondary will need to be there and force a few turnovers.
This will be a a major challenge for the Broncos, but one that is doable. And if accomplished will start the Bryan Harsin era off with a big bang.
