By Jeff Caves
@JeffCaves

Don’t look now but Boise State is becoming San Diego State. Rocky Long loves to play tough defense, win the turn over battle and run the ball. The program has basically went unnoticed. It fits Long’s personality. He is the result of always wanting a chip on his shoulder. So much so, it holds his head down. He isn’t flashy. He’s the guy who keeps it real. Boise State held BYU to 7 points, got 2 interceptions, had one giveaway, and ran the ball well. And won. Did you notice?

If fans are bitching about the way the team won vs. BYU, I get it. It’s not the Boise State way.

Boise State used to fly first class to wins and have time on their hands. They used a combination of razzle dazzle and punch you in the mouth football. They enjoyed a brown bag for lunch but typically went to Chandlers for dinner. They took 4th quarters off. Now, this team takes a bus to the game, always seem late, and have no idea how they are going to win offensively. They eat whatever they can and games aren’t over until the clock hits 00:00.

The 2017 Boise State team isn’t your memory of the Broncos. They are themselves.

So far, they are not explosive offensively, struggle at QB, don’t run the ball consistently and are very physical on defense. They also have won 3 out of 5 games and should get to 8-4 minimum.
Winning like this is hard to do and the program was not built for it. The coaches don’t have the patience for it, the players were not recruited for this style and the fans will get bored. This is dangerous. They used to be flashy AND Blue Collar. Cute. Undefeated. Inventive.

Now, Bryan Harsin seems to be making lemonade out of his lemon laden offense. A BSU QB won a game with 125 yards passing and 1 td pass? Rypien goes in and out of the game so Cozart can be a run or scramble threat? They use the wildcat not to surprise anybody but to get an extra runner in the game. The best Boise State trick play is to drop Cozart back to pass. See? He ran instead!!
It’s ugly. But, it wins.
Get used to it.