BY MIKE PRATER
@KTIK.COM

Are we watching a new Boise State football season? Or an old soap opera? There are twists and turns and drama every new day with these Broncos. Quarterback issues. Offensive line struggles. The team has scored eight TDs, and three are courtesy of special teams, defense and a backup (now maybe starting?) quarterback who wasn’t even on the roster last semester. Attendance. Season tickets. New fireworks. Smoky skies. A 21-point blown lead and a triple-overtime loss.

And here comes the Mountain West schedule, and you know that’s going to be another Mr. Harsin’s Wild Ride.

Boise State (1-1) plays New Mexico (1-1) on Thursday at Albertsons Stadium (6 p.m., ESPN), which naturally means a potential for more drama. The Lobos beat Boise State in their last game on The Blue (31-24 in 2015). And we all know the stat that’s haunted the Broncos for two seasons: 5-5 in their last 10 games against Mountain Division opponents.

With road trips looming to BYU (awful offense) and San Diego State (looking strong as usual), it’s shaping up to be that kind of season. Before the next round of drama hits, here’s a quick analysis of the program after a comfortable home victory over Troy and a frustrating loss at Washington State.

WHERE BSU IS BETTER THAN EXPECTED

• DEFENSE: Despite only three seniors on the depth chart, and only one senior starter, the group has been dominant and could carry the Broncos to a lot of success in the Mountain West. Opposing runners are averaging only 1.8 yards per carry, and 49 yards per game (tied for fifth in FBS with Alabama). Boise State has nine sacks in two games (tied for sixth in FBS with Auburn, Maryland), six takeaways, and the red-zone defense has allowed only three TDs in nine chances. Junior linebacker Leighton Vander Esch has been a beast with a team-high 23 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble.
• SPECIAL TEAMS: Freshman Avery Williams opened the season with an 81-yard punt return for a TD,  junior transfer Haden Hoggarth, a Florida kid via Bethune-Cookman who begged his way onto the roster in the offseason, is perfect on kicks (4-4 FGs, long of 41; 8-8 PATs), and the return games have been solid. No issues here, minus the freak “fumble” at Washington State (more drama!!).
• BACKUP QUARTERBACK: Senior Montell Cozart might be the best backup QB in the country. Certainly, after the first two games, coaches feel comfortable with the Kansas graduate on the field. He hasn’t started a game for Boise State (that could come vs. New Mexico), yet he’s finished both. Stats after two games: 18-of-29 (62.1 percent), 211 yards, 3 TDs; 108 yards rushing and a TD … and one really bad, game-changing interception in Pullman. Clean up the sloppiness, and Cozart will be fun to watch this season. Regardless if he’s starting or playing as a backup, he makes Boise State better and should be on the field as much as possible.

WHERE BSU IS WORSE THAN EXPECTED

• OFFENSIVE LINE/RUNNING BACK: Boise State has allowed eight sacks (only six of 129 FBS teams have given up more), and the running attack is averaging 3.5 yards a carry and 155.5 yards a game. It would be worse without Cozart’s legs. Incumbent starting QB Brett Rypien has been sacked six times; sometimes that’s on him, but he was knocked out of the game against Washington State after taking a bad hit. His status for the New Mexico game has not been announced. Sophomore John Molchon has struggled on the right side of the line, where senior Archie Lewis has missed the first two games. Sophomore running back Alexander Mattison has 145 yards and two TDs, which is decent after two games of OL struggles. The production from a group that keeps sending RBs to the NFL needs to get better. Starting against New Mexico: More carries for Mattison (only 27 in the first two games) and less for Ryan Wolpin (26).
• STARTING QUARTERBACK: It’s not that Rypien has been bad (20-of-31, 64.5 percent, 236 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT), he just hasn’t looked like a two-time all-conference quarterback. There was the interception Pick 6 against Troy. He was ineffective and benched, in part because the OL couldn’t protect him. Against Washington State, he completed seven of his first eight passes before seeing rainbows. That’s a good sign, but four things need to happen moving forward to maintain that success: Keep working on mobility, make more efficient decisions, throw the ball to Cedrick Wilson as much as possible … and get/stay healthy.
• OFF THE FIELD: You think the OL has issues … A trend that is blanketing most of the nation – dwindling attendance at sporting events – has clearly landed in Boise, Idaho. We knew it was coming, but early numbers from this college football season are brutal: Boise State sold 17,633 season tickets, down about 2,000 from the 2016 season and the lowest number since 17,537 were sold in 2004. Attendance for the season opener against Troy was 31,581 and less than 30,000 are expected for this Thursday night (that’s only happened twice in the past 69 home games). Boise State had average per-game attendance growth from 2014-16, but that streak is clearly in jeopardy. And, as the program evolves from great to good, the grumblings over kickoff times/ticket prices/misc. seem to be getting louder.

OVERALL EVALUATION AFTER TWO GAMES

• Boise State, despite its OL/QB/RB issues, is a better overall football team than I thought going into the season. More than two-thirds of this roster is playing well after two games, and the offense should evolve and get better every week. Yes, the Broncos blew a 21-point lead at Washington State, and that’s not good. But the Broncos also went into Pac-12 territory, against a Top 20 team, and came away as the better looking team. That’s a positive sign moving forward. Boise State fans should feel encouraged about their new season … despite all the drama.

Mike Prater, editor of The Opinionator, co-hosts Idaho Sports Talk with Caves & Prater weekdays from 3-6 p.m. on KTIK 93.1 FM The Ticket and can be heard on Bronco GameNights after BSU football games on KBOI 670 AM and KTIK 93.1 FM. He can be reached at [email protected], and found @CavesandPrater(Facebook) and @MikeFPrater (Twitter).