Coaches Poll Week #2--Boise State Up to #4

1.	Oklahoma (44)	1-0	1,453	1
2.	Alabama (8)	2-0	1,410	2
3.	LSU (7)	2-0	1,372	3
4.	Boise State	1-0	1,214	5
5.	Florida State	2-0	1,211	4
6.	Stanford	2-0	1,165	6
7.	Oklahoma State	2-0	1,072	7
8.	Wisconsin	2-0	1,033	9
9.	Texas A&M	1-0	1,001	8
10.	Nebraska	2-0	911	10
11.	South Carolina	2-0	863	12
12.	Virginia Tech	2-0	842	11
13.	Arkansas	2-0	825	13
14.	Oregon	1-1	754	14
15.	Michigan State	2-0	639	16
16.	Ohio State	2-0	566	15
17.	Florida	2-0	498	18
18.	Arizona State	2-0	353	23
19.	Auburn	2-0	331	22
20.	West Virginia	2-0	304	24
21.	Texas	2-0	260	21
22.	South Florida	2-0	230	NR
23.	TCU	1-1	211	25
24.	Baylor	1-0	171	NR
25.	Mississippi State	1-1	125	17
Dropped out
No. 19 Missouri (1-1, lost to then-No. 23 Arizona State 37-30 OT), No. 20 Penn State (1-1, lost to No. 2 Alabama 27-11).
Others receiving votes
Michigan 97; Central Florida 49; Houston 43; Northwestern 31; Penn State 29; North Carolina 23; Missouri 21; Tennessee 21; Georgia Tech 9; Maryland 9; Clemson 8; Washington 7; California 6; San Diego State 3; Georgia 2; Iowa State 2; Brigham Young 1.

Boise State #4 in Congrove

http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/current_congrove_rankings.html

Boise State #7 in Sagarin

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt11.htm


This is down from #2 last week--the Broncos had a bye.


1-1      LSU
2-2      Alabama
4-3      Oklahoma
5-4      Ohio State
---5     USC
---6     Texas
2-7      Boise State
---8     Auburn
7-9      Virginia Tech
17-10  Oklahoma State
16-11  Florida
---12   West Virginia
9-13     Oregon
---14    TCU
---15    Arizona State
17-16   South Carolina
21-17   Nebraska
13-18   Florida State
11-19   Stanford
---20    Clemson
---21    California
---22    Tennessee
---23    South Florida
---24    Pittsburgh
---25    North Carolina


Also:
#55    Tulsa
#58    Air Force
#59    Georgia
#60    Nevada
#63    San Diego State
#76    Toledo
#81    Colorado State
#86    Wyoming
#95    Fresno State
#135  UNLV
#152  New Mexico

Projected Billingsley Ratings

1.    Auburn
2.    LSU
3.    Oregon
4.    Boise State
5.    Oklahoma
6.    Ohio State
7.    Alabama
8.    Stanford
9.    Wisconsin
10.  Oklahoma State
11.  Michigan State
12.  Arkansas
13.  Virginia Tech
14.  Nebraska
15.  South Carolina
16.  Florida State
17.  TCU
18.  Texas A&M
19.  Baylor
20.  Missouri
21.  Florida
22.  Nevada
23.  Utah
24.  Central Florida
25.  Iowa

This Week in the BCS Top 15

#1 LSU blasted Northwestern State 49-3
#2 Oklahoma is idle
#3 Alabama had no problem with Penn State 27-11 
#4 Boise State is idle
#5 Stanford ran up the score on Duke 44-14 
#6 Wisconsin blasted Oregon State 35-0 at home.
#7 Florida State had fun at home with Charleston Southern, winning 62-10
#8 Oklahoma State throttled Arizona 37-14 at home.
#9 Oregon poured it on Nevada, winning at home 69-20
#10 Virginia Tech struggled past East Carolina 17-10 
#11 Ohio State held on late on their home turf to edge Boise State opponent Toledo 27-22 
#12 Texas A&M is idle
#13 Arkansas dumped New Mexico 52-3 
#14 Nebraska put away Fresno State 42-29
#15 South Carolina won a thriller against Georgia 45-42 

Also:
San Diego State won at Army 23-20
Colorado State got a 33-14 win over Northern Colorado 
TCU grounded Air Force 35-19
Tulsa rolled over Tulane 31-3 
UNLV actually lost to Washington State 59-7
Wyoming whipped Texas State-San Marcos 45-10 

San Diego State Holds On Against Army 23-20

One of the preseason favorites in the Mountain West conference--San Diego State--struggled against lowly Army today, winning 23-20.


Toledo, Boise State's next opponent, is ahead of Ohio State 22-20 late in the 3rd quarter.

Bronco Soccer Team Gets a Key Victory Over Portland State

The Boise State soccer team has struggled to a 2-4 mark this season.  Hopefully they got the dramatic win last night to help them turn their season around.





Freshman Shannon Schueren headed home the game-winning goal in the 106th minute as Boise State topped host Portland State 1-0 in the opener of the Viking Soccer Classic last night in Portland.  Senior Chelsea Robinson set up Schueren with a cross from the right corner and Schueren headed it to the left corner of the goal past the outstretched arms of the Portland State keeper.


"Chelsea did all the work down the line, beating a couple players and got a great cross in," said Schueren. "I was just at the right place at the right time."  Schueren is now tied for the team lead in points (5) with Kati Lucas.


Both teams sent seven shots on goal but none found their target until Schueren found the net.  Talented Bronco keeper Liz Ruiz achieved her second straight shutout and earned her third win of the season.  Ruiz now has 25 career wins, two short of the Boise State record set by Kim Parker.


"It was a good game and a good road win and I'm happy that we are starting to put things together and do what we want to do," said head coach Steve Lucas.


The Broncos continue play in Portland tomorrow (Sunday) at noon Mountain Time against Cal Poly.  The Mustangs downed Seattle 2-1 in their opening match of the Classic.

Dona Larson Park Has Been Approved

The Idaho State Board of Education has just approved a measure 7-1 giving the go-ahead for Boise State to build Dona Larson Park at the former East Junior High.  This will involve eventually moving the track and building a stadium that will hold around 10,000 people.  


The project is completely paid for and work will begin next month.  The new stadium is expected to be completed by the 2012 football season.


Ultimately, this will mean Boise State can lower the field about 10 feet to include more seats in Bronco Stadium.  Of course, that is one of the final phases of Stadium Expansion, but it will mean Bronco Stadium can expand to around 60,000.


The next phase of Expansion is the construction of a football office and training complex in the North end of Bronco Stadium.  Boise State is prepared to present that plant to the Board of Education in February, 2012 and hopes to start construction in March.  The goal is to have that new state-of-the-art facility completed by the fall of 2013.

Almost an Inverse Relationship Of NFL Pros to Quality of Team

Guess the Boise State team with the most future NFL players on it.

It won't be one of the better Bronco teams; in fact, it was one of the worst of the decade.  The 2007 team had eight future NFL players but lost three games (Washington, Hawai'i, East Carolina).  So much for NFL talent being able to win college games.  Another top year for NFL talent was 2005, when seven Broncos would go on to make NFL rosters.  And yet that team was creamed by Georgia, lost to Fresno State and lost to Boston College.  The Broncos suffered bad years in the mid-80's and yet consistently had rosters with at least four NFL players.  In 1984, Boise State had seven players that would go on to be part of NFL rosters and yet were 6-5.

Then you look at some of Boise State's best teams and see few NFL players.  In 1980, when the Broncos won the I-AA National Championship, three players went on to play for NFL teams; several others got looks and several played in the Canadian Football League but just three in the NFL.  In 1990, Boise State made the I-AA semifinals but had just one NFL player (Frank Robinson) on the roster.  In 1994, the Broncos finished second in the nation but had just two future NFL players.

There have only been two years since Boise State became a four-year school in 1968 in which the Broncos did not have a future NFL player on the roster--1969 and 1987.

1968:  Faddie Tillman
1970:  Al Marshall, Faddie Tillman
1971:  Al Marshall
1972:  Al Marshall, Rolly Woolsey
1973:  Rolly Woolsey
1974:  Alva Liles, Rolly Woolsey
1975:  Alva Liles, Larry Polowski
1976:  Alva Liles, Larry Polowski
1977:  David Hughes, Alva Liles, Cedric Minter, Larry Polowski
1978:  David Hughes, Cedric Minter Larry Polowski, Rick Woods
1979:  David Hughes, Cedric Minter, Rick Woods
1980:  David Hughes, Cedric Minter, Rick Woods
1981:  John Rade, Rick Woods, Jon Zogg
1982:  Chuck Butler, Carl Keever, Marcus Koch, John Rade, Donnie Summers, Jon Zogg
1983:  Chuck Butler, Jim Ellis, Carl Keever, Marcus Koch, Lance Sellers, Donnie Summers
1984:  Barry Black, Chuck Compton, Jim Ellis, Jon Francis, Carl Keever, Marcus Koch, Lance Sellers
1985:  Barry Black, Chuck Compton, Jim Ellis, Jon Francis, Marcus Koch, Lance Sellers
1986:  Barry Black, Chuck Compton, Jim Ellis, Lance Sellers
1988:  Frank Robinson
1989:  Frank Robinson
1990:  Frank Robinson
1991:  Frank Robinson
1992:  Rashid Gayle, Kimo Von Oelhoffen
1993:  Rashid Gayle, Kimo Von Oelhoffen
1994:  Rashid Gayle, Chris Wing
1995:  Rashid Gayle, Chris Wing
1996:  Bryan Johnson, Chris Wing
1997:  Shaunard Harts, Bryan Johnson, Bobby Setzer, Dave Stachelski
1998:  Shaunard Harts, Matt Hill, Bryan Johnson, Jeb Putzier, Bobby Setzer, Dave Stachelski
1999:  Brock Forsey, Shaunart Harts, Matt Hill, Bryan Johnson, Quintin Mikell, Jeb Putzier, Dave Stachelski
2000:  Brock Forsey, Shaunard Harts, Matt Hill, Quintin Mikell, Jeb Putzier
2001:  Chris Carr, Brock Forsey, Matt Hill, Quintin Mikell, Jeb Putzier
2002:  Chris Carr, Daryn Colledge, Brock Forsey, Quintin Mikell
2003:  Gerald Alexander,Chris Carr, Daryn Colledge, Korey Hall, Legedu Naanee, Derek Schouman
2004:  Gerald Alexander, Chris Carr, Daryn College, Korey Hall, Derek Schouman
2005:  Gerald Alexander, Ryan Clady, Daryn Colledge, Korey Hall, Legedu Naanee Orlando Scandrick, Derek Schouman
2006:  Gerald Alexander, Ryan Clady, Korey Hall, Legedu Naanee, Orlando Scandrick, Derek Schouman, Kyle Wilson
2007:  Richie Brockel, Ryan Clady, Jeron Johnson, Austin Pettis, Orlando Scandrick, Brandyn Thompson, Kyle Wilson, Titus Young
2008:  Richie Brockel, Jeron Johnson, Austin Pettis, Brandyn Thompson, Kyle Wilson, Titus Young
2009:  Richie Brockel, Jeron Johnson, Austin Pettis, Brandyn Thompson, Winston Venable, Kyle Wilson, Titus Young
2010:  Richie Brockel, Jeron Johnson, Austin Pettis, Brandyn Thompson, Winston Venable, Titus Young

Top Boise State Offensive Linemen of the 1980's

Here's my All Boise State Line of the 1980's.  Steve Despot started two years at guard but since there are two solid guards, I'm putting him at center, where he started his sophomore year.  Keep in mind that some talented linemen only played one year of the decade.  This is just for those who played in the 1980's.

C--Steve Despot (All-Big Sky as a guard)
G--Jon Zogg (All-Big Sky and Honorable Mention All-America)
G--Tom DeWitz (two-time All-Big Sky, Second Team All-America as a junior and All-American as a senior)
T--Dennis Brady (two-time All-Big Sky and two-time Honorable Mention All-America)
T--John Kilgo (All-Big Sky and Honorable Mention All-America)

Bookmark the E/A Sports Predictions

I'm bringing this back up so you can compare the E/A Sports predictions made in August with the actual results.

http://rocketman5000.blogspot.com/2011/08/ea-sports-gives-us-glimpse-into-2011.html

Boise State Lineups, Statistics and Records Virtually Complete

I promised that I would complete the tabs for Starting Football Lineups, Statistics and Records by football season and it is done.  Boise State did not always keep good records so that is definitely a limitation but to the extent possible, all the blanks are filled in.  Blogspot can't handle the entire statistics or records in one tab so those are split up.  The Records Section is split up into Offensive Records and Defensive Records (which also contains scoring).  I will be continuing to add new records as the weeks go on that aren't tracked anywhere.  Another thing that the blog will do that can't be found anywhere:  The Records Sections will be updated throughout the season--even Boise State does not do this.  So you can see instantly how many more sacks Billy Winn needs to reach the Top 10.  The Statistics Section is split as well from 1968-1979 and 1980-on (note the tabs above).

There will be several times during the year when you're wondering "who started for Boise State at wide receiver in 2000" or "where does Doug Martin rank in all-time rushing at Boise State" and you can access all that information from the tabs at the top of the blog.  This is by far the most complete information on starting lineups, statistics and records available anywhere, including from Boise State.

Past FB Starting Lineups:
Past FB Statistics (1968-1979):
Past FB Statistics (1980-on):
Offense FB Records:
Defense FB Records:

Bronco Soccer Team on the Road

The Boise State soccer team will try to shake off an early-season skid when they take to the field for the Viking Soccer Classic this weekend in Portland.  Coach Steve Lucas's team faces host Portland State tonight at 7.  Boise State plays Cal Poly Sunday at noon.

Boise State Cross Country Teams Set to Debut

The Boise State men's and women's cross country teams open their season this Saturday in Nampa for the fourth annual Roger Curran Invitational. 

Boise State, host Northwest Nazarene, TVCC and Westminster will compete.  The men will start at 10 a.m. on the 6-k course while the women run a 4-k race that begins at 11:30.  The Broncos will test 11 freshmen that were added to both the men's and women's rosters.  The Boise State men are coming off a season that saw them capture the Western Athletic Conference title. 

The meet is at West Park in Nampa--go out and show the Broncos your support!

Pat Kilkenny's Plane is in Boise

Have no idea why it's here, but I can confirm that the plane that Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott used to fly to Salt Lake City and Denver last year is seven minutes away on its way to Boise.  The plane has no other city on its itinerary today.

The plane is registered to Pat Kilkenny, the former Athletic Director of University of Oregon.  Scott used it last year prior to inviting Utah and Colorado into the conference.

In a Live Chat, Scott just said he is in his office in California.  So that clears that up but we don't know who took the plane.  My hunch is that this has something to do with someone applying for the AD job at Boise State but that's just a hunch.

Map of States Boise State Has Won In

Thanks to Apollo VI of BroncoCountry.com for the reproduction of his map.  This contains the states (marked in blue) that the Boise State football team has won in.  Pretty impressive.  

Realignment

In a follow-up to yesterday's post, there is more talk that the Pac-12 is not interested in Texas.  Apparently the demands of the Longhorn Network are too great.  Thus, a Rivals article indicates the conference is interested in Kansas and Missouri.  They're going to rue the day the neglected Boise State but they are too blind to see it.  Anyway, getting back to the story, those two Big 12 schools, along with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, would make 16.  If those four schools leave, Texas would undoubtedly go independent, leaving "The Big Four".  If all that happens, very little chance the league survives.

But wait.  The SEC is grabbing the other arm of Missouri, trying to get the Tigers in there.  The SEC is also wooing West Virginia although I have heard conflicting reports on if they want one or both of those. 

As for Boise State, if the "Big 12" is in fact just four, I see very little value in getting in that conference.  Better to build up the Mountain West.

Looks Like Something Big in Conference Alignment is About to Happen

Texas A&M has all but accepted a bid to the SEC.  What we don't know is what will happen after that.  The strongest rumor has Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State headed to the Pac-16.  If that happens, the rest is up in the air.  The Big 12 and Big East would have to make some quick, major moves to cement their status as an AQ.  They are locked into that status as of the current contract, but after that it could be dicey unless they can talk some highly successful schools in the Top 25 to join them.  Given that definition, TCU and Boise State are about the only ones that could help them continue to qualify for AQ status.

This Week in the BCS Top 15

#1 LSU welcomes Northwestern State Saturday at 6 p.m.
#2 Oklahoma is idle
#3 Alabama is down to Penn State 3-0 in the first quarter.
#4 Boise State is idle
#5 Stanford leads at Duke 7-0 in the 1st
#6 Wisconsin blasted Oregon State 35-0 at home.
#7 Florida State is at home against the dangerous Charleston Southern Saturday at 4
#8 Oklahoma State throttled Arizona 37-14 at home.
#9 Oregon leads Nevada at home 6-0 
#10 Virginia Tech is down to East Carolina 7-0 in the 1st
#11 Ohio State held on late on their home turf to edge Boise State opponent Toledo 27-22 
#12 Texas A&M is idle
#13 Arkansas entertains New Mexico Saturday at 5
#14 Nebraska hosts Fresno State Saturday at 5
#15 South Carolina is between the Hedges at Georgia Saturday at 2:30

Also:
San Diego State won at Army 23-20
Colorado State welcomes Northern Colorado Saturday at noon
Tulsa plays at Tulane Saturday at 1:30
TCU leads at Air Force 14-0 in the 1st
UNLV treks to Washington State Saturday at 3
Wyoming is at home against Texas State-San Marcos Saturday at 4

Boise State #4 in Unofficial BCS Standings

The Coaches Poll is listed first by percentage of total votes, followed by the AP Poll (which will substitute for the Harris Poll until it comes out in a few weeks).  The next two numbers are the Sagarin and Billingsley computer ratings--the only two that give meaningful results this early in the season.  The computer ratings are then multiplied by 2 to give a total possible score of 100 for that component.  These methods give a fairly reliable indication of the true BCS Ratings which are not officially released for several weeks.  So this is the only place you can get this information at this point.

1.    LSU 92.61% + 94.33% + ((25 + 25) *2) = 286.94
2.    Oklahoma 98.58% + 96.53% + ((22 + 22) * 2) = 283.11
3.    Alabama 95.73 + 93.93 + ((23 + 16) *2) = 267.66
4.    Boise State 81.15 + 87.33 + ((24 + 23) *2) = 262.48
5.    Stanford 80.00 + 76.93 + ((15 + 19) *2) = 224.93
6.    Wisconsin 66.98 + 68.73 + ((12 + 18) *2) = 195.71
7.    Florida State 81.22 + 79.73 + ((13 + 4) *2) = 194.95
8.    Oklahoma State 70.37 + 65.40 + ((9 + 15) *2) = 183.77
9.    Oregon 50.98 + 55.20 + (16 + 21) *2) = 180.18
10.  Virginia Tech 58.51 + 60.40 + ((19 + 10) *2) = 176.91
11.  Ohio State 46.51 + 40.40 + ((21 + 20) *2) = 168.91
12.  Texas A&M 67.59 + 68.87 + ((0 + 6) *2) = 158.46
13.  Arkansas 53.29 + 50.13 + ((11 + 14) *2) = 153.42
14.  Nebraska 61.69 + 63.13 + ((5 + 8) *2) = 150.82
15.  South Carolina 56.07 + 56.20 + ((9 + 5) *2) = 140.27

Boise State #3 in Billingsley

http://www.cfrc.com/Ratings_2011/WK_1.htm

Boise State #4 in Congrove

http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/current_congrove_rankings.html

Boise State #4 in AP

http://www.cbssports.com/#!/collegefootball/rankings/ap

Boise State Still #5 in Coaches Football Poll

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/usatpoll.htm

Kellen Moore is Boise State's First Mountain West Player of the Week

Kellen Moore became the first Boise State student-athlete in any sport to be named as the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week.  He is the Offensive Player of the Week for week #1 in college football.

Kellen Moore on West Region Version of Sports Illustrated

Boise State Moves up to #2 in Sagarin

Remember it is the ELO-Chess numbers that count in the BCS formula:


http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt11.htm?loc=interstitialskip


That is up from #7 last week.

Kyle Efaw Sets Boise State Record for Tight Ends

With 53 receiving yards in the Georgia game, Kyle Efaw broke the all-time Boise State record for receiving yards for a tight end.  Efaw now has 1,058 for his amazing Bronco career and is 30th overall.

Efaw hauled in six Kellen Moore passes and is now tied with Derek Schouman and Larry Stayner for the most career receptions by a tight end.  Those three Bronco greats all have 78 career receptions.  

Bronco Record Book Update

Kellen Moore finished 28-34 in the Georgia Game.  I think at one point he was 12-15 and later in the game had hit 15 of his last 16 passes.  The 28-34 is 82.35%, which ranks seventh in school history.

Moore already had the career TD record of 99, despite what some national media reports show.  He now has 102, which is more than double the TD passes of every Boise State quarterback except:

#2 Ryan Dinwiddie (82)
#3 Bart Hendricks (78)
#4 Tony Hilde (70)
#5 Jim McMillan (58)

Doug Martin rushed for 57 yards and is now the #8-leading rusher in Bronco history.  Martin passed Jon Francis Saturday night.  Martin is 11th in all-purpose yards with 3,119, having passed Tim Gilligan.

With six catches, Kyle Efaw is now tied with Derek Schouman and Larry Stayner with 78 career receptions.  Those three are now tied for the Bronco record for tight ends.

Tyler Shoemaker is now tied with Lonnie Hughes for #40 all-time in career receptions with 62.  Shoemaker passed Brock Forsey and is now 29th with 1,060 career receiving yards  and Efaw is right behind overall with 1,058, but Saturday night Kyle set a Boise State record for tight ends.  Shoemaker is now tied with Larry Smith and Winky White for 24th with 10 career receiving touchdowns.   

Boise State's Monkey Business

Not all that long ago, Boise State players were dragging around several monkeys.  It had to be most uncomfortable carrying these cute but pesky creatures around all these years.  Let's recount the monkeys that have been on the backs of Bronco players.

                    Speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil?




1.  Boise State's a fine Division I-AA team (a national championship and a runner-up) but no way could they compete with the big boys. 


2.  Once Houston Nutt left, that was Boise State's last hope.





3.  Sure you made a bowl game, but no way can you beat a team from the WAC.





4.  Your offensive line can't compete with physical defensive lines (2000 vs. Arkansas).





5.  Boise State is going to be lost without Dirk Koetter.







6.  Bart Hendricks was a great quarterback.  Now we'll see how they do with him gone.





7.  A bowl win over a WAC team is one thing.  Winning a championship in the Big West will never carry over to the WAC.  It's too good of a league.





8.  Winning a bowl game against UTEP and Louisville is one thing, but you can't beat a Big 12 team like Iowa State.







9.  Ryan Dinwiddie was a great quarterback.  Now Boise State will start losing with him gone.

10.  It doesn't matter if the game is in Corvallis or in Boise--the Broncos cannot beat a Pac-10 team.





11.  Now that Dan Hawkins has left, Boise State will slip into mediocrity.







12.  Boise State is no match for the historic program of Oklahoma.





13.  Jared Zabransky took Boise State to a big win but they can't bring in anyone that can achieve similar results.





14.  Boise State had a couple nice wins over Oregon State but they can't beat one of the Pac-10's best and no way they can win in Eugene.  No one wins in Eugene.





15.  The win in Eugene was a fluke.  Oregon has the rematch circled and it will be a different story this time around.







16.  Boise State's done fine in the West but they can't beat a program of Virginia Tech's caliber.

17.  Boise State is 0-4 against the SEC.  That's a different level of football.

Kellen Moore Passes Peyton Manning for 4th All-Time

Kellen Moore came into the 2011 season ranked sixth in college football history for wins by a quarterback.  The cool, calm Bronco leader was 38-2 and tied with Ken Dorsey of Miami of Florida.


With a season opening 35-21 win over #19 Georgia, Moore has now passed Peyton Manning of Tennessee for #4.  Manning also was victorious in 39 wins as a starting quarterback for the Vols, but he lost six games.  If Moore is fortunate to be able to climb another rung in the ladder, it will be a while.  David Greene of Georgia was 42-10 from 2001-2004.  Colt McCoy of Texas holds the NCAA record with a sterling 45-8 mark from 2006-2009 while Andy Dalton of TCU is second, posting a 42-7 record.


Here is the Top 10:

1.  Colt McCoy of Texas was 45-8 from 2006-2009.

2.  Andy Dalton of TCU was 42-7 from 2007-2010.*

3.  David Greene ( Georgia ) was 42-10 (2001-2004).

4.  Kellen Moore of Boise State is 39-2 from 2008-current.*

5.  Peyton Manning was 39-6 from 1994-1997 for Tennessee .

6.  Ken Dorsey was 38-2 from the latter part of 1999 through 2002 for Miami of Florida.

7.  Danny Wuerffel was 38-6-1 at Florida from 1993-1996.

8.  Rick Leach of Michigan was 38-8-2 for Michigan from 1975-1978.
9.  Dan LeFevour of  Central Michigan was 38-17 from 2006-2009.

10.  Matt Leinart of USC went 37-2 from 2003-2005.

Boise State Dominates Georgia 35-21

The good news is that Boise State manhandled Georgia in its season opener in front of a loud Georgia Dome crowd last night 35-21.  Kellen Moore was sensational in leading the Bronco attack. 

This was a much different game than '05.  I went to that game thinking Boise State would do well and being completely shocked.  This year, I expected Boise State to win big and would have been surprised if it was a close game.  No lack of respect to the Dawgs at all; they are a talented, well-coached team who didn't give up and kept their swagger throughout.  It's just that the Broncos have made such huge strides since that game that they're a completely different team than the one that suffered a giant beatdown in Athens.

We organized a tailgate of over 100 people from all over--San Diego, Houston, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida, Maine, Tennessee, Frankfurt, Germany and many, many other places including Boise of course.  Bronco Nation has come a long way and I don't think fans of other teams understand the fan reach of Boise State.  


For those that didn't go, I want you to understand what a great fan base Georgia has.  We had great interaction with them in 2005 and again this year.  There are the few immature fans that every team has, but 99% of them are the friendliest, most knowledgeable fan base you will ever encounter.  

As for the game, I just want to say Kellen Moore is the Man!  He is the most unbelievable combination of Joe Montana, John Elway and Larry Bird in his intelligence of his sport, his ability to read defenses, an uncanny ability to know where every player is on the field and to make near-perfect throws every time.  To be missing second-round NFL pick Titus Young and third-round NFL choice Austin Pettis and his deep-play threat (Geraldo Boldewijn, who was held out of this game for precautionary measures) from last year and still pick apart a high-quality SEC team is beyond comprehension.  Moore finished 28-34, throwing the 100th touchdown pass of his brilliant career (he now has 102) in the first quarter to freshman sensation Matt Miller.  

At one time, Moore was 12-15 and at one stretch in the game, Kellen had hit 15-of-his-last-16 passes.  His passing was a work of art, a thing of beauty.  But first and foremost, the credit has to go to the offensive line.  We heard all week all over the media that the Georgia defensive line was bigger and would destroy Kellen Moore.  They would sack him all day long and get six interceptions, those not accepting Boise State as a legitimate title contender said.  Kellen did make one mistake when he expected man coverage and got zone instead but the offensive line held out that big line that averaged 6-4, 329 pounds.  There were no sacks and I only counted two times that Moore hit the turf.


That said, the running game did not fully establish itself.  There were some great individual runs by Doug Martin, D.J. Harper and quarterback Grant Hedrick, but that is something the line needs to work on.  Yes, I realize it's Georgia but if Boise State wants to truly be one of the elite teams this year, they're going to have to open holes consistently for the running game.  The reasons for the lack of a consistent running game are many.  First off, Georgia has a big, physical defense.  Second, they were keying on Doug Martin all night long.  Third, Boise State was absent its top two fullbacks and might have fared better with them in the lineup.    Hey, the line was solid last night but Coach Petersen mentioned the need for a stronger running game as well so I did want to include it in my observations.  

We have to give a big shout out to offensive coordinator Brent Pease.  I had a feeling he would do this well and Pease was superb.  Along with his coach-on-the-field Moore, Pease took what Georgia gave and it worked time and time again.  Boise State churned up a ton of first downs and Moore utilized nine different receivers during the game.  In the third quarter, Bronco head coach Chris Petersen, Pease and the team did something that I believe won the game for them.  Georgia had just put in their bigger defenders to stop the run.  To begin with, Moore wisely spotted that and checked off to a pass that got them the first down.  Then, the Bronco coaches ordered a no-huddle offense.  The big Georgia defenders specializing in stopping the run couldn't get off the field and looked confused.  They were no match for Boise State's speedy receivers and Moore and the Broncos gobbled up 35 yards or so forcing Georgia to finally call a time out.


But, Boise State had moved the ball to the red zone, turned the magnificent drive into six points for a decisive lead, and thoroughly wore out the Bulldog defense in the process.  You can't say enough about the coaching of Pease during that stretch.  He has always been an aggressive coach and it was that killer instinct that helped the Broncos finally open up a big lead over a great team and then hold it.  That is a first in Bronco history.


Sometimes things work out for the best.  Coach Dan Hawkins left and Chris Petersen has been even better.  Coach Justin Wilcox left and now Pete Kwiatkowski has the Broncos playing the best defense in their history.  Coach Bryan Harsin left and dare I say the Bronco offense is more in attack mode than in recent years.


Most of the Georgia players were very complimentary of Boise State.  Brandon Boykin, who made the brilliant run in the first quarter, said in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Boise State could play in the SEC.  Some Bulldog fans mistakenly believe that the end result was because Georgia has a bad team rather than the accurate assessment that they played a great game against the #5 team in the nation that is probably underrated.  The media will never shut up--they love to spout garbage and will continue to do so.  The Broncos can continue to use that to fire them up.


Don't think Coach Chris Petersen and his staff won't have plenty of film for his eager young players to study however.  Plenty of blown coverages in the secondary, arm tackling, and lack of consistent holes opened up by the offensive line.  For now, we can savor the win.  But come Monday, plenty of work to be done.


Boise State just has to remember the Nevada game from last year and how any team can come up and bite them.  They have to be serious about every game and take each opponent from here on out as if they were a Georgia.