BSU Football: What the Broncos Need to Prove Against Michigan State

Kirby Lee-US PRESSWIRE

The "told you so" vultures are circling, but they have been doing that for a while. After Boise State graduated so many senior starters from the 2011 team, the mob has been gathering waiting for the Broncos to fail.

The long and short of it is that Boise State won before Kellen Moore and crew, and it will win in the future. The important thing is to come out of the gate in a week, firing on all cylinders. Will it happen the first game of the season?Likely not. There are bound to be some missteps. And Michigan State is a very good football team. Getting by the Spartans won’t be easy.

Regardless of whether they win or not, the Broncos have to make a statement in several areas.

The Offense Can Produce Without Kellen Moore

Brian Losness-US PRESSWIRE

By now, the storybook collegiate career of Kellen Moore is widely known. So forget it…let it go, that is so last year. Joe Southwick had an outstanding final scrimmage of the fall camp and while the BSU coaches have not yet named him the starter, it almost looks like a good bet.

Southwick saw time backing up Moore in 2011. He was 27-30 passing for 198 yards and one touchdown. He has a solid and deep receiving corps back, and veteran running backs. The key, though, is the offensive line, which also sports veteran players.

There is no reason to believe that the BSU offensive won’t be strong, once it finds its rhythm. The problem is that it really doesn’t have a warm-up before facing a top team.

The Defensive Secondary Is Not Porous

Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

Injuries took a toll on the Broncos’ secondary in 2011. That, though, it not an excuse. It is part of the game. Boise State yielded 210.8 yards per game. That’s not horrible, but the defense faltered at times.

The Bronco secondary has solid depth and great senior leadership in Jamar Taylor and Jerrell Gavins. If they can stay healthy and allow some of the younger players to gain experience along the way, they'll be fine.

The Spartans return junior Andrew Maxwell (6’3”, 212 lbs) at the quarterback position. Maxwell had a 69.2 percent completion rate, but much like BSU’s Joe Southwick, he didn’t see a lot of time. He was 18-26 passing for 171 yards and one touchdown.

If the Broncos can bring the heat in passing situations, and the secondary can use its speed to hold receivers in check, this might be an opportunity for BSU to shut down one aspect of the MSU attack.

The Defensive Line Can Hold Running Games in Check

Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Linebacker J.C. Percy has had a great spring and fall camp. The fifth leading tackler on the Broncos last year has stepped it up a notch—and that means leadership. Along with veterans like Michael Atkinson, Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe and Tyler Horn, the Broncos are poised to be tough against the run.

And they will need to be.

Michigan State has junior Le’Veon Bell (6’2”, 244 lbs), who played in 14 games in 2011, but only started at tailback the last six games. He wound up with a 5.2 yard per carry average and had 13 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 35 passes for 267 yards.

He is a load and can take over a game. That's something the Broncos can't afford to allow to happen.

The Kicking Game Is Healthy

Brian Losness-US PRESSWIRE

Both Michael Frisina and Dan Goodale were kicking well in the final fall scrimmage game. The Idaho Statesman reported that Frisina was 6-for-6 and Goodale 6-for-7 in field goal attempts. But that is practice. There is added pressure during the regular season and that hits at the core of the problems plaguing Bronco kickers—confidence.

The only way to shake off those demons is to start well, become more confident and ride that wave. That wave needs to start forming in a week in East Lansing.  

The Overall Report Card

Brian Losness-US PRESSWIRE

A lot of the bets have MSU winning by a touchdown. Anything less and it may not be a good enough showing for the Spartans to move up in the standings without help (teams ranked ahead of them losing).

If the Broncos can pull the upset, MSU likely won’t drop out of the Top 25, whereas a BSU loss might mean exactly that.

In order for the Broncos to make their case, they have to play well in every aspect of the game. BSU has to show that it was more than Kellen Moore