Boise State Football: Once Dominant Program Shell of Former Self

Boise State won’t ignite BCS controversy this year.

In 2012, the prestigious football program has yet to live up to its reputation. And after a near-choke job against lowly New Mexico, there aren’t many reasons to be optimistic about the Broncos’ season.

Boise State was pushed to the limit by the Lobos on Saturday. It had held a 25-0 halftime lead before New Mexico flipped the switch and rallied to make the score 32-29 before falling just short.

The Associated Press reported that the Broncos head coach, Chris Peterson, said after the game (via Washington Post):

"

I’ve been preaching this forever. You never let a team off the hook. I will give all credit to New Mexico; they took advantage and made plays. It was hard and we fumbled and they capitalized. It can change fast and I hope this team learns that.

"

While the Broncos earned a tally in the win column, their collapse against the mediocre Lobos only reaffirms the doubts they’ve cast over the past few weeks.

They aren’t the same dominant ballclub. Not even close.

In Week 1, Boise State lost to then-No. 13 ranked Michigan State. At the time, the letdown wasn’t a huge deal. The Spartans were highly ranked.

Now, though, Michigan State finds itself unranked, which makes the Broncos loss look that much worse. And in the following weeks, Boise State failed to make up for the falter.

A 39-12 triumph over Miami (OH) is nothing to phone home about. For crying out loud, the Broncos were only up six points at halftime. They also only beat BYU by one.

Those aren’t performances on par with the teams they’ve fielded in the past. Nine out of the last 10 years, Boise State has won at least 10 games in a season. Would it really be shocking if this now-unranked squad fails to make it 10 out of 11?

Sure, its 3-1, but it could easily be 1-3 right now.

It's safe to say the Broncos miss Kellen Moore. Even with their cake-walk schedule, they’re failing to impress.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels