Boise State Football: The Broncos Have Reached a Major Milestone

The 2009 Boise State Broncos have taken their football program to new heights. They are at No. 8 on both polls this season. The Broncos have never made it that high on the polls in the regular season.

The question is, will BSU be No. 8 or higher when the BCS begins their poll on October 18? Of course, Boise State has finished higher then eighth after the BCS Bowl games on their final poll. The Broncos 2007 Fiesta Bowl victory had the Broncos finishing at No. 5.

The following two seasons BSU started new quarterbacks each year; both were as different as night and day. Last season QB Kellen Moore, a redshirt freshman, legitimately nailed down the starting job and finished his season very respectable, setting team completion percentage.

Coach Chris Petersen’s Broncos, which comprise of mostly junior and sophomore talent only slightly, resemble last year’s team. Gone are Vinny Perretta, Ian Johnson, Jeremy Childs, two offensive lineman that now play professional ball in Canada, Mike T Williams, Kyle Gingg, etc.

Normally when teams lose such great players they rebuild and that takes a year or two to develop into something good, but Boise State is not your run-of-the-mill Division I college football team. They lamented the loss of some extreme talent and set their sights on the 2009 season.

This season's Broncos are explosive in every aspect of the game. BSU has a better defense, and some of the guys that make the unit better have not played yet this season due to preseason injury and suspensions.

Last year's defensive scout player of the year, Michael "Canadian Bacon" Atkinson, will not be coming off his three-game suspension for this week's game against Bowling Green. Canadian Bacon has multiple uses. His prowess is defensive tackle, where his 320-pound frame tosses aside and crushes his opposition, but he will also be used as a short yardage back for Kellen Moore’s offense this season.

Fans will see Bacon’s debut following the Bowling Green game on October 3 against Cal Davis. Moore also does not resemble the redshirt freshman he was last season. This year he has matured greatly.

Kellen has shown more mobility and seems to be more patient. Kellen’s prime receivers are Austin Pettis, Titus Young, and Tyler Shoemaker, and they are all uniquely different. Austin, Kellen’s go-to guy, has sure hands and at 6'3" with fluid mobility they team up a lot.

Titus Young is extremely fast, very elusive, and highly athletic. His skills range from special team returns to deep threat at receiver. He has scored both ways for the Broncos thus far this season, and he is exciting when it comes to returns.

Shoemaker is a slot receiver and very good. When Kellen and Shoemaker connect, they are a threat to take it the distance because Shoe is dependable and does not drop many passes.

Kyle Efaw, Tommy Gallarda, and Richie Brockel shore up tight end. Efaw comes through a lot, and his 6'4" frame and dependable hands make for a sweet target.

The depth of the talented Bronco team is responsible for its early ranking. They are only going to get better, and that’s another story. Go Broncos!