Boise State Football: 5 Best and 5 Worst Offseason Developments
Boise State football has built itself quite a following over the past few seasons. During the 2011 offseason, they have been busy, and they have arguably had the most interesting offseason of any team (besides perhaps Ohio State).
The Boise State Broncos have worked their way up the college football ladder, and they find themselves a consistent part of the Top 25 rankings.
The Broncos are currently ranked 11th in the nation, and have an interesting road ahead of them.
This offseason has held NCAA violations, the loss of their offensive coordinator, and other developments. During a very busy offseason, this list ranks the five best and worst developments so far.
Best: Kellen Moore Did Not Declare for the NFL Draft
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Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore was a Heisman candidate in 2010, and came in fourth in voting.
Moore threw for 35 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Moore's 71.3 completion percentage and 182.6 quarterback rating were astounding numbers.
Moore led the Boise State offense for the past three seasons, and he has decided to come back to college for his senior year instead of entering the NFL Draft.
Moore coming back gives the Broncos offense a huge edge, and they remain a formidable opponent for any team who faces them. Moore and the Broncos now have yet another shot at competing for the national championship this season because he has come back.
Worst: Having to Face NCAA Infractions
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Boise State had to undergo a 13-hour hearing in front of the NCAA's Court of Infractions (COI) on Friday. Boise State is facing infractions that span multiple sports, the biggest of which is football.
The infractions are relatively minor and involve improper arrangements for housing, transportation and meals for prospective athletes.
Although minor, the concern is that the improprieties spanned multiple sports including tennis, track, and football.
The school has already taken action upon itself, including doubling the number of full-time compliance staff from 1.5 to three, in addition to moving compliance from the athletic department to the president’s office (read more). Boise State has had to prepare for the hearing for weeks, and they now wait the COI's decision.
The hearing has dominated the offseason for the Broncos, and they can only hope that they have done enough to avoid further action, although the school will probably be on probation for at least three years.
Best: Move to Mountain West Conference
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Effective July 1, 2011, Boise State will officially leave the WAC and join the Mountain West Conference. With the most wins of any FBS school in the past decade, Boise State could have joined quite a few other conferences, but they decided on the MWC.
The MWC still has TCU as one of its schools in the conference for one more year, and that gives the MWC two teams in the top 11 in the country,
The MWC also has Brigham Young, Utah, Air Force, Wyoming, UNLV, San Diego State, New Mexico and Colorado State among its members.
The move to the MWC may not put Boise State in a conference with an automatic-bid, but it does improve their strength of schedule, a factor that has kept them from reaching the number one spot in the standings many times in the past decade.
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Worst: Loss of Offensive Coordinator
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Boise State have lost their mastermind of an offensive coordinator in Bryan Harsin, who left to take the job at the University of Texas.
Harsin established a pass-first offense that was formidable for all opponents.
The Broncos did not look far to replace him, however, turning to Wide receiver coach Brent Pease to fill the void.
Pease will definitely keep up the passing, but he will also need to find an effective way to utilize their superb running back, Doug Martin.
The offense has been great, but they will need to cope with a new offensive coordinator this season.
Best: Date with TCU
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Their recent move to the MWC entitles Boise State with a game against conference foe TCU. Boise State is currently ranked the 11th team in the country, while TCU is eighth.
This matchup is probably going to be a high-scoring affair since both teams have such potent offenses, and it could turn out to be in Boise State's favor.
Boise State can play TCU extremely well, and that could mean a victory for the Broncos. I personally expect this game to be a victory for Boise State, and it is therefore a positive because the team will increase their strength of schedule and probably win the game too.
Worst: Date with Georgia
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This time the Broncos have bitten off more than they can chew.
The Georgia Bulldogs are an excellent team, who are no stranger to knocking off teams who are not from power-conferences.
The Bulldogs have a team that returned a lot of starters from last season, and they are undervalued at this point.
The betting lines for the games came out on Saturday, with Boise State being a six-point-favorite in the game. Just one day later, however, UGA is just a 1.5-point underdog in the Georgia Dome.
The "neutral site" is just a short car ride away from Georgia's campus, while it is a plane ride for Boise State fans.
The game will have a lot more Bulldog fans, and the fact that the Bulldogs have already closed the gap between themselves and the Broncos leads me to the conclusion that the Broncos will lose this game.
Strength of schedule doesn't mean much if you can't win games against high-level opponents.
Best: S Dextrell Simmons Comes Joins the Team
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Safety Dextrell Simmons has joined up with the Broncos, and he is regarded as their best recruit. Simmons is six feet, 210 pounds, and runs a 4.50 40-yard-dash.
The Broncos defense was their weakest point of the 2010 campaign, and Simmons will help solidify their secondary.
Simmons will probably start at safety along side George Iloka. These two will definitely help the secondary, and Simmons will play a big role this season.
Worst: Titus Young and Austin Pettis Are Leaving
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Titus Young and Austin Pettis were Kellen Moore's main targets, but the two are now in the NFL.
Young and Pettis were great players, and replacing them will be difficult.
Tight end Kyle Efaw will have to step up this season if the Broncos want to keep their offensive attack so effective.
Pettis went for almost 1,000 yards, and he caught 10 touchdown passes. Young went for well-over 1,200 yards, and caught for nine touchdowns.
These two NFL-talent wide receivers were made up one of the best wide out combos in college football, and replacing both of them will be difficult.
Best: New Program for Recruits
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Boise State coach Chris Petersen has implemented a new “bridge program.” This program will help the recruits get acclimated to college football and prevent any more violations of NCAA rules.
The recruits have been told not to arrive until June 25—two days before they’ll begin summer school and voluntary workouts.
By enrolling the players in summer school, Boise State is able to give them scholarship money and house them in the dorms (something that had previously gotten them into trouble with the NCAA).
This new program will prevent anymore infractions, and the school will be able to steer clear of anymore trouble with the NCAA's Court of Infractions.
Worst: The Broncos Have Lost 11 Starters
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The Broncos have lost a total of 11 starters from their 2010 season, and with that comes the need for recruits to step up, and for players who did not previously start to play bigger roles.
The team will need to replace talent like Titus Young, Kyle Brotzman and Austin Pettis.
The team is without its top two receivers, it's kicker, a running back, a tight end, and more.
With so many glaring holes left, this year's team will probably be less successful than last's.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
