Why Boise State Wins: It's Not a Blue Field or Kellen Moore

Boise State is on a roll, and have been for the past 10 years. The last 10 senior classes have all won 40 career games. That includes when the team was coached by Dirk Koetter, Dan Hawkins and Chris Petersen. The Broncos have gone 84-13 since joining 1-A in 1996. That means they have lost less than one game a season on average for the past 14 years! Incredible.

Yet, make no mistake, they are a mid-major team. I'm a huge BSU fan, but they still are a non-AQ program. They get mid-major recruiting, play in a mid-major 34,000 person stadium and have a mid-major budget, but they win. They beat other non-AQ's until they are all blue in the face (pun intended) and also go into BCS schools backyards and beat up on them too. 

Why is it Boise State has won its conference eight times in the last 10 years?

Why don't other mid-majors share the same success? Sure, TCU has done it, and Utah, but not to the level BSU has. Why is Boise State so exclusive? Where are the MAC, Sunbelt or C-USA teams? Where is the team that steps up year in and year out from the WAC or even the Mountain West? Do the football gods rain success on BSU just because?

Some say it's their field and I would say they have gone 48-12 in the last years on opponents fields. So what is this mystical force that propels Boise State into the spotlight seemingly every year?

Boise State Fans and Players Truly Believe

There is an an old saying that you should expect to win. As a human being,  if I expect something to happen, it most likely will happen, but there is a chance it won't. Boise State fans and players truly believe they will win every single game and even every single play. It was even their motto for a while. When something is a belief, no other outcome is feasible.

After watching the BSU game against Nevada last year, I was in a stupor. I was utterly speechless. Not because of the loss, but because of how the Broncos lost. It was like the very foundations of some deeply held belief was shaken. We have been so accustomed to Boise winning just about every game, playing so perfectly that when an inevitable loss comes, the players and fans simply don't know how to react. That is true belief. 

We all believe Boise will win. Oklahoma, Oregon, Virginia Tech, it doesn't matter. We know Boise State will win; this carries over into their play. 

In the months leading up to the game in the Georgia Dome, Bulldog fans were busy hyping themselves up. Telling the world, but really themselves, that everything will be OK since we are the mighty University of Georgia and this is just the minuscule Boise State. Look at our recruiting and our history; we should win this game, they said. 

Well, the funny thing about a belief is those things don't matter. What the other team did or should do does not matter when it comes to the belief of what our team WILL do. 

Discipline

Did you see the Georgia game? Of course you did. The Broncos only committed four penalties in that game. The fact that it was the first game of the season and they opened up in that environment says something about how disciplined the Broncos are. The defense made one or two mistakes, and that was it. Kellen Moore just doesn't make mistakes.

It is almost like Boise State hardens for the big games, becoming an incredibly disciplined and efficient machine. And it's not just Kellen Moore. Did you see the discipline in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl in the fourth quarter and overtime? The world was falling apart around them, but they strove for greatness. 

Then when they are home, where they have lost only one game in the last 50, the Broncos' steadfast resolve shines, as it is unacceptable to make mistakes on a ground held up so highly by the Boise committee. They didn't lose a single conference game at home during their tenure in the WAC.   

When Boise's discipline falters, as it did a few times against Toledo, the fans of Boise State get infuriated. It can be the smallest mishap like missing a tackle, but you look around the bar or room where other fans are watching the game, and you see that the lack of discipline in that instant is taken as a reflection of an extremely disciplined community.  Fortunately, these slip ups are few and far between.

Innovation

The term "trickeration," coined by ESPN and Chris Petersen, has been used to describe what is essentially very crafty and misleading play calling by Boise State. The Statue Left, Hook and Lateral and the Half Back Pass all put Boise State on the map during the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. 

The next Fiesta Bowl Boise State played in, the Broncos kept a crucial drive alive by using "the riddler," a pass on a fake punt by Kyle Brotzman. Though Boise State has been known for its trick plays in the past, the team has grown into more of a traditional football program with hard nose football and an impressive passing game. This isn't the cutesy Broncos we saw against Oklahoma anymore.

That is not to say Boise State is not capable. Chris Petersen always has something in his bag of tricks, and it comes out when you least expect it, especially next year, when Boise State will most likely be in a rebuild year. Watch the Michigan State game next year; you'll probably see a trick or two. 

Humility

Did you see that Tweet Kellen Moore posted after beating Virginia Tech last year? Or how about what Doug Martin said to the Statesman after the Georgia game this year?  No? That's because you wont hear that. Boise State respects every opponent they face. From Oklahoma to Wyoming, it doesn't matter. 

While Virginia Tech, Utah and Georgia players are blowing up the Internet about how they are going to crush the measly Broncos, the Boise State players display a quiet confidence in their ability. They prove their skill on the field. Mainly because they have to; no one is going to believe a player from BSU if he says something like "Aaron Murray is going down! We are sacking him at least five times," even though they did sack him six times. But the Broncos say nothing before and after the game. 

Boise State has nothing but praise for the opponent they just beat and nothing but respect for the team they will face. This keeps them humble and focused on the task. Even after the Oklahoma game, where Boise State's future essentially changed forever, Chris Petersen was calm and collected.

They do not even challenge a system that is inherently unfair to the Broncos. Never has any Bronco said a negative word against the BCS, even though twice they finished the season as one of only two unbeaten teams. Boise takes what it gets and is grateful this goes for players and coaches. This philosophy keeps them poised and ready for the next challenge while blocking out the background noise. But mostly it keeps them in the realm of walking the walking and away from talking the talk.   

Calm

Kellen Moore is the epitome of calm.  No matter the opponent, he is the same seemingly emotionless computing machine every game. Georgia Dome or the Kibbie Dome, it doesn't matter. But he isn't the only one. 

Over the past few years, the Broncos have had one of the best two minute drills in the country.  Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, Toledo, San Jose State and Nevada all have felt the wrath of how efficient this team becomes when it is calm. Those who haven't felt it usually are so far behind that it is not necessary. 

When Jared Zabransky threw the pick six, seemingly crushing Boise State's chances at a Fiesta Bowl win, the Broncos did not panic. They just calmly pulled off one of the greatest wins in college football history. 

When Virginia Tech had virtually sealed the deal against Boise State with less then two minutes left, Boise State marched right down the field and scored as if there were no defense at all.  There is always a no panic mentality to this team. 

TCU was stifling the Broncos in their second Fiesta Bowl appearance, but Boise State calmly reached into its bag of tricks and turned the tide. Brotzman didn't even flinch. The reason there is calm is because there is confidence. Boise State always plays their game and nobody else's  Check out "the drive" at the 6:35 mark of the video above.

Pride

If you are like many of the Boise State fans that remember the Broncos prior to the 2006 Fiesta Bowl or even prior to them joining the WAC, you know that the Boise Community has always been proud of its Broncos. It wasn't so long ago that we would show our pride in Idaho knowing the Vandals of the University of Idaho were the better team.  Boy, am I glad those days are over, since Vandal fans need a serious lesson from the previous two slides. 

Anyway, Boise State fans and players are criticized endlessly for this reason or that, mainly because the team has redefined what a good college football team is. Yeah, we have a blue field; yeah, it only holds 34,000 on a good day; yeah, we have no major history past the last 10 years but that doesn't matter because our "small town" team is going to kick your...I said the players were humble, not the fans. 

It's no surprise that the Boise fanbase is one of the fastest growing in the country. This tiny team came from nothing to challenge the giants of football in less then 17 years of 1-A play. If Boise State was a person it couldn't even vote, other programs have been around for nearly 100 years and don't have nearly the success. 

At 27, I have watched Boise State grow up. My dad watched them as a D-II school, so he has experienced it even more then I have. It's like watching your child grow and you become extremely proud and extremely protective of them. 

This community mentality transfers to the team, and I believe that is why they are so successful at home. I mean, the fans can't play that big of a part; there are only only 34,000 of them. Neither do the blue uniforms, since they beat Fresno State 51-0 in orange uniforms. 

It is a sense of newness and pride that causes other people to gravitate towards them, and that is why BSU is gaining fans. They want to be a part of Boise State now, when it's new, before they become an Oklahoma, Ohio State or Alabama. 

Preparedness

A lot of naysayers will say Boise State had all summer to prepare for Georgia. The same goes for Virginia Tech last year, but guess what?  The Bulldogs and Hokies had all summer too, but didn't produce. 

Make no mistake, just about every player on that team is a student of the game, mainly because the coaches are too. It seems like in every game, Boise State starts out slow and then pulls away. I have a theory on that. They are just testing what the material they studied the week before. Poking and prodding until they find the weak spot, and then they ruthlessly exploit it causing an explosion of Bronco scoring drives. 

Against Georgia, it was their offensive line; against Toledo, it was the weak secondary. Boise State will know more about your team than any other opponent you have ever faced, and that is the bottom line.     

Work Ethic

Boise State does not recruit players on their skills alone. They recruit players that fit into their system; a 4 or 5 star player does nothing for you if he doesn't fit how an offense works or at least is unwilling to learn. Boise State is perfectly content with 3 star players that will put every ounce of themselves into the program. It is the perfect example of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. 

Once each player buys in, their work ethic changes and they are totally devoted. Running individual and squad practices, watching hours of tape and playing just as hard in their scrimmages as they do in the game all lead to Bronco success.  

This is both on and off of the field. It's no surprise that a team with this strong of a work ethic is successful in the classroom, ranking in at No. 2 behind Stanford in the academic BCS. Players like Kellen Moore, Kyle Wilson, Ian Johnson and Doug Martin are prime examples of what an underrated player can do when he works hard, and the Broncos are a prime example what an underrated team can do when the team works hard.

Remember these are 2 and 3 star recruits playing in a 34,000 fan stadium that currently hold the No. 4 position in all of college football well ahead of many other programs with a more storied history.