Boise State Football: Things the Broncos Need to Fix to Be No. 1

Lately, Boise State has been making that classic march in the polls they do every year: backwards. It seems no matter how many games Boise State wins they always are fighting a system that wants or even needs them to fail, and when they don't fail the rules get bent. 

How many other teams go backwards in the polls twice after winning? 

A big zero, that's how many. 

So what does Boise State need to do to move up in the polls? This is a breakdown of the things Boise State can affect to make sure they are playing as the No. 1 team should be. 

What this slideshow isn't is a diatribe about how Boise State's strength of schedule is an issue or who needs to win or lose for the Broncos to move into that coveted No. 1 position. 

Those are things out of the hands of Boise State, and if there are five undefeated teams at the end of the season, did Boise State do what was necessary to be considered for the National Championship? This slideshow focuses only on what Boise State can do to set themselves up for success and prove to the America that Boise State is the No. 1 team. 

Deep-Threat Receiver

Kellen Moore has hit 9-10 receivers in each of his last four games, but his longest pass has only been 38 yards. Just about every deep pass he has thrown has sailed a bit long as if its muscle memory from passing to the speedy Titus Young. 

With 6'4" Geraldo Boldewijn becoming eligible for the Fresno State game on Friday we just may see that need for a deep threat be realized. Boldewijn runs a 4.3 40 and displayed some great hands both last year and in practice scrimmages. Last season the Dutch-born receiver had 11 catches for 168 yards, including a 48-yard reception.

If Boise State wants to win against one of the Top Four, Kellen Moore cannot be limited to just short passes; they need to surprise their opponent with a deep pass off a play action. Boldewijn just may deliver that. 

Running Game

Until the Nevada game, the Boise State running game had been very flat, only averaging around three yards per carry. This was not a big deal since Kellen Moore and his receiving corps had been pretty lights-out. 

Well, as we saw against Nevada, Moore is actually human and not some emotionless cyborg with laser-like precision. 

Luckily, the Broncos have Doug Martin and D.J. Harper to shoulder the offensive weight when Moore has his one off-day a career. 

Against Nevada, Martin broke off 21 carries averaging six yards each time, and that number would have been bigger had it not been for a holding call on Martin's 92-yard rushing touchdown. To beat a team like Oklahoma or LSU in the National Championship game, the Broncos have to have both the pass and the run firing—not either/or. 

For three games the passing game was excellent and the running game was stifled, then for one game they switched inexplicably. If both were working together, this offense would be unstoppable by just about any defense.

We know the Boise State passing game is solid, and hopefully in upcoming matchups the running game will continue to shine like it did last Saturday.  

Field Goal Kicker Confidence

Three of the last four games have had some very shaky field goal and extra point kicking.

Against Nevada not a single mistake was made, but you could see the relief that coach Petersen felt when his kicker made his lone field goal.

Up until that game, missed extra points, fourth down conversions and a general lack of mistrust for the kicking game was definitely visible, no matter what the coaches told the media. 

The good news is that Boise State is good enough to not have to rely on kicking during the regular season, but at least once in the past four seasons Boise State's fate hinged on a field goal—and we all know what happens when that goes wrong. 

At the very least the field goal unit will be called upon in the BCS Championship, and that environment will be much different than that of Bronco Stadium while playing a fairly timid opponent. Though improvements have been made, the Broncos are still a long way from making the necessary long field goal when the game is on the line.    

Recievers' Hands

One thing is for sure: Kellen Moore will get the ball to where you need to catch it. 

Even in his less-than-perfect game, the receivers played a part in the lack of completions by dropping four passes. This is the second game where the receivers have dropped at least four passes and there have been at least 1-2 passes dropped in every single game this season. 

Against Nevada Mitch Burroughs was wide open on a downfield route, and the ball went through his hands then bounced off his knee. 

Don't get me wrong, the Broncos have made far more spectacular catches than they have dropped the ball, but those drops matter, and if their opponent is LSU then those drops will haunt Boise State. 

And Burroughs is just an example; other receivers have had drops as well.

This also effects Moore's potential Heisman run, as it looks like an incompletion in the books and takes away from his potential yardage. I will applaud Moore on the Burroughs drop though, as he showed complete class like always by rallying his team in a "we'll get em' next time fashion."

Loose Secondary

Statistically, Boise State's secondary has put up excellent numbers in limiting the passing game of opposing teams, but those of us who watch the games have seen some things that made us hold our breaths. 

On more than a few occasions, wide receivers were wide open, and the pass was just long or the opposing team's receiver just couldn't catch the ball.

There were multiple times during the Toledo game when the receiver left the Bronco secondary behind only to drop the pass. In the final minutes against Nevada, the Wolfpack turned what should have been a short over-the-middle completion into a touchdown based on what seemed like laziness. 

Against a team like Stanford the Broncos will not be able to rely on dropped passed or overthrown balls. The No. 1 team in the country should have a secondary that sticks to its receivers like glue. They did a superb job against Georgia, but have been slipping ever since. 

A pass-heavy team will likely exploit the Broncos' secondary if this is not corrected. 

Offensive Line That Can Pass and Run-Block in the Same Game

As I've said before, this offensive line is the best line Boise State has ever had. 

An issue has emerged though.

Over the past four games, the Broncos' line was either excellent at pass-blocking for Moore or run-blocking for Martin, but not both in the same game. 

The first three games, Kellen Moore was untouched. Even against the much larger and supposedly more athletic Georgia defense, the pass-blocking was outstanding.

Yet the run did not produce much at all. 

Looking back you can see that holes just were not opening up. The same goes for the Toledo and Tulsa games, and at times it forced coach Petersen to run his team around the edges. 

Then all of a sudden humongous holes would open up for Martin against Nevada, and the running game exploded. 

However, it seemed this was to the detriment of the pass-block. Moore was hurried, had to scramble and even was sacked for the first time. He should have been sacked a second time as well, but he lobbed the ball into a defender's hands.

Against a much larger Wisconsin or Oklahoma team the Boise State line will have its work cut out for them. The difference is, teams like that are not one-dimensional like Georgia became, and Boise State will need both the run and pass as I said in a previous slide. 

This means that the line must be great on the run and the pass. I believe this line is capable of just that, with at least two potential NFL draftees up front. 

Penalty Discipline

Boise State has slowly increased the number of penalties it causes per game. 

Against Georgia, in such hostile territory, only four penalties were committed by what looked like an extremely disciplined Bronco team. 

Against Nevada this past weekend at home? 

Ten penalties for a total of 98 yards.

The Nevada game was a high emotion game given what happened last year, but the National Championship Game will have the the same test of intestinal fortitude. 

If the Broncos lose that classic discipline they have displayed many times before, it could be the difference between a touchdown and a field goal or scoring versus punting. There will always be penalties for a team that goes as hard as Boise State, but the dumb penalties like roughing the kicker or various other personal fouls will not do well for the Broncos against a team more at home in stressful games. 

Fan Participation

I know Bronco Stadium is small and 50-60 percent of Boise State's fans worldwide just signed on in the past 5-6 years, but we need to start making ourselves known. 

I don't think the fanbase can solely affect the rankings, but both the AP and Coaches polls are subjective, therefore a little influence can be given. With the current system in place for a few more years, the Broncos need all the help they can get. 

So all of you Bronco fans out there need to start spreading the message of Boise State on Facebook, Twitter and various message boards. The student section shouldn't empty out in the third quarter; BSU fans need to sell out every game and bring more attendance to opposing games even if that means buying home team tickets. (I do that when Boise comes to Hawaii.)

Speaking of Hawaii, I fly my Boise State flag, wear my Bronco t-shirts and display my BSU car magnet in this hostile territory. I have been told a couple of times that I should have my a** kicked. I just reply, "Apparently not in football."  I think my car has been spit on a few times too. 

The Broncos need the same fanatical zealotry that Nebraska or Oregon has. If Boise State fans can make enough noise in the world, the voters may start to listen, and Bleacher Report or ESPN will start to talk about Boise as a city with a great fanbase. 

Coaches Being Happy with Just Winning

There is definitely a lot of debate over the issue of whether Boise State should keep their starters in a little longer to run the score up against its opponents. This is something Chris Petersen does not like to do, and in principle, I agree with him. He respects his opponents and the game itself by being a class act. 

That being said, the No. 1 team in the nation does not beat Tulsa and Nevada by only 20 points. No one is faulting Oregon for beating Nevada by 49 points, and the same goes for Oklahoma against Tulsa when the Sooners beat the Hurricane by 34. 

This also plays a part in the team's overall readiness for the big games. BSU was tired at the end of last year's Nevada game, and it was because, up to that point, Boise State's starters had only played all four quarters once.

That could definitely happen again, and it may be in the big game.

The issue of "style points" is actually playing a part in Boise State's run at the National Championship.  The coaches and fans are content to just win games no matter the score, but the voters are not. 

Look at Wisconsin, they are just point-scoring machines. 

Are there cries of bad sportsmanship? No.

It's just expected that good teams should do that. 

So when BSU doesn't score like it has the potential to score, we all know what happens; Wisconsin is now No. 4 while BSU dropped to No. 5.

Injury Issues

One thing that is a definite fact is Boise State cannot afford injuries, and they have already started. 

Jerrell Gavins, a very solid force in the Bronco secondary, went down to a knee injury during practice. He will be replaced by sophomore Quaylon Ewing-Burton, who showed a lot of promise in his game against Nevada. 

Kellen Moore isn't saying that he has an injury to his right knee, claiming the brace is just doctor's orders, but the Broncos are beginning to look a bit banged up early in the season. 

Center Thomas Byrd also remains week-to-week, and his backup is also injured. This left senior Cory Yriarte to his first start since 2008. 

The defensive line has also suffered some injuries after the Tulsa game, but defensive linemen Chase Baker and Tyler Horn have both returned.

So as you can see the Broncos seem to be deep enough to continue winning conference games, but are they deep enough to beat another team in the Top Five of the polls? 

Injuries are one of those things that are tough to limit since they just happen, but the Broncos definitely need to stay healthy. 

Finally, this kind of contradicts my previous slide in that the starters should be pulled to avoid injury if the game allows it, but I guess it's a balancing act Chris Petersen must deal with.