BYU Football: Scouting the Schedule – Boise State
By Shaun Gordon
Lawless Republic’s Scouting the Schedule series continues with BYU Football’s ninth game of the 2018 season, a trip to the Smurf Turf at Boise State.
A program in the Rocky Mountains that plays well year in and year out. They’ve made their mark by beating up on inferior teams and winning some memorable games against better ones. Even though they’re a better program than a large chunk of the Power 5 teams in the nation, they get ignored at the big boys’ table.
Are we talking about BYU or Boise State?
Yes.
On November 3rd the Cougars will head up to Idaho to take on Boise State, and the Broncos look like they’ll be just as strong as ever.
Maybe stronger.
They’ve got a four-year starter at quarterback. They’ve got an experienced offensive line. They bring back nearly all of their defense.
This could be the year that the Broncos find themselves back in a New Year’s Six bowl game, but BYU can spoil that.
Last Season
Boise State entered 2017 with high expectations, and some of the biggest goals were dashed pretty quickly. After rolling over Troy in the home opener, they lost a high-scoring thriller against Mike Leach’s Washington State squad. The real killer came two weeks later, when the Broncos were embarrassed at home by Bronco Mendenhall and Virginia 42-23.
With two early losses, their hope of a New Year’s Six bowl was gone, but Boise State rebounded and started rolling. They won seven straight games, all by double digits, before losing in the regular-season finale to Fresno State.
They got revenge on the Bulldogs the very next week in the MWC Championship, beating Fresno State 17-14 and winning the conference title. They capped off their 11-win season with a 38-28 Las Vegas Bowl win over Oregon.
Offseason
Boise State has been a model of stability, and that held true this offseason. Head coach Bryan Harsin is back, along with coordinators Zak Hill and Andy Avalos.
The Broncos did lose three key players to graduation, though. Wide receiver Cedrick Wilson set a school record with 1,511 yards last year as a senior, and tight end Jake Roh led the team with nine touchdown receptions. They’ll also miss linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, the MWC Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.