FACTS & STATS: Site: Bronco Stadium (32,000) -- Boise, Idaho. Television: Local. Home Record: BGSU 0-1, BSU 1-0. Away Record: BGSU 1-0, BSU 0-0. Neutral Record: BGSU 0-0, BSU 0-0. Conference Record: BGSU 0-0, BSU 0-0. Series Record: Boise State leads, 1-0.
GAME NOTES: After an early break in the action, the Boise State Broncos get back to business this weekend by hosting the Bowling Green Falcons in non- conference action at Bronco Stadium. BSU, which finished 10-3 a season ago and lost back-to-back games to close out the campaign, started off 2008 on the right foot with a resounding 49-7 victory against in-state rival Idaho State at home back on August 30th. The Broncos still have two more non-conference opponents left on the slate after this weekend, needing to face off against both Oregon and Southern Miss on the road. As for the Falcons, they began this season with a stunning upset of nationally-ranked Pittsburgh, 27-17, on the road no less. The squad was hoping for a repeat performance this past weekend against Minnesota, a team that it defeated in the 2007 opener by a score of 32-31 in overtime, but this time around the Golden Gophers came out firing and recorded a convincing 42-17 victory at Bowling Green. Following this matchup, BGSU has only Wyoming left on the non-conference schedule before taking on opponents from the Mid-American Conference in October. This meeting represents just the second ever between the two programs, with the Broncos having handed out a 48-20 thrashing of the Falcons three seasons ago.
With the Falcons offense turning the ball over so much, the team's defense was forced to stay on the field far too long and that allowed Minnesota to wear down the unit and close out the contest with 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. In that final frame the BGSU defense was on the field for a whopping 11:23. Erique Dozier and John Haneline both produced double-digit tackles for the home team with 14 and 13 stops, respectively, but it was the play of Diyral Briggs that was most impressive because three of his eight tackles came against the Minnesota quarterback. While it is still too early to really tell, the defensive push at the line of scrimmage appears to have gotten stronger from a year ago when the Falcons placed 12th in the conference and 100th in the country with just over five TFLs per game. More importantly, the squad has seven sacks through the first two contests of 2008, nearly one- third of the team's total (24) from a season ago.
As strong as the Broncos appeared in their season opener, fans have to remember that the squad was going up against a weak opponent in Idaho State. Clearly it would be easy to get excited about quarterback Kellen Moore and his 14-of-19 effort for 274 yards and two touchdowns, but the smart thing to do would be to be patient and observe BSU versus more qualified opponents. What the opener didn't tell us was whether or not running back Ian Johnson was ready to shoulder the load again for the Broncos. His 14 carries for 87 yards and one touchdown didn't begin to tell the story of a player who was itching to come back and return to the form that brought him and the Broncos national credibility when they defeated Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Last season, BSU again had one of the more devastating offenses in the nation, averaging 42.4 ppg to rank fourth in the nation thanks to five games of at least 52 points, so it would be wise to take a wait-and-see approach with this group.
In addition to having a punishing offense last year, the Broncos also had the top-ranked defense in the Western Athletic Conference, allowing a mere 338 ypg of total offense and 21.6 ppg. Four times in 2007 the squad held opponents to seven points or less, so the touchdown given up to ISU has the team heading in the right direction. Allowing a mere 92 yards passing by the Bengals and getting to their quarterback four times certainly gives fans reason to think the Broncos should be one of the tougher programs in the WAC yet again, but they'll still have to match wits with a fiery Fresno State squad in the regular-season finale, a game that could easily decide the conference champ and a possible trip to a BCS bowl game if all goes according to plan. Forcing just a single turnover against an overmatched opponent such as the Bengals certainly does not bode well for a team that has only tougher opponents ahead on the schedule.
The Falcons had their moment to shine in the opener, and having lost to a miserable Minnesota squad BGSU is only setting itself up for more bruising this weekend. Expect the Broncos to send a message by taking apart Bowling Green and giving the voters in the polls a reason to push Boise State into the Top-25.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Boise State 49, Bowling Green 14
Game Date and Time
Saturday, September 13th, 8:00 p.m. (et).
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