Next up on the Triple Option Attack is #6 Boise State
Music to listen to: Live Wire by Motley Crue
The bassist of Motley Crue, Nikki Sixx, is from Idaho, so there you go.
The Story: Yesterday, I did a post on BCS crashers TCU. Today, I get to the top non-BCS school of the past five years, Boise State. A case can be made for the original crashers, Utah, but the Broncos have a shot to do something that hasn’t been done for a non-BCS school since BYU in 1984.
Win a national championship.
When you bring up Boise State to college football fans, you get a wide range of opinions. When my brother found out that BSU was on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s college football preview and ranked third in the magazine’s poll, he responded with the question of who do they play.
Others point out the victories over TCU, Oregon, Oregon State and a host of others that if Boise was in a BCS conference, it would at least compete for the conference title.
This year may be the true breakout for the Broncos. With high profile matchups against Virginia Tech in Landover, Maryland (pretty much Washington, D.C., a strong hold for Hokies football) and Oregon State, Boise State has a chance to prove to the nation that its an elite program.
With 21 of 22 starters returning from last year, this may be the team to do it.
Last Season: Finished the season 14-0, including victories over Pac 10 champion Oregon and TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.
Offense: Kellen Moore may be the best quarterback in college football. The junior has lost only one game as a starter in his career and had 39 touchdown passes to only three interceptions last season.
He will return his top eight receivers returning led by Austin Pettis who has 14 touchdown catches last season. The top two running backs from last season, Jeremy Avery and Doug Martin are also back and they rushed for nearly 2,000 yards combined the previous year.
The possible weakness may be the offensive line but the every starter is back.
Defense: The only starter that won’t be back from the team last season is former cornerback and first-round pick of the New York Jets, Kyle Wilson.
Other than that, everyone returns including potential All-America defensive end Ryan Winterswyc. The defensive line is the strength of the unit, which also includes talented tackles Billy Winn and Chase Baker.
The Broncos run a unique 4-2-5 defense to combat against the pass-happy offenses that they usually confront. However, they also lack consistency. Last season, Louisiana Tech scored 35 points, Nevada 33 points, Fresno State 34 points. Some of those teams have good offenses but Boise’s defense had some lapses of making offenses look better than they truly are.
The Schedule
9-6-10 Virginia Tech @Landover, MD
9-18-10 at Wyoming
9-25-10 OREGON STATE
10-2-10 at New Mexico State
10-9-10 TOLEDO
10-16-10 at San Jose State
10-26-10 LOUISIANA TECH (Tue.)
11-6-10 HAWAI’I
11-12-10 at Idaho (Fri.)
11-19-10 FRESNO STATE (Fri.)
11-26-10 at Nevada (Fri.)
12-4-10 UTAH STATE
Obviously the big contest is on Sept. 6 against Virginia Tech. The Hokies have national title aspirations as well and will field a potential top-five team of its own. If Boise can find a way to get past Tech, than the third game of the season against Oregon State may be the only roadblock to perfection.
Its tough to say that one school can lap an entire conference but Boise has almost reached that point with the WAC. Fresno State and Nevada may be only squads that can hang with the Broncos.
Most Famous Sports Alum: This is slim pickings but I’ll go with former quarterback Jared Zabransky.
Celebrity Alum “Crush:” Tough choice between actress/former WWE wrestler Torrie Wilson and adult entertainer Tera Patrick. While the former is from Boise, Idaho, the latter actually earned a degree from Boise State. Its called the Celebrity Alum Crush for a reason.
Prediction: 11-1
Boise is a national college power but I don’t think that an undefeated season is in the cards for the Broncos. If they get past Virginia Tech, than the Oregon State game is looming. Furthermore, a WAC foe might play the game of its program and score the upset.
Sports Inquirer Top-25 Preseason College Football Poll:
The Sports Inquirer 
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