College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Boise State football season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Boise State Football Schedule Analysis
– Boise State Broncos Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2020 Record: 5-2 overall, 5-2 in Mountain West
Head Coach: Andy Avalos, 1st year
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 49
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 43
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 10
Boise State Broncos College Football Preview 2021: Offense
– Can the offense get any semblance of consistency from the quarterback spot for a full season? The offense one averaged 349 yards per game, but it averaged a Mountain West high 34 points.
The ground game struggled, the passing attack wasn’t consistent enough, and the stalls against BYU, Wyoming and San Jose State – scoring 20 points or fewer in each – wasn’t okay.
New offensive coordinator Tim Plough comes over from UC Davis with a high-octane passing game, but in order for new head coach Andy Avalos to get off to a hot start, but …
– Again, the quarterback situation has to be consistent. Hank Bachmeier is the team’s star, and he’s a difference-maker when he’s playing, but he missed a few games hurt and struggled in the Mountain West Championship loss. Former USC transfer Jack Sears is a terrific No. 2, but he got hurt last year, too.
The receiving corps is outstanding, starting with First Team All-Mountain West performer Khalil Shakir coming off a 52-catch, six-touchdown season. He’s back along with super-senior CT Thomas – a quick target who was second on the team with 20 catches averaging over 17 yards per grab – and leading receiving tight end Riley Smith returns.
– The offensive line was okay in pass protection, but it could do more for a ground game that finished last in the Mountain West. Four of the five starters are expected back up front, with three all-stars returning around John Ojukwu at left tackle and Jake Stetz at one of the guard spots.
The talent is there at running back to do a whole lot more. Andrew Van Buren led the team with 382 yards and eight scores, and 2019 1,000-yard rusher George Holani returns after missing most of last year with a knee injury.
– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Boise State Football Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Boise State Broncos College Football Preview 2021: Defense
Boise State Broncos College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– New head coach Andy Avalos spent the last few years as the Oregon defensive coordinator after working the same role at Boise State. He knows defense, he’s got a good group around him, and he’s got a loaded group with nine starters expected to be back from a group that allowed 373 yards and 27 points per game.
– The linebacking corps has two starts to work around in 238-pound Ezekiel Noa and 236-pound Riley Whimpey. Both are senior All-Mountian West performers who can hit, combining for 101 tackles with Whimpey leading in tackles and tackles for loss.
The front line has except nice around 306-pound Divine Obichere and 296-pound all-star Scott Matlock, a tough interior force who came up with 22 sacks. on the outside. End Shane Irwin also earned all-star honors with a team-high six sacks as he rose up into the team’s new top pass rusher.
– More interceptions would be a plus after coming up with just three – the secondary is one of the few areas that needs a little work. Two great corners – Avery Williams and Jalen Walker – are done, but the safeties are set starting with veteran Kekaula Kaniho, a versatile tackler who made 32 tackles last year in a nickel role.
– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Boise State Football Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Boise State Broncos College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Boise State Broncos College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Best Boise State Broncos Offensive Player
WR Khalil Shakir, Sr.
A dangerous target over the last few years, the 6-0, 188-pound speedster caught 63 passes with six scores as a sophomore, and last year became the main man for the passing game.
Dangerous as a runner – he had 17 carries last year – he was great whenever he had the ball in his hands. The First Team All-Mountain West performer caught 52 passes for 719 yards and six scores, hitting Utah State, BYU and Hawaii for two touchdowns and with 85 yards or more in six of the seven games.
2. QB Hank Bachmeier, Jr.
3. OT John Ojukwu, Sr.
4. RB George Holani, Soph.
5. OG Jake Stetz, Sr.
Best Boise State Broncos Defensive Player
LB Riley Whimpey, Sr.
Several Broncos could make a claim to be here, but Whimpey is the veteran tone-setter from his outside linebacking spot who should once again be a statistical star.
The 6-1, 236-pounder led the team with 61 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss, and that’s coming off an 83 tackle season with seven tackles for loss. He’s not much of a pass rusher, but he’s great in pass coverage and he’ll come up with a few sacks.
2. DE Shane Irwin, Sr.
3. LB Ezekiel Noa, Sr.
4. DT Scott Matlock, Jr.
5. S Kekaula Kaniho, Sr.
Top Incoming Boise State Broncos Transfer
LB/DE Andrew Faoliu, Jr.
Boise State is getting a few interesting transfers who might play a big role right away. Bowling Green CB Caleb Biggers is a good veteran tackler who’ll be in the mix for a starting spot in fall camp, and Cyrus Habibi-Likio is an interesting running back option from Oregon, but Faoliu might be the breakout transfer.
The former Oregon Duck followed Andy Avalos over, and he’s got just the mix of edge rusher talents to fit what’s the Broncos will do. He only made 28 tackles with three sacks in his three years in Eugene, but he should be a big part of the rotation right away.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Boise State Football Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Boise State Broncos College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Boise State Broncos College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Boise State Broncos Biggest Key: Offense
Get the running game going again. The Broncos don’t have to crank out a gajillion yards per game, but they have to be more effective when they try running.
Losing George Holani to a knee injury early on was a problem, but now he’s back, the offensive line is experienced, and the ground game has to at least get back above four yards per carry again after averaging just 3.3 in 2020.
Last year, the running game failed to get to 200 yards after doing it five times in 2019 – winning all five games – but again, it’s more about the yards per carry after having one of the worst seasons on the ground in decades.
Boise State Broncos Biggest Key: Defense
Takeaways. Welcome to how things should change up right away under the new coaching staff that’s going to try tweaking this.
It’s not that Bryan Harsin and the old staff didn’t know defense – quite the opposite – but takeaways were on a downward trend over the last few years.
After coming up with just nine takeaways in 2016, the 2017 defense fixed the glitch and generated 26. The Broncos came up with 24 in 2018, 19 in 2019, and in 2020 …
Three.
There were only seven games, but there weren’t any fumble recoveries and just three lonely interceptions spread out across the season. The Broncos didn’t win the turnover margin in any of the seven games.
Boise State Broncos Key Player To A Successful Season
QB Hank Bachmeier, Jr.
It’s just this simple – stay healthy.
That’s not entirely up to him after having a bit of bad luck over his first two seasons, but he’s the talent, he’s the star, he’s the gutty veteran quarterback who cranks the passing game up a few notches.
He missed almost half of 2019 after a huge start, and he missed two games last year including the blowout loss to BYU.
Now, he doesn’t just have to stay in one piece, but he has to be better in the biggest games. He struggled in the Mountain West title game against San Jose State – he failed to hit 50% of his passes – and didn’t do much right in the bowl loss to Washington to end 2019.
Okay, so the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl was hardly his fault, but if he plays a full season and is terrific, Boise State wins the Mountain West title.
Boise State Broncos Key Game To The 2021 Season
Nevada, Oct. 2
Boise State should be the best team in the Mountain Division by far, and the key division games – Air Force and Wyoming – are in Boise. There’s a dangerous game against San Diego State from the West to end the season, and going to Fresno State will be tough, but there’s no San Jose State to deal with.
Nevada is the other conference star this year. It might be the first of two – this could be a Mountain West Championship preview – and it’ll be when Boise State could mark its territory as the team to beat.
– Boise State Football Schedule Analysis
2020 Boise State Broncos Fun Stats
– Fumbles: Boise State 8 (lost 4) – Opponents 6 (lost 0)
– 4th Down Conversions: Opponents 13-of-19 (68%) – Boise State 4-of-7 (57%)
– Punt Return Average: Boise State 18.29 – Opponents 7.85
NEXT: Boise State Broncos College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
Boise State Broncos College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
No pressure, new guy. Just be as good as one of the greatest head coach succession runs in college football history.
Here’s the standard that first time head coach Andy Avalos has to live up to …
Dirk Koetter won 72% of his games starting in 1998 with two Big West titles in his three years. He left, and in came Dan Hawkins.
Hawkins won 83% of his games in his five years with four WAC Championships. He left, and in came Chris Petersen.
Petersen took what Koetter and Hawkins put together to a whole other level. He won 89% of his games – just take a moment and realize how impossible that is – over eight seasons with five conference championships and a whole slew of historic victories. He left, and in came Bryan Harsin.
Harsin won 78% of his games with three Mountain West titles and two other championship appearances in his seven seasons. He led his 2014 team to the first ever New Year’s Six bowl game for a Group of Five program, and won. He left, and in comes Avalos.
Of course some of the biggest of the big name programs have done more over the last 21 years, but with 14 conference championships, two other conference title appearances, and bowl games year after year after year, Boise State has been the model of consistent greatness.
There’s no honeymoon here. There’s no one year grace period to get everything going. For Avalos and the new coaching staff, either you win the Mountain West title with the 2021 team, or you don’t. That’s it, that’s the bar, that’s the season.
Set The Boise State Broncos Regular Season Win Total At … 8.5
The team is in place. The lines are fantastic, the skill guys are strong, and the depth is good enough to play around with the options.
The division is winnable. Air Force, Colorado State, New Mexico, Utah State and Wyoming are all going to be better, but they’re not at Boise State’s level like some in the West are.
Missing San Jose State matters, and not playing Hawaii is big if only because it avoids a possible long road trip. However, starting at UCF and getting Oklahoma State in the first three weeks might be rocky, and going to BYU in early October and making the trip to San Diego State late is rough.
No matter what, though, the schedule works out fine to get to the Mountain West Championship … again.
It’s a big moment for the program. Avalos is a hot young coach who’s getting his shot in a fantastic situation.
It’s Boise State. The coaching will be just fine, the team will be great, and everything will keep marching on.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
