College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Boise State Broncos season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Boise State Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 12-2 overall, 8-0 in MW
Head Coach: Bryan Harsin, 7th year, 64-17
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 28
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 10
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 60
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Boise State Broncos Offense 3 Things To Know
– The offense managed to get through the season averaging 429 yards and a league-high 35 points per game despite quarterback injuries, a massive turnover at all the skill spots, and with a line that was just okay in pass protection.
There’s still more work to be done, but it’s not like the program isn’t used to filling in the gaps.
CFN in 60 Video: Florida State Preview
Florida State at Boise State, Sept. 19
– It starts on the offensive line that paved the way for just 167 rushing yards per game but was okay at not allowing a ton of tackles for loss. Four starters are gone including star left tackle Ezra Cleveland, and the depth is going to be stretched thin early on.
Getting Rice transfer Uzoma Osuji for one tackle spot helps, and junior John Ojukwi will be a starter at one tackle, but this will be one of the team’s biggest area of early concerns.
The backs are there to make the ground game roll. 5-11, 205-pound Georgie Holani led the way with over 1,000 rushing yards and seven scores, and he caught 26 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns. He doesn’t have to do it all with 425-yard, six-touchdown senior Robert Mahone and junior Andrew Van Buren back to rotate in.
– The quarterback situation is solid. If he can stay healthy, Hank Bachmeier will be one of the Mountain West’s biggest stars. He came out red hot as a true freshman before getting banged up, and junior Chase Cord is a veteran who can step in and produce.
Leading downfield playmaker John Hightower is gone, but 63-catch Khalil Shakir is back along with 5-8 senior speedster CT Thomas. 6-6, 256-pound senior John Bates has the talent to do a whole lot more after catching 22 passes for 273 yards and a score.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Boise State Broncos Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Boise State Broncos Defense 3 Things To Know
– The defense that finished third in the Mountain West and was among the best in the nation at getting into the backfield and hitting the quarterback is all but starting over up front.
Losing star pass rush Curtis Weaver to the NFL hurts, and all three other starters are gone from the line. More than that, the depth is missing.
It’s right up there with the offensive line as a massive concern with a whole lot of guesses, thoughts, and prayers early on up front around a line that loses all 25 sacks of production from last year.
– The line might be a concern, but the linebacking corps will be terrific. Leading tackler Riley Whimpey is back after making 83 stops, and 6-2, 230-pound Benton Wickersham returns in the middle after finishing third on the team with 63 tackles. Also coming back is junior Ezekiel Noa after missing almost all of last year hurt. If and when he’s right, the Broncos will be loaded.
– The pass defense has to hope to get the same sort of help from the pass rush as last year. Depending on the alignment and the moment, four starters are back with hybrid nickel defender Kekaula Kaniho one of the Mountain West’s best veteran playmakers coming off a 61-tackle season.
The safety spots should be solid with junior Tyreque Jones and sophomore JL Skinner around Kaniho, and the corner situation is strong starting with all-star senior Jalen Walker on one side.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Boise State Broncos Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Boise State Broncos Players
Best Boise State Broncos Offensive Player
QB Hank Bachmeier, Soph.
Can he stay on the field? The 6-1, 200-pound sophomore started out his career with a huge 407-yard day in the win over Florida State, he was fantastic over the next four games to get up to nine touchdown passes and five straight games with over 230 yards in the first five.
And then he got beaten up and wasn’t right the rest of the way.
He came back for the bowl game against Washington and wasn’t great – he threw for 119 yards and two picks in the blowout loss – but now that he has had time off to heal, it’ll be bombs away again.
2. RB George Holani, Soph.
3. WR Khalil Shakir, Jr.
4. RB Robert Mahone, Sr.
5. TE John Bates, Sr.
Best Boise State Broncos Defensive Player
S Kekaula Kaniho, Sr.
One of the Mountain West’s best overall playmakers, the 5-10, 182-pounder came up with 61 tackles with three sacks and 11 tackles for loss from his spot at the Nickel spot. He broke up plenty of passes and generated three sacks in his First Team All-Mountain West season, and now the veteran will be one of the team’s most important veterans.
2. LB Riley Whimpey, Sr.
3. CB Jalen Walker, Sr.
4. CB Avery Williams, Sr.
5. LB Benton Wickersham, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Boise State Broncos Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Boise State Broncos Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Boise State Broncos Offense
Keep Hank Bachmeier in one piece. It’s not that Chase Cord can’t play, and it’s not like the offense didn’t go on to win the Mountain West title when Bachmeier went down and Jaylon Henderson took over, but the hope to get to a New Year’s Six game – and win another Mountain West championship along the way – might just come down to the health of the main man.
More than that, the season should be about the offensive line and its ability to come together in a hurry. John Ojukwu is a good tackle to start with, but the other four starters are gone from a line that struggled in pass protection.
The receivers good, the running backs are great, and Bachmeier is a potential superstar. The front five has to do its part.
Biggest Key To The Boise State Broncos Defense
Get into the backfield, and come up with playmakers who can hit the quarterback on a regular basis.
Everything about the Boise State defense started with a pass rush that dominated game-in-and-game-out. It even worked in the blowout loss against Washington in the Las Vegas Bowl, and it worked in the loss to BYU.
When the Broncos came up with four sacks or more, they were 5-0.
The program is 18-2 in its last 20 games when it gets to four sacks or more, and now the entire front four needs an overhaul of talent with the hope that someone rises up and produces, like …
Key Boise State Broncos Player To A Successful Season
DE Demitri Washington, Soph.
Curtis Weaver was sacking force over the last three seasons. Leighton Vander Esch was a star, before him was David Moa, before him was Kamalei Correa, before him was Demarcus Lawrence, before him was Shea McClellin, and on and on and on.
Who’s going to be next?
The hope is for the 6-3, 260-pound Washington to be ready to rise up and produce, or for 6-4, 274-pound Aisa Kelemete to be on the verge of something special, or for anyone to be the next Weaver, or Vander Esch, or Moa …
Key Game To The Boise State Broncos Season
at Air Force, Sept. 12
The home date against Florida State is the one the Broncos need to think big, and going to Wyoming late in the year will be a thing in the Mountain Division race, but it all has to start out well.
Lose at Air Force to kick off the conference season, and Boise State will be chasing.
There’s no San Diego State, Fresno State or Nevada on the slate, and Air Force isn’t good enough to run the conference table, but there might not be any wiggle room the rest of the way if the Broncos can’t win their fourth straight in the series.
– Boise State Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Boise State Fun Stats
– 2nd Quarter Scoring: Boise State 136 – Opponents 64
– Sacks: Boise State 40 for 224 yards – Opponents 27 for 167 yards
– Time of Possession: Boise State 31:12 – Opponents 28:48
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Boise State Broncos Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Boise State Broncos Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
In this strangest of offseasons with so much work needed on both sides of the ball – and so many issues with the campus closed for two weeks – can Boise State continue to be its normal, consistently-great self?
Coming off a fantastic 12-2, Mountain West championship season that was this close to finishing with a trip to a New Year’s Six game, a whole lot of great parts are in place for head coach Bryan Harsin.
The skill guys are fantastic, the linebacking corps is a rock, and the secondary will be special. Can the lines come together right away?
They had better, with the Georgia Southern and Air Force option offenses to deal with right away, and with the Florida State defensive front to face soon after.
Set The Boise State Broncos Regular Season Win Total At … 9.5
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 9.5
There’s no San Diego State, Nevada or Fresno State on the schedule, and most of the Mountain West games should be relative layups, but …
Florida State is better. Going to Air Force is scary. Going to Wyoming, Hawaii, and Marshall are all dangerous, and dealing with BYU and Utah State at home aren’t going to be layups.
There’s just enough concern on both lines to assume at least two losses against this tougher-than-it-appears schedule, but that doesn’t mean anything other than another Mountain West championship is okay.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
