Six Burning Questions For Boise State Football
Getting the answers you need to know for the Broncos season
Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire
How hyped should Boise State be for 2019?
We continue our series of burning questions with Boise State and we chat with our Boise State staff and editors of the site.
1. What does a successful season look like?
@RajaBleedsBlue – Win the conference makes the year a success. Considering the schedule (with Air Force and Utah State) there really is no reason that Boise State should not get to the MWC Conference title game. All the other normal stuff should be in play: spending time ranked in the AP, winning 10 games, getting New Year’s Six buzz, and winning five or six games on the BLUE turf,… but ultimately its conference championship or bust this year.
@JeremyMauss – Get to the conference title game. That is one of the expectations that Boise State should have each year. They have gone to three and are 2-1.
@MattK_FS –The answer for Boise State is pretty straightforward: Win the conference.
@erik_smiley54 – Conference Championship. I want to aim higher and say NY6, but I feel like as long as they bring the MW championship trophy back home most fans will be happy with how the season went.
2. What does an unsuccessful football season look like?
@RajaBleedsBlue – A successful season is probably the inverse of the previous question, not winning the conference. But I would say a true unsuccessful season and reason to panic would be to either win eight regular season games or not making the conference title game. If either of those happen, then the season is truly a disaster.
@JeremyMauss – Look back at my prior answer so technically not making the title game but that is not realistic. Boise State can have 10 wins and not go to the conference title game and that may not be the ideal situation but not successful would be inaccurate with double-digit wins. Winning “only” nine games would be a disappointment. That means a likely loss to Florida State and two league games which would mean they don’t win the Mountain Division.
@MattK_FS – Because the bar is set higher for the Broncos than anywhere else in the Mountain West, I think even a “high floor” season, where Boise State wins ten games but fails to win the title or even make it to the championship, would be viewed as a disappointment. And that’s a credit to the program’s track record since they’re facing similar questions to other teams in the conference but still bring a lot back, anyway.
@erik_smiley54 – Three losses or more (talk about spoiled). Losing to Florida State, wouldn’t be a huge surprise to many, but dropping any other out of conference game or two conference games would be incredibly disappointing.
3. Who is a player that no one is talking about that we should know now?
@RajaBleedsBlue – Well we are all talking about him in Boise, but the rest of the conference better get to know true freshman running back George Holani. Jeremey McNichols and Alexander Mattison both played as true freshmen and I expect Holani to follow in their footsteps. There may not be an Ajayi, or McNichols, or Mattison on the 2019 Broncos but Boise State’s running game will be better than expected.
@JeremyMauss – True freshman defensive back JL Skinner. Head coach Bryan Harsin really likes him and earning a spot on the two-deep in what should be a solid defensive secondary is a big deal. Being the No. 2 at his position means that he will be thrust into action in nickel and dime packages plus a rotational player from time to time.
@MattK_FS – Finding the next Leighton Vander Esch might seem like a tall task, but I’m very interested to see how big a role Ezekiel Noa plays in Boise State’s veteran-laden defense.
@erik_smiley54 – The return of DeAndre Pierce. Boise State’s pass defense hasn’t been great over the last few seasons and last year they were in the bottom half. Part of that is because teams usually had to throw to catch up, and missing Pierce for most of last season with a lacerated spleen.
4. What is the most important game of the year on the schedule?
@RajaBleedsBlue – Florida State. If the Broncos win, then the national light is back on the city of Boise. Utah State and BYU will be tough but winnable and the Broncos should be heavy favorites in the other nine games on the schedule. Boise State wins week 1 and NY6 dreams will become the goal. If the Broncos lose it readjusts the expectations; get nine or 10 wins, figure out the quarterback spot for this year and beyond, and win the division.
@JeremyMauss – Florida State is the most important if Boise State has eyes on a New Year’s Six game. A win Week 1 will put the Broncos in the top 25 and instantly make them a challenger to UCF, who is already ranked. The Golden Knights host Stanford early on so the Broncos need to go toe-to-toe with UCF with big wins. At Utah State and at BYU are tough and then two home games that are important to a league title is hosting Air Force and Hawaii, the latter since it could get weird with the Warriors.
@MattK_FS –I think the opener at Florida State will do a lot to determine where Boise State’s ceiling will be. I thought they’d show better than they did on the road at Oklahoma State last year, and that was a Cowboys team that ultimately won just seven games. The Seminoles aren’t a title contender by any stretch, but they should be a capable bowl-caliber team and will be a good test.
@erik_smiley54 –Florida State. A win against a generally top program in their own backyard would give this team the confidence to dominate throughout the season. Even if it’s a close loss, I think the Broncos will take a lot out of the game that will be the foundation to a great year.
5. What will be the record be this year?
@RajaBleedsBlue – 10-2 is probably the right answer but I’ll go 11-1. I think is Florida State is a likely loss, BYU is a tossup, and Utah State is a likely win. Boise State should win the other 9 games on the schedule but it’s possible they drop 1 of those contests and very unlikely they lose 2 or more of those games. Overall, I say 10-2 is the most likely, with 11-1 and 9-3 also being realistic possibilities and 12-0 and 8-4 are the best case/worst case. I am going to say 11-1 because I am unabashed Bronco Fanatic.
@JeremyMauss – I predicted 11-1 with the lone loss to Utah State and I’ll stick to that.
@MattK_FS –All I know is that I think Boise State is likely to lose two games. I couldn’t tell you which two, though.
@erik_smiley54 – 12-0. This team has talent and has only a few question marks, granted QB is a big one. I truly think this year will be one of the special ones.
6. One bold prediction for Boise State?
@RajaBleedsBlue – Boise State crushes Utah State in Logan on November 23, 2019. I am not really sure why the Aggies are getting even minor consideration to win the division when they face San Diego St, Fresno St, and Nevada across division this year while the Broncos just face Hawaii (at home). After this year preseason predictions will return to the norm where Boise State is unanimously chosen to win the Mountain Division and it would take an enormous upset to prevent that from happening.
@JeremyMauss – Boise State will beat Florida State and start to climb the polls from a combination of wins and teams losing. November comes around and the Broncos move up and up and up with blow out wins and be 10-0 leading up to the Utah State game. The Broncos will be a top 12 team heading into Logan but then loss to Utah State which will ultimately be their only loss in the regular season.`
@MattK_FS – (This was sent in before the starting quarterback was announced). Hank Bachmeier will break the record for passing yards in a season by a freshman. That record is currently held by Brett Rypien, who had 3,353 yards in 2015, but I think he’s likely to be awesome in the long-term even if there are some occasional growing pains.
@erik_smiley54 – Boise State hangs 40+ on Florida State enroute to a win. Again, I just think this team is going to be something special.
