| #30 Boise State Broncos |
| #1 in Mountain West |
Saying Boise State is at a crossroads is far too dramatic. The program is fine. But after the run they had from 2006-2014, where they finished ranked in the top 15 seven times and went to three BCS/New Years Six bowls, winning all three, the Broncos are sort of stuck in a weird in between ever since. Part of that is being a victim of the format of the FBS, but Boise State was supposed to be the program regularly competing for that one New Years Six spot, and since 2014, they haven’t been particularly close. They’ve still played in three consecutive Mountain West championship games, winning two of them, but they haven’t been ranked higher than #19 after November 1 since 2014, not even factoring into the New Years Six auto-bid conversation, let alone any fringe CFP talk. Quarterback Hank Bachmeier looked fine, for a true freshman, but he’s going to have to get a lot better in his second year. His passer rating of 142.7 is the worst of any full time starter at the school since prior to 2000, but a lot more is going to be on his shoulders this year, because the running game could be rough. The Broncos featured the Mountain West freshman of the year a season ago, with George Holani being one of four backs to top the 1,000 yard mark; but on the whole Boise State finished in the bottom half of the conference in ypc, in spite of an offensive line that ranked top 28 nationally in all six of Football Outsiders run blocking metrics. Three of those linemen graduated, and Ezra Cleveland left early for the NFL (where he was picked in the second round), leaving right tackle John Ojukwu as the sole returning starter. Bachmeier and Khalil Shakir developed a strong rapport last year, Shakir emerging as the most frequent target. But all of that was aided by the departed John Hightower’s ability to stretch the field. Redshirt sophomore Stefan Cobbs might be the leading candidate to fill that role, if not incoming freshman LaTrell Caples. Defensively, Boise State has to hope that their trio of all-conference cornerbacks is so good that they can put all three on islands, because while there might not be three cornerbacks with as proven a track history on any one team in the roster, they are surrounded by questions. Like with the offense, the biggest issue appears to be the defensive line. The most notable departure is obviously Curtis Weaver, going pro early after being named Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year, but it doesn’t end there. Linemates Chase Hatada and Sonatane Lui finished 2nd and 3rd on the team in sacks (behind Weaver), and both graduated. In fact there isn’t a lineman on the team returning who recorded a sack last year. The most disruptive returning lineman is 310 pound nose tackle Scale Igiehorn, who recorded 38 tackles, including 3 for loss, but no sacks, or fumbles forced or recovered. That secondary, which led the conference in opponents completion percentage and was second in yards per attempt allowed, will be relied upon to do a lot more behind a front that seems unlikely to repeat their 40 sack performance from a year ago, most in the conference, 14th most nationally.
| KEY PLAYERS |
| RB | George Holani, Sophomore |
| WR | Khalil Shakir, Junior |
| TE | John Bates, Senior |
| . |
| LB | Riley Whimpey, Senior |
| CB | Kehaula Kaniho, Senior |
| CB | Jalen Walker, Senior |
