NCAA football preview: Boise State Broncos face a tough test in Hawaii Warriors
It’s hard to believe that a 29-point win could be considered a lacklustre victory, but when you’re a team chasing a national championship, every aspect of the game will get scrutinized. The undefeated
Boise State Broncos (7-0, 3-0 WAC), who currently sit at No. 4 in the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) standings, look to improve (if possible) upon last Tuesday’s 49-20 trouncing of Louisiana Tech when they host the Hawaii Warriors (7-2, 5-0 WAC) this Saturday,
6 November.
Riding into the matchup with a 22-game winning streak, Boise State will face arguably their toughest test of the season when the Warriors, who own college football’s premier passing offense, visit Bronco
Stadium Saturday. The game will be a pivotal contest in the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) as both teams look to improve upon their unblemished records in the conference, while essentially vying for the league’s title.
Following early tests in their non-conference schedule against (then No. 10) Virginia Tech and (then No. 24) Oregon State, the Broncos have, to little surprise, dominated the WAC. Over the past decade, the
Broncos have been a fixture atop their league’s standings, collecting seven regular-season conference titles, including three of the last four.
Still, as a team that’s considered to be one of the nation’s best, the Broncos get their opponents’ best shot every week as other in-conference foes aim to play spoiler to Boise State’s BCS hopes. Even as
they continue to roll, pundits have cast the Boise State victories aside, citing the inferior quality of their opposition. And, in a way, that mentality looks to be rubbing off on the Bronco players, eager to prove their worth.
“I think sometimes our expectations are so high for ourselves that if things don’t go perfect then you have a lot of stuff to gripe about,” the Broncos junior quarterback, Kellen Moore, told reporters. “At
the end of the day, we won by plenty of points,” he said of last week’s heavily criticized victory over the Bulldogs.
The win actually cost Boise State one spot in the most recent BCS rankings, as the Broncos fell to No. 4, replaced by the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs. At this point in the season, as many of college
football’s most prominent programs dig into the meat of their schedule, the Broncos are only afforded the opportunity to beat up on their weaker conference opponents. But that hasn’t fazed Chris Peterson.
“We’re only paying attention to ourselves,” Boise State’s head coach said in a press conference this week. “We’re not worried about what everybody else says about us. The only thing that is going to influence
us is us. Our kids are going to put the tape on and know if we played well or not.”
Boise State will have to play well this week if they expect to get past the formidable Warriors, who are racking up 395.4 yards per game through the air this season, college football’s best in that category.
As such, Hawaii not only looks forward to the opportunity to crush their conference rival and secure the top spot in the league’s standings, but simultaneously dashing the Broncos realistic shot to get to the BCS national championship.
Prediction:
Boise State 52-30 Hawaii
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