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| Boise State DE Demarcus Lawrence |
While conference realignment and the death of the Big East left Boise State still on the outside looking in to the power structure in college football, the Broncos’ consistency in the Chris Petersen era is the envy of many of the big five conferences’ schools.
Boise State has been to a bowl game every year since 2001 and had another impressive season in 2012 (11-2, Las Vegas Bowl win), which at this point, probably feels like a letdown to the Broncos.
Joe Southwick is another in the line of highly productive passers for Boise that includes Kellen Moore and Jared Zebransky. The senior threw for 2,730 yards and 19 TDs after taking over for Moore and got better as the season went along. Southwick will rely on a veteran line that features three seniors. Junior receiver Matt Miller is one of the better possession receivers in the country.
Defensively, the Broncos returns four starters on a unit that was once again one of the best in the country, ranking fifth in pass defense, eight in scoring defense and 12th in total defense, nationally. The strength of this year’s Bronco defense will be along the defensive line where Boise returns three starters from a unit that led the Mountain West in sacks in 2012.
Ends Demarcus Lawrence and Sam Ukwuachu and tackle Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe will pace the Broncos and look to create turnovers. The linebackers are entirely new for Boise State as are the cornerbacks but the safeties are experienced, including Jeremy Ioane, who should compete for All-MWC honors.
In an ever changing Mountain West that doesn’t resemble the one just a few years ago there are still a lot of easy wins for Boise State. Expect the Broncos to be pushed in trips to Washington, Fresno State, Utah State and San Diego State but this season has the potential for an undefeated record. I have Boise State at 8-0-4.
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