Boise St vs. 19th Ranked Georgia in Season Opener

September 3, 2011

The college football season may have started on Thursday, but most teams will begin their year on Saturday. With 19 of the 25 ranked teams in the country in action, we’re bound to have some excitement. There are only two games that have ranked opponents playing each other, and both have National Championship implications. One of those match-ups pits the 5th ranked Boise St Broncos against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Bulldogs may have finish the 2010 year with a 6-7 record, but we all know how hard it is to navigate an SEC schedule. Despite starting this season as the 19th ranked team in the country, NCAA football handicappers have made Georgia a 3 point underdog to the Boise St Broncos in what could be considered a home game.

There has been so much debate about the Boise St Broncos over the last 10+ years in regards to whether or not they are truly an elite team in college football, but there is no questioning their domination of the schedule that is put in front of them. The best way to explain the dominance of the Broncos over the last 10 seasons is to say that they have lost just 16 games over that span. More impressively, they’ve lost just 5 games in the last five years since head coach Chris Peterson took over for Dan Hawkins. Boise may have fallen just short of the BCS Championship twice, but they’ve put the smaller conferences on the map in the process.

The phenomenal come-from-behind bowl win against the Oklahoma Sooners after the 2006 season gave this small school some serious credibility on the college football landscape. It’s not like the Broncos are doing this solely on the fact that they play a weak schedule, but that they have top-tiered recruits that could play almost anywhere in the country. Quarterback Kellen Moore is a perfect example of the caliber of player that this school has. He is one of the pre-season leaders to win the Heisman Trophy this season, and has put together one of the most impressive college quarterbacking resumes in ever.

Moore has thrown for nearly 11000 yards and 99 touchdowns in his 3 years as a starter, but the most impressive thing about Moore is that he has improved his numbers every year. If he continues on his current pace he will throw for more than 4000 yards and close to 40 touchdowns this season, and finish with the most passing touchdowns in college football history. Moore has a chance at finishing his career with the 4th most passing yards in college football history, and will more than likely be selected in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Part of the reason for Moore’s success has been the vast array of talented receivers he’s had running routes for him as well as the balance the Broncos have with their amazing ground attack. The ability to run the ball at will allows the passing game to flourish as defenses often stack the line of scrimmage, and leave their receivers in one-on-one situations. Titus Young and Austin Pettis have graduated and moved on, but Tyler Shoemaker and a young cast of highly recruited receivers will have no problem taking their place. The most important piece to the Broncos offense this season may be Doug Martin. Martin finished last season with 1260 yards and 12 touchdowns, and is poised to better that performance in 2011.

Boise St had to come from behind to beat the Virginia Tech Hokies in their opening game last season, and they may need to do the same this season versus Georgia. The SEC has some very explosive offenses, but they are built on “D”. The Bulldogs ended 2010 with the 34th best defense in division 1 football, and they are returning 7 of those starters this year. There’s no question that size and speed are the assets that the Bulldogs defense possess over that of a team like Boise, but the Broncos offensive system is much different than anything that Georgia sees in the SEC. Aaron Murray is back as quarterback for the Bulldogs, but he has lost many of the offensive weapons that allowed this offense to move the ball last year. Murray has become one of the best QB’s in the SEC after a phenomenal freshman season that saw him pass for over 3000 yards, and throw 24 touchdown passes. It will be imperative that he comes out of the gate hot this year as the Bulldogs will need to score and score often to take down one of the best offenses in the Nation. Tune in Saturday as the Bulldogs and Broncos try to maintain their top 25 ranking as well as BCS Championship hopes in what should be a hard fought battle.

Written by Glenn Andrew · Filed Under NCAA Football

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