Fired Up for A New Game

The Uniforms aren't all that have changed for the Broncos

Eastern Seaboard:  Be on high alert.  There is a severe storm warning that is in effect this weekend, and extreme caution should be exercised.

Earl?  What is Earl?

IM TALKIN BOUT HURRICANE JERON JOHNSON BABY.  IT’S A CATEGORY 23 STORM AND ITS MAKING LANDFALL IN THE DC AREA MONDAY NIGHT SON.  ARR, ARR!  THE KID FROM COMPTON IS LAYING THE HAMMER AND THE BIG BLUE ARE BRINGING THE PAIN TO THE HOKIES BABY!  MONDAY NIGHT!  MONDAY  NIGHT!  WASHINGTON DC BECOMES THE CAPITAL OF BRONCO NATION!  IT’S A BIG BLUE STORM, VA TECH BEST TAKE COVER SON!  AAAHAHAHA WOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!

(Hold on, I have to hit something…)

(…and we’re back.)

Having made that particular point, let’s take an objective look at the Boise State-Virginia Tech showdown on Monday night that highlights the opening week slate of college football. 

So, the pertinent question to any Boise State fan is pretty simple.  Is this the next biggest game in big blue history? 

Now, for the last few years, for the major games that the Broncos have been involved in (the Fiesta Bowl last year, the Oregon game last year and the game in Eugene the year before), there has been a lot of talk about the ‘biggest in Boise State history.’  When these whisperings have been floating around, I have been of the mind that it was going to be impossible to top the original, since the Oklahoma game was not only the first big game, but also the one that was in a bowl, rather than early in the year. 

This one might be, and I’ll get to that in a second, but first some credit is due.  And that credit is to Virginia Tech.  And that is because they don’t really have to be there.  Boise State needs this game.  Even with a preseason number three ranking, the Broncos need wins that stick out.  Virginia Tech, on the other hand, has no such motivation.  Let’s face it, failing an absolute mess at the top, an undefeated season in the ACC, even with the conference down, would be good to get them into the National Championship.  Boise’s reputation has evolved to be such that a win will help them a lot, but they don’t need this game like Boise does, so they deserve credit for playing it.

Boise, on the other hand, needs this game, and that is why the title, “next biggest game” fits this one for big blue.  The fact is, the stakes have changed in Boise.  The BCS?  Been there done that.  The Fiesta Bowls were great.  January 1^st, 2007 made this team what it is, but a repeat won’t do this year.  The Broncos and their number three ranking are for real.  They are major league now, even if their conference isn’t, and the National Championship has become not only the goal, but a possibility, if the Broncos can play their way there.

(A repeat Fiesta Bowl visit is also almost impossible.  A loss would almost certainly preclude them from the BCS, while a perfect slate could land them in the National Championship.

The last two years Boise State beat Oregon teams that could very well have been as good or better than Virginia Tech, but the last two years taking care of business in that one wasn’t enough, even after rolling off perfect regular seasons, to get them to the big stage.  This year it is hard to imagine perfection coming up short again, which is what makes this game so big.

On the field, it is impossible to accurately break it down.  Preseason college football rankings being among the most flawed things in sports, it would be a mistake to consider the Broncos going away favorites despite a seven spot advantage.  The beginning of the College football season is about learning.  Boise State knows what they have, returning 20 starters on offense and defense, but it is pointless to assume that this gives them the advantage, since it is impossible to say where V-Tech stands, and since so much of college football is about development anyway.

There is only one thing that we can rule out.  The Broncos will be in this game.  They simply return to much talent not to play with Virginia Tech, and it has been a long time since they went into a game unprepared, so there is little or no worry of that. 

We know about the offense.  Kellen Moore is back, has been playing Madden since the day it was released, and has his reads down pat.  The howevermanyPetersonchoses-Headed running game will be as good as ever behind a line that is back as an entire unit (a rarity in any football, let alone college).  Titus Young is still one of the most electric players in the nation.  More efficiency to come from the NASCAR offense.  The defense though, is this team’s hidden strength.  Hard hitting as any in the nation, Boise has evolved into a team that can hold their own in smashmouth football, if the run and gun isn’t there.

Gone is the talent discrepancy that reared its head in Georgia, the last time that the Broncos went out east to open up against a big time foe.  The other night, my Dad commented that the Broncos high hopes could be dashed quickly if things go badly at FedEx.  I see the other side of that.  The hopes have finally come.  We can have high hopes now, just like the so called big time schools, because Boise is big time.  This time the Broncos are for real, not just for a mid major school, but for anyone. 

The stakes have changed, and I, for one, am fired up.