Final pregame thoughts on Boise State vs. Utah
by Kevan Lee on Dec 22, 2010 7:35 AM PST
in Boise State football
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PrintThe Vegas Bowl marks Boise State's last game of 2010, maybe its last chance to stick it to Utah for years, and certainly its best shot at getting off the non-BCS bowl schneid. The game kicks off at 6:00 p.m. MT (ESPN). I've got lots of loose ends to tie up after the jump.
Join me for a discussion about the weather, how Boise State's season will be remembered, why Eddie George should stop talking, and more. The gamethread for tonight's bowl game will be up this afternoon. Until then, vent with me after the jump.
Rain.
What you see above is the forecast for this evening's game at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. I hope someone is taking prop bets on what type of poncho Boyz II Men will be wearing.
Was Boise State's 2010 season a failure?
That was a question posed on the Scott Van Pelt Show yesterday, and the conclusion of host Ryen Russillo and guest Ted Miller was a hearty affirmative. Boise State's 2010 season was a failure.
Now to be fair, both men acknowledged that the lofty expectations going into the year were the impetus for the fail label. They also brought up the perspective of us Boise State fans who apparently all feel unfulfilled by what transpired in 2010.
So the question's to you: Was Boise State's 2010 season a failure?
Pre-Snap Read votes "not a failure"
In his preview of the Las Vegas Bowl, Paul Myerberg writes:
in hindsight, perhaps the fact that the Broncos could rest their starters for the second half of most games until heading to Nevada took a toll on the starters, still on the field into overtime. If that’s the biggest problem a team has, you know it’s been a successful season. Par for the course, more of the same, nothing to see here, move along: the Broncos rolled out of bed and went 11-1. The future holds a transition to the Mountain West, where Boise State is sure to be tested more than it was in the WAC. What else does the future hold? Something like 11-1, 12-0 — somewhere in that area.
(emphasis added)
Then again, Myerberg is not a Bronco fan like you and I are Bronco fans. He didn't die a little inside that night.
Good-bye football. Until next year.
The good thing about the Las Vegas Bowl is that it's not the Humanitarian Bowl and it's not against Boston College or a MAC team. The bad part is that the game is today and the offseason is that much longer.
Only 254 days until Boise State at Georgia.
Bronco fans, this is your 2010 bowl opponent
/places tons o' money on Broncos to cover
Hey us, Boise State means business
One of the most interesting subplots that came out of the Hard Rock Kerfuffle was this quote from Winston Venable:
Maybe now fans know we're motivated and not just trying to be in Vegas to have fun.
Keep in mind that Venable has been with the Boise State program for less than two years, so he wasn't around for the Hawaii Bowl and Poinsettia Bowl losses where, presumably, the reputation for having fun at bowl games began. So either the Bronco coaches brought him up to speed, students/fans directly expressed their doubts to Venable, or the Bronco Nation fanbase is neurotic to the point that the players feel they have to prove themselves by rough housing and trash talking before games.
Or it's some other reason that I'm failing to grasp.
But hey, Winston Venable is talking to us. How awesome is that?
Eddie George did not give Boise State very many confidence points in his Pick Em league
Also, Eddie George is apparently now a commentator.
Miscellany
If Boise State happens to lose this game, I call dibs on "they only practiced six times to Utah's 10 practices" being the go-to excuse ... I get the sense that this will be one of Kellen Moore's best games of the year and that Bryan Harsin will really let it fly, no offense to Doug Martin ... Do you punt to Shaky Smithson? ... I haven't watched too much Utah football over the past few years (what with The Mtn and all), so I'm interested to see how well Kyle Whittingham coaches a game - i.e., the Robb Akey way or the good way ...
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Rain is always in the forecast with Kellen Moore under center.
He makes it rain double rainbows.
by Drew Roberts on Dec 22, 2010 8:10 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Unicorns pee rainbows
I keep accidentally eating my pets. Maybe I should get something less appetizing, like a cat instead of a Twinkie.
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
Stealing UI meme's?
Weak.
"Or, if boarding the bus is just too difficult for an Establishmentarian to do, get your snob school to schedule the Broncos home-and-home. Any takers?" - Pat Forde
"I don’t need a dictionary, I have an ipad, and an expensive large university education." - hrman7
by reflectivity on Dec 22, 2010 11:17 AM PST up reply actions
I thought it was funny, in the context
I keep accidentally eating my pets. Maybe I should get something less appetizing, like a cat instead of a Twinkie.
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
That's what you get for thinking......
"Boise State football is now a Fargo winter. You know what's coming, and that information does you no good whatsoever". Matt James / The Fresno Bee
by blue4areason on Dec 22, 2010 1:19 PM PST up reply actions
It's at least as funny as "uterus"
Although much less offensive to a Native American tribe
I keep accidentally eating my pets. Maybe I should get something less appetizing, like a cat instead of a Twinkie.
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
I'm not going to lie...
I think the Bozo state unicorn is kind of funny.
by ninjamonkey1 on Dec 22, 2010 1:57 PM PST up reply actions
Woo-hoo!
I keep accidentally eating my pets. Maybe I should get something less appetizing, like a cat instead of a Twinkie.
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
I think that 2011 will be a great year for Boise...
2010 was a sucess too.
Haha, now that it's fixed
my comment just looks dumb, lol.
Either way, I consider this year a success. Coach Pete has been saying all year that our goal is to win the WAC Championship and our bowl game. Barring some horrible accident involving all of our players and our band being locked inside Circus Circus, I think we’ll fulfill those goals.
by ninjamonkey1 on Dec 22, 2010 9:49 AM PST up reply actions
I am going to buy a BOX of those bowl tee shirts!
game time at man-cave will have sliders, wings two ways, cheezpuffs three ways and plenty-o-adult bev ’ages…beads dangling, flags flying, bronco twinklights blazing, and surround sound up all the way!! block party in texas! espn should be at MY place
"… There are so many times in life that you’re just extremely disappointed and depressed and in the tank and you still have to perform and you still have to rally and you still have to move forward and that’s, to me, the lesson right now. That’s true toughness when you can perform at your best when you just don’t feel like it." Coach Petersen Nov, 2010
I wasn't aware that Corky from 'Life Goes On' played on the Utah Football team.
Now I wish I had gone all out on my score prediction.
I’m really way more confident than usual in the Broncos in this game. Which is weird, because it’s generally hard to be more confident/arrogant than I usually am.
I don’t think this season was/is a failure. We lost ONE game. If worse comes to worse it’ll be two. Myerberg said it best, Boise State rolled out of bed and went 11-1. What other team in the country did that? The starters playing one-half for most of the season may have had something to do with the Nevada loss, but I’m not willing to except that as the excuse, any more than I place it on Brotzman. Which is none. It’s difficult to go undefeated ever year. Which is why it’s rare. Any team, can beat any team, any day. The nature of the beast I suppose.
At least one unbeaten is going to lose out in the next week or two. A Boise State win puts them squarely in the final Top10 and poised for another great season next year. I hardly call that a failure. Sure they didn’t reach the pinnacle they may have set for themselves this year. But it is never about how many times you fall that’s important.
It’s about how many times you get back up that proves your mettle.
GO BRONCOS!!
Championships should be earned on the field, not in newspapers or computers.
by Mikrino on Dec 22, 2010 8:27 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
It's hard to win football games. Its harder to win consistently. 1.3 million high schoolers play football; less than 2,500
go on to Div I (20 scholarships per team avg; 117 teams). Every team has good athletes.
tvmunson
by tmunson on Dec 22, 2010 9:56 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
The poinsettia bowl weather was a lot like this weather.
Then it cleared up for the game. Hope the same thing happens today. But it doesn’t look good. :(
by summitkopp on Dec 22, 2010 8:29 AM PST via mobile reply actions
I get the sense that this will be one of Kellen Moore's best games of the year and that Bryan Harsin will really let it fly
I vote that Harsin grabs a blanket, takes a nap in the coaches box and lets Kellen do the play calling from the field.
by Jay Weston on Dec 22, 2010 8:32 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Do you punt to Shaky Smithson?
Why would you, or anyone, do that? Handing a loaded gun to an opponent who has demonstrated he knows how to shoot?
Keep a pretty good defense in play instead.
Andy Wooldridge, andy_wooldridge@yahoo.com
BuildingTheDam.Com
Go Beavs!
Well I for one don't expect we'll have to punt all night
But that’s just the way I roll.
by nerdglasses on Dec 22, 2010 9:24 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Beat Down
Boise State’s biggest problem headed into this game was motivation. Well, that went out the window when Utah decided to engage the players early in a little pre-game push and shove and smack talk.
The Seniors, (ie Winston Venable and others) will have this team fired up to make a statement, put Utah in it’s rightful place and erase any doubts that BSU was one of the top teams in the country this year.
No amount of preparation will overcome a motivated and supremely talented BSU squad. Look for the Defense to come up big on 3rd down stops and look for the offense to let loose a reign of Pettis, Young and Martin terror that Utah hasn’t seen since the TCU game.
Bu Buy, Utah mid major, good luck in the Pac 12.
Go Broncos!!!!
How about that global warming
It’s been so freaking cold here 50 would seem like a heat wave to me!
No it's that you are stupid, it's just that you don't suspect!
Nothing is good nor bad until compared to something else.
Caused by Global Warming
As our atmosphere deteriorates Global warming will give up harsher summer and winter…. Or so the theory goes.
http://dailycaller.com/2010/12/21/severe-winter-weather-caused-by-global-warming/
Hahahaha
Yeh but weres the hot summers been?
No it's that you are stupid, it's just that you don't suspect!
Nothing is good nor bad until compared to something else.
by Darth Prophet on Dec 22, 2010 12:35 PM PST up reply actions
I dont know, maybe here
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/
2010 hottest year on record… source NASA
Haha, Uteruses
I just remembered that.
"I did not send you to go-kart camp." - Maury Garner
by Kevan Lee on Dec 22, 2010 9:42 AM PST reply actions 2 recs
Uteruses is a all time best team name
Maybe you should go to BYU fan and sell it to them. They will never be that clever on their own and could use it well for years to come.
"Every Damn Day."- Coach Pete
by Broncograd96 on Dec 22, 2010 10:48 AM PST up reply actions
I should probably be offended or something at this nickname for Utah's FB team.
I mean, the uterus is a pretty powerful body part in the grand scheme of things.
Not like I’m coming up with anything better, though.
"Or, if boarding the bus is just too difficult for an Establishmentarian to do, get your snob school to schedule the Broncos home-and-home. Any takers?" - Pat Forde
"I don’t need a dictionary, I have an ipad, and an expensive large university education." - hrman7
by reflectivity on Dec 22, 2010 11:11 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Not like I’m coming up with anything better, though.
Me, neither. I get all my good material from Mikrino.
"I did not send you to go-kart camp." - Maury Garner
by Kevan Lee on Dec 22, 2010 11:37 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Not really dissing the uterus.
More of slight to the Utah football team, in that, Uteruses could be/are synonymous with a slang word that rhymes with wussy. And is generally used to describe a man who is, shall we say, less than manly. It’s a Mikrino Poll thing, you had to be there.
Championships should be earned on the field, not in newspapers or computers.
by Mikrino on Dec 22, 2010 12:57 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
oh, i was there. :)
that’s why i’m not really offended.
"Or, if boarding the bus is just too difficult for an Establishmentarian to do, get your snob school to schedule the Broncos home-and-home. Any takers?" - Pat Forde
"I don’t need a dictionary, I have an ipad, and an expensive large university education." - hrman7
by reflectivity on Dec 22, 2010 1:51 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
awesome alliteration!
"Or, if boarding the bus is just too difficult for an Establishmentarian to do, get your snob school to schedule the Broncos home-and-home. Any takers?" - Pat Forde
"I don’t need a dictionary, I have an ipad, and an expensive large university education." - hrman7
by reflectivity on Dec 22, 2010 1:50 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Gotta say, I like it 'uteruses'.
That one might stick, if their fans act like dux fans.
"Boise State football is now a Fargo winter. You know what's coming, and that information does you no good whatsoever". Matt James / The Fresno Bee
by blue4areason on Dec 22, 2010 1:24 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah, I wasn't going for righteous grammar.
It was the sound of it, and it’s relationship to my poll that made it fit.
Championships should be earned on the field, not in newspapers or computers.
hello from the flamingo
Decent trip so far. Check this: ran in to a couple fellow Bronco fans on the strip last night, they had just previously ran into Pettis cruising down the sidewalk with a tall boy. Woo! They had a picture to prove it, but I got nothing so it’s third hand to y’all. It’s amusing to me; just one to stay loose then he went to bed, I’m sure.
Anyway I got money on the boys to cover 16.5 like I’m sure a bunch of you do too. Go Broncos, stay dry, I gotta take a little nappy poo then I’m up and out for the game, orange 41 jersey over an orange raincoat if you see me. Silver pro combat 11 will be on the inside of the jacket, but I doubt it’s dry…
Mariners/D Broncos/BSU Broncos fan in Seattle
The first rule of Lookout Landing is...
by appleshampoo on Dec 22, 2010 10:15 AM PST via mobile reply actions
Oh yeah
I’m at 222 / 37 / 23. No idea where that is, lol, just got my ticket pretty late through idahotickets.com . Haven’t seen the Broncos in person since the debacle in Seattle back in ’07. Excited!
Mariners/D Broncos/BSU Broncos fan in Seattle
The first rule of Lookout Landing is...
by appleshampoo on Dec 22, 2010 10:22 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
The Vegas Bowl marks Boise State’s last game of20112010
Methinks this was the intention?
Wait, they play hockey in Idaho?
Got my gear on, got my floor set up to watch the game while they work tonight...
Got my grocery beer and munchie list together for a quick store run before the game starts. Now I just need to focus down on work for the next 6 hours and get everything done so I’m not worrying about anything tonight but having a good time.
See ya in the game thread tonight, everyone!
"Or, if boarding the bus is just too difficult for an Establishmentarian to do, get your snob school to schedule the Broncos home-and-home. Any takers?" - Pat Forde
"I don’t need a dictionary, I have an ipad, and an expensive large university education." - hrman7
by reflectivity on Dec 22, 2010 10:34 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Bah, law school.
I don’t like arguing, which is pretty much an automatic disqualification for being a lawyer. :) I need a lottery win so I can donate my time to a good cause and still keep my bills paid. Suppose I’ll have to play to make that happen though…
"Or, if boarding the bus is just too difficult for an Establishmentarian to do, get your snob school to schedule the Broncos home-and-home. Any takers?" - Pat Forde
"I don’t need a dictionary, I have an ipad, and an expensive large university education." - hrman7
by reflectivity on Dec 22, 2010 11:14 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Lawyers seldom argue; billing, not arguing, is what we do. Thought mark would drop in for a comment.
tvmunson
I don't need to argue
I just show up at a mediation and say, “I’m here to lock shit down, so you best recognize.”
AND IT WON’T EVEN BE MY CLIENT’S MEDIATION.
We want to build a university our football team can be proud of. -- Dr. George Lynn Cross
by marktgarten on Dec 22, 2010 1:00 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Ha ha that's funny (rest of you don't get it; it's a lawyer thing)
I love it when that happens esp whn I can still bill it:
“12/10/2010: Attendance and participation at collateral mediation. 9.9 hours A101”
tvmunson
Hope you separated out the travel time
’Cause the client only pays that at 50% normal rate.
/billingguidelines’d
We want to build a university our football team can be proud of. -- Dr. George Lynn Cross
by marktgarten on Dec 22, 2010 1:08 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
was this season a disappointment?
only if we make it that way.
so we didn’t get to a national championship. guess what – neither did 117 other teams. We had a GREAT season with records broken, big-time highlights and a Heisman Trophy QB. Teams (especially in the Big East) would KILL to go 11-1 (soon to be 12-1).
We celebrate this team, thank the seniors, reload, and get ready for next year. GO BRONCOS
Thank you, Nick Adenhart. You will always be remembered. #34
by howiestheman on Dec 22, 2010 10:38 AM PST reply actions 7 recs
I thought there were 120 FBS teams
Thank you, Nick Adenhart. You will always be remembered. #34
by howiestheman on Dec 22, 2010 12:16 PM PST up reply actions
green. well said.
there is no 'Z' in 'Boise'
there is no 'O' in 'Petersen'
there is no edit button on SBNation
by Boise State of Mind on Dec 22, 2010 12:09 PM PST up reply actions
Agreed.
"Boise State football is now a Fargo winter. You know what's coming, and that information does you no good whatsoever". Matt James / The Fresno Bee
by blue4areason on Dec 22, 2010 1:27 PM PST up reply actions
San Boyd Stadium is Currently a Lake
Does this throw game plans, predictions, team talent levels all up to chance in a big mud bath?
that's just so not good news.
should be interesting to watch though…
"Or, if boarding the bus is just too difficult for an Establishmentarian to do, get your snob school to schedule the Broncos home-and-home. Any takers?" - Pat Forde
"I don’t need a dictionary, I have an ipad, and an expensive large university education." - hrman7
by reflectivity on Dec 22, 2010 11:31 AM PST up reply actions
Literally a mud bath?
I thought they played on turf. Still, torrential rain would definitely change things.
"I did not send you to go-kart camp." - Maury Garner
Both teams play on the same field
no matter the conditions it comes down to talent , coaching and conditioning.
It was the later that cost us in Reno.. that will never happen again.
No it's that you are stupid, it's just that you don't suspect!
Nothing is good nor bad until compared to something else.
Well HEY Bronco fans!
Name’s Brad and I was turned onto this little gem of a site by a friend of mine that goes to Boise. I’m from California and am a USC fan by trade but have a little place in my heart for the boys in blue. I traveled about 26 hours from Texas this year to go to the Hawaii game and the first game I went to was Boise vs. SJSU (my wife’s alma mater) during your Fiesta Bowl season with the huge upset over Oklahoma.
I don’t know what the screen name of my buddy is on here but I served with him and this guy in the Marines for a few years:
http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/598678/2musclehamsters.jpg
(That would be the handsome gentlemen on the left, not the Original Muscle Hamster Doug Martin).
Anyway, was your season a FAILURE in 2010? No. Did it miss the expectations of the Rose/BCS Bowl, well yeah. I think of myself as a pretty hardcore USC fan, going so far as to stand on the 50-yard line in the pouring rain of last years “Boise is better than this” Emerald Bowl when we beat Boston College. That was a failure season. USC, once THE team in the PAC-10 diluted to the Emerald Bowl.
You on the other hand, you didn’t make a BCS bowl like you had hope, but you also didn’t end your regular season 7-5. You beat who you were supposed to beat and had great games against the toss-ups. You beat a Pac-10 team (This year you probably could have beaten most of them), you upset the ACC Champion essentially in their own house and you’re only loss came in OT to a team that finished 12-1. You have a much better storyline going into this bowl game then if you played Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.
Utah is going to the Pac-10. The Pac-10 says you’re not good enough to be in their conference because you’re not a “research” University. Well, since you can’t run the PAC-10 schedule year in and year out, you get a chance to continue to prove that there is not PAC-10 team that can hold a card to the Broncos. ESPECIALLY not Utah.
You get to establish dominance in two conferences at once. The top teams in the PAC-10 consistently keep dropping losses to you and this year you get to continue showing the Mountain West who the big dog is going to be once you arrive. You’ve shown it against TCU and now you get to show it against Utah. You have a chance to get into the heads of every coaching staff in the MWC before you even step foot into the conference. That is a 2010 victory all in itself.
Not to mention, you would just hammer Wisconsin which wouldn’t be entertaining to watch in the least. Yeah, you’re going to hammer Utah, but there’s purpose behind it. Going to the Rose Bowl as often as we did over the last decade and playing a plethora of Big-Ten Teams let me tell you, a victory over a team in the Big-Ten isn’t worth its weight in gold. Their football is slow and boring and you’re much better off playing a Utah this season than a Wisconsin.
Well, I’ll end it at that. You’re 2010 didn’t live up to what you wanted it to be but is in no way a failure. Good luck out there tonight and keep the fan-dom going strong into 2011 when you can try to make some real damage on the College Football World.
Take Care,
Brad
by Brad Lord on Dec 22, 2010 12:59 PM PST reply actions 6 recs
I love you man.....
Welcome to one of the best boards on SBnation …
No it's that you are stupid, it's just that you don't suspect!
Nothing is good nor bad until compared to something else.
by Darth Prophet on Dec 22, 2010 1:22 PM PST up reply actions
Nice introduction...
Welcome to the site. Housewarming present is a nice rec.
by Drew Roberts on Dec 22, 2010 1:23 PM PST up reply actions
Classy post Brad and I say this not just because I agree. I can tell that, even if you had a position
that was NOT going to be accepted here, you’d say it straight forwardly (never met a Marine who wouldnt’) and support it logically w/o vituperatio, villification or unecessary attitude.
I must respectfully disagree re Wisconsin, although I luxuriate in your confidence about our program. I think their O-line is the best in college football and would even give some pro teams a lot to handle. We’ll never know. And I have a suspicion that since we did not make Rose Bowl this year, we never will. Its just a sense I have. I’m a 42 year Bronco fan so i dont say it lightly, but this opportunity will not repeat itself. If we’re not talking Rose, I personally dont care if the only BCS game we play in is Fiesta (or NCS).
tvmunson
Kevan Lee
You’d dang well better be wearing your lucky Bronco shirt for this game.
Unlike the UNR game.
And that's another Bronco... FIRST DOWN!!
If undefeated is your goal, than yes, that was missed. However,
the goal was to win the WAC and to go to a good bowl game. Is this a good bowl game? Given the circumstances of bowl tie ins, etc., it’s probably the most workable arrangement that was available given the WAC conference obligations, etc.
Now, on the standards of your fan base, based on being a lurker on this board since last year and posting this year — I still wouldn’t use the word failure either.
USC, I agree with my fellow Pac 10 fan up there, has a horrible season in 2009. Likewise, USC losing to ND this year reflects something along those lines. But failure is not a word I would use.
I don’t think the Nevada game was a face plant, as someone described the Utes games versus TCU and ND.
I think motivation would be the biggest issue with this bowl game, or the BSU players feeling like they missed out on something bigger and not being happy to be playing in LV. But I’ll accept everything I’ve read so far all over the place indicating that this isn’t the case — and thus have BSU locked in (my Pick-EM selection I mean) to win the game. There aren’t going to be very many one loss teams left at the end of every bowl game. So, I would consider the 2010 season to be a very successful one by most objective, reasonable and realistic measures possible.
I'd rather be surfing.
by Pac 10 Alum on Dec 22, 2010 4:43 PM PST reply actions
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2012 Boise State Football Schedule
@ Michigan State  |
Fri 08/31 | 6:00 p.m. MT |
| Miami (OH) | Sat 09/15 | 2:00 p.m. MT |
| BYU |
Thu 09/20 | TBA |
| @ New Mexico | Sat 09/29 | TBA |
| @ Southern Miss | Sat 10/06 | TBA |
| Fresno State | Sat 10/13 | 1:30 p.m. MT |
| UNLV | Sat 10/20 | 1:30 p.m. MT |
| @ Wyoming |
Sat 10/27 | 1:30 p.m. MT |
| San Diego State | Sat 11/03 | 8:30 p.m. MT |
| @ Hawaii | Sat 11/10 | 5:00 p.m. MT |
| Colorado St. | Sat 11/17 | 1:30 p.m. MT |
| @ Nevada | Sat 12/1 | TBA |
