We waited eleven months for a shot at payback against Hawaii. And then we waited through the first and second quarters.
And it was worth it.
The Broncos' 27-7 win over Hawaii felt as good as we imagined. Truthfully, we imagined something more along the lines of 56-28 or 80-0, but the way that the Broncos dominated on defense more than made up for any high-scoring hopes we had.
Turns out, there is more than one way to embarrass and trounce a conference opponent. Boise State fans are so used to seeing it done with tons of points on the scoreboard, but this newfound BSU defensive attitude is all kinds of enjoyable, too.
Here are some random thoughts and reactions to the Broncos' win. Enjoy.
Mike T. Williams will be an All-WAC performer before all is said and done ... looks to us like Kyle Gingg and Derrell Acrey have put an end to this linebacker rotation schtick ... Jeremy Avery or Ian Johnson? We can't decide ... please don't tell us that Brotzman is now officially a better punter than he is a field goal kicker ... using two timeouts in the same fourth quarter defensive series is a sure sign that Hawaii either doesn't know what it's doing or thinks it gets unlimited timeouts in the second half ... sure felt like a bigger win than just 27-7 ... Austin Pettis would probably prefer that Titus Young stay suspended forever ...
Brandyn Thompson drinks Inoke Funaki's milkshake
Teams routinely shy away from Kyle Wilson in the pass game, and after Thompson's big night against the Warriors, they may want to think twice before throwing Thompson's way, too. Looks like dump-offs to whomever Kyle Gingg is covering will be the new M.O.
Not only were Thompson's picks great plays, they were also momentum changers. His first pick, following the Broncos' second consecutive fumble, killed a Warrior drive and let BSU keep their lead going into halftime. His two second-half INTs led to Boise State points, which essentially put the game out of reach. What ever will Thompson do for an encore? Dick Tomey has some ideas.
Doug Martin might be the best special teams player on the Broncos ... True freshman Jamar Taylor got significant playing time in the second half; just thought we'd mention that ... Does Kellen Moore have small, Daunte Culpepper hands or what? ... FYI: Brotzman averaged 60 yards per punt ... Vinny Perretta was more involved in the offense (6 catches, one rush) than we can remember in a long time ... we were a little scared at halftime ... personally, we were okay with Hawaii's decision to go for it on fourth down inside the Broncos' 20-yard-line in the first quarter; we were even more okay that they called an option to the short side of the field and didn't bother blocking either the play-side defensive end or outside linebacker ...
We'd like to have the defensive line over for dinner
As far as we're concerned, the biggest surprise in Friday night's game was the sheer dominance of the Boise State defensive line. What a tour de force, which we believe is French for "Mike T. Williams sack party." Jarrell Root, Billy Winn, Chuck Hayes, Shea McClellin, Sean Bingham, and Williams all recorded sacks. But at least the Warriors kept Ryan Winterswyk off of Funaki. The gameplan worked, in that sense.
Even better, when the D-line wasn't sacking Funaki, they were pressuring him into interceptions, knocking him to the turf, or ruining plays before they even got started. For a unit that was iffy for depth and defensive line talent at the start of the season, they are officially a team strength - much to the offensive line's chagrin.
Jarrell Root in pass coverage intrigues us ... the Bronco defense really did a nice job mixing up their looks; our favorite was the seven-man line that disguised who was dropping into coverage and who was coming after the quarterback ... we're pretty sure that the injury to Hawaii starting RB Kealoha Pilares didn't really matter ... Derrell Acrey made the perfect foil for Funaki ... Rod Gilmore's chalkboard defensive bit was a complete waste of time ... would it have killed Scott Dorval to give us a little snow? ...
Bronco offensive line makes us sad
We want so badly for offense to come easily for the Broncos, but as long as there are defensive linemen running free in the backfield and blown assignments leading to quarterback hurries and hits, we just don't see it happening.
There were more line struggles on Friday night, which is pretty much the norm at this point. The Broncos rushed for 111 yards, and Kellen Moore got hit harder than we've seen him get hit so far this year. Without the line, the BSU running game can't get going, Moore can't look downfield to make big plays, and fairweather fans can't associate high scoring with overall team success.