Bummer about that Bronco game, huh? Oh well. There's still Fresno next week and then the Humanitarian Bowl. Hey, maybe the Coca-cola bear will be there this year. That might be fun.
Wait. What's that? The Boise State game against Nevada hasn't been played yet? The Broncos didn't lose to the Wolf Pack? Colin Kaepernick and Vai Taua didn't rush for over 300 yards and the Nevada defense didn't keep the Boise State offense in check? Really?
Whew. That's a load off.
Everything we have read so far this week seems to assume that the Broncos stand little chance on Saturday against Nevada. The stories and the statistics are hammering home the point that the Wolf Pack is a team on the rise and the toughest opponent that Boise State has faced.
Weren't they saying the same thing about San Jose State?
It feels ten times worse than SJSU, though. Everyone is pointing to what happened last season in Boise as Colin Kaepernick and Luke Lippincott ran roughshod over the BSU defense. Had the local media thought we forgot about that game? Be serious. We'll forget about that game as soon as we forget the 2005 Georgia game.
And the endless barrage of "Nevada is the No. 1 rushing team in the country" and "don't forget about the defense" and "Kaepernick, Kaepernick, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY COLIN KAEPERNICK" isn't helping, either. By the sound of things, Boise State is headed into the world's largest buzzsaw on Saturday, resigned to be chewed up and spit out by a far superior Nevada football team.
Isn't that right, everybody who has access to Movable Type?
The scary thing is not that the Nevada football team scored 67 points on Boise State last year.
The scary thing is that the Wolf Pack are better this year.
Outside of the first play of the game, BSU shut the Vandals down.
But Nevada isn't Idaho. And the pressure is building on BSU. For the Broncos to stay in the mix for a BCS bid, this week's game is a must-win.
And our personal favorite...
So Nevada runs better than anyone in the country, they pass, they punt, they kick field goals, they have one of the top defenses in the country against the run and they sack you if you try to pass. What can the Broncos do in Reno?
Well, they can always try their luck at the casinos.
That last quote wasn't taken from the Idaho Statesman or the Press-Tribune or even the geniuses at the Magic Valley Times-News. That quote was pulled from an article on Boise State's Scout.com page, written by one of the biggest Bronco fans we know.
So should Bronco Nation be worried? Not this much, they shouldn't.
Lost amid all the discussion about how great Nevada is playing is the fact that Boise State is playing even better. This Bronco team is undefeated and downright dominating opponents. Nevada has been good for three weeks; Boise State has been good since August. Where are the stories about that?
Instead of focusing on the doom and gloom of Boise State's next opponent, perhaps we should be focusing on everything BSU does well that other teams will have to prepare for. So what if Nevada runs a great spread option attack? No single team has been able to make the spread option work against the Broncos this year. No mobile quarterback has found any sort of success. Does Diondre Borel ring any bells?
"It's the simplest offense in the whole league," San Jose State coach Dick Tomey said. "They line up the same way almost all of the time, they run the fewest plays and they execute the best."
The Boise State defense has shown absolutely no chinks in their armor. Why would they start against
Nevada? And don't even think about bringing up last year's game against the Wolf Pack. That was the perfect storm for Nevada with a new QB, no Jeron Johnson, the worst tackling and positioning by a Bronco defense ever, and Boise State still came away with the win.
And as far as the scary Nevada defense is concerned, don't even get us started with that nonsense. So what if the Broncos can't run on Saturday? Nevada gives up 318 passing yards per game, and they have yet to see a quarterback like Kellen Moore.
Ian Johnson gets it, even if he won't come right out and say it.
"There’s a reason they’re No. 2 (against the run) — some teams have elected to pass the ball, but that’s beside the point," senior Ian Johnson said. "When teams are trying to run, they’re getting stuffed."
The fact of the matter is that Nevada will be a far better team than anyone the Broncos have played in the past three weeks, which, if memory serves us correct, included New Mexico State, Utah State, and Idaho. They will provide a challenge with their running game, and playing at home might give them a little boost.
And that's it.
There's no reason to panic about Saturday's game. This year's Bronco team has proven time and again that they don't get rattled and they know how to take care of business. How many more times do they have to do it before we start believing?
At least one more week, it seems.
Read more: Wolf Pack feasting on opposing defenses [Statesman]
Broncos prep for biggest game of the year [Times-News]
Boise State ground game to face tough test [Statesman]
Nevada is the best team Boise State will play [Scout.com]
Broncos to face stingy "D" [Press-Tribune]