The Broncos have one open date remaining on the 2011 schedule, and if athletic director Gene Bleymaier has his way, that game will be a nice big lucrative one.
After the jump, find out what teams Bleymaier could be targeting and share your thoughts about which one you would most like to see. Excited about the possibility of Alabama? Scared to death about the possibility of Syracuse? Let's discuss.
Boise State's 2011 nonconference schedule
The Broncos worked ahead to nail down most of the 2011 schedule thanks to series agreements with a number of non-BCSers. As with last season, Boise State will play at Hawaii, which allows the Broncos to schedule a fifth nonconference game in order to recoup some of the money spent on Hawaii travel costs.
BSU is returning the favor in series against Wyoming, Toledo, and Tulsa, and the Broncos are continuing their much-hyped series with the Utah Utes (that began way back in the Jared Zabransky days). Here is the Broncos' nonconference schedule for 2010.
- September 3: open
- September 10: vs. Wyoming
- September 17: at Toledo
- September 24: vs. Tulsa
- October 1: vs. Utah
What teams could fill the Broncos' open spot in 2011?
Courtesy of Brian Murphy's latest post, we know that Gene Bleymaier is seeking a big-name opponent for a game that will pay Boise State pretty well. We also know that Bleymaier is having a tough time.
He said he is having trouble finding teams that are willing to play the Broncos AND have the same date open on their schedule.
"A lot of it is getting the right dates. Yeah, they want a game. Yeah, we want a game and the dates don't match up," Bleymaier said. "We've got really one date. That narrows down your options very quickly. We've honed in and been working on a game and hopefully it will come together."
Well, finding the teams with the same open dates is no trouble at all. Jeeves, bring me my Internet.
- Alabama
- Auburn
- California
- Duke
- Florida State
- Georgia Tech
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- LSU
- Miami
- Michigan
- Missouri
- NC State
- Nebraska
- Oklahoma
- Oklahoma State
- Rutgers
- South Florida
- Syracuse
- Texas Tech
- Virginia
- Wake Forest
- Washington State
That is 23 teams across Division 1A's big six conferences that have open dates on September 3, 2011. The problem is not that Bleymaier has no options for this game.
His second concern is a valid one: Not everyone wants to play the Broncos. Bleymaier alluded to a team he thought was in the bag but obviously wasn't, and he hinted that he has a specific target (or two) in mind for this game. Could it be that these teams are getting cold feet in finalizing deals with the Broncos? Could it be that Bleymaier is asking too much money?
What team would you like to see?
There are some pretty big names on the list of possible 2011 opponents. The biggest ones, in my opinion, are:
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Nebraska
- LSU
- Georgia Tech
- Oklahoma State
- Michigan
Which one would you want? Which one would you be most disappointed to get? Share your thoughts in the comments and vote in the poll.