Chris Petersen's weekly press conference began with praise for the fans and high fives for the defense, and then it was on to more important matters like "When are you going to bench Joe Southwick already" and "how hot is Robert Prince's seat." No actual newsman asked these questions specifically, but the undertone of the past five days of armchair quarterbacking was voluminous enough that Petersen felt obligated to address it. Ergo:
"I know everybody wants us to fire guys and get new players and coaches and all that stuff," Petersen said. "That's not what this is about. It's about getting better, about gaining confidence and supporting each other and sticking to the process. As we're doing that, learning and tweaking and trying to do the best we can with where we're at.
"But I'm very convinced that everybody wants to panic and everybody wants us to yell and scream at one side of the ball, and that's the last thing that's going to happen around here."
Moving on ...
Other interesting notes from Petersen's presser
Boise State tight end Chandler Koch, speaking about how the Broncos have strayed from "bread-and-butter plays," said the following: "I just think we've been trying to get a little too cute." When a media man brought this up to Petersen in his press conference, Coach Pete completely shot that idea down. And thus, the Chandler Koch package on offense just got a little smaller.
Let's talk kicking. Petersen claims he is still confident in Michael Frisina and he should have let Frisina kick when the Broncos had a fourth down at the BYU 20-yard line in the second half. Petersen blamed the decision on his own stubbornness. Did he mean sanity self-preservation?
The fourth-down quarterback sneak from the six-inch line was Petersen's playcall.
When the topic of conservative offensive playcalling came up, Coach Pete pointed out that the deep ball to Aaron Burks wasn't the only bomb that was called. Later in the game, Boise State dialed up the same play (a different receiver was playing the role of Burks), the deep man was doubled, and Southwick came off to hit Matt Miller underneath for a big gain. So there, haters. (Coach Pete did not actually say that last part.)
Petersen had a good answer for those who might have asked, after the fake punt, "Why would he put his defense in that position?" Petersen's answer: "Because we're trying to win the game." Boom. Roasted.
Dave Southorn from the IPT retells a story Petersen shared from his conversation with former Bronco coach Dirk Koetter after the game.
Petersen said he talked to former Boise State coach Dirk Koetter, who joked that he wouldn't have been able to make it back to his office if the Broncos beat BYU in his day, as the field would've been packed with people.
"Utah, from the Pac-12, beats BYU and they storm the field," Petersen said. "We beat them by one point and the sky's falling."