BOISE - A lot has been said in the off-season about just how good the Boise State football team could be this year. We won't have to wait long to find out if those predictions were on the mark.
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GAME TRACKER: Broncos vs. Trojans
The Broncos will open the season on the road against a Troy team that went 11-2 and won the Sun Belt Conference in 2017. One of those two losses came in Boise, a 24-13 Broncos win in the season-opener.
As the new season gets underway, the teams will face off at the newly-renovated Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Alabama.
Boise State starts the season ranked in the top 25 of all major polls including a No. 22 ranking in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the Amway Coaches Poll.
While Troy isn't ranked in most polls, they are regarded as a solid team that is expected to compete for the Sun Belt Conference title. The Trojans have won 22 of 27 games dating back to the 2015 season, and despite losing a few notable players to graduation, coach Neal Brown has created an era of consistency and expectation heading into the season.
“Expectations are obviously high heading into the season after what last year’s group accomplished,” Brown told the Montgomery Advertiser. “We’ve got a balanced mix of youth and experience on the roster this year. I’m excited to see how this team establishes its identity on the football field.”
Boise State knows a thing or two about fan expectations. Anything short of a 10-win season and a conference championship is considered by many to be a disappointing season. After starting 2-2 last year, the Broncos went on to win seven straight en route to an 11-3 record, a conference title game win over Fresno State, and a Las Vegas Bowl victory over the Oregon Ducks.
The Broncos were unanimously picked by the Mountain West media to win the Mountain Division and make a return trip to the conference title game. There has also been a lot of talk about a possible New Year's Six bowl berth, and a long shot bid at making the 4-team playoffs. But, in keeping with tradition, coach Bryan Harsin isn't looking past Game 1.
“Right now that’s not what we’re talking about,” he said simply, adding that the team is focused solely on getting ready for their trip to Troy.
“That’s one thing I really enjoy about our team,” senior cornerback Tyler Horton said at Mountain West Media Days. “We really don’t buy into that talk. Day in, day out, we know if we don’t put the work in, none of this means anything.”
GAME INFORMATION
- Boise State at Troy
- Saturday, Sept. 1
- Veterans Memorial Stadium, Troy, Alabama
- Kickoff: 4 p.m. MT
ON TV
The game will be televised on ESPNews, which can be found on the following channels:
- Cable One: Channel 135
- DirecTV: Channel 207
- Dish Network: Channel 142
- Cox: Channel 221
ON THE RADIO
Fans can listen to the game on the Bronco Radio Network, which can be found online or on the following stations in the Boise area:
- KBOI 670 AM in Boise
- KTIK 93.1 FM in Boise
- KDZY 98.3 FM in McCall
- KSNQ 98.3 FM in Twin Falls
Here is a list of Bronco Radio Network stations outside the Boise area.
BRONCO ROUNDUP GAME DAY
KTVB's Bronco Roundup Game Day show will be live from Veterans Memorial Stadium from 9 - 10 a.m. on KTVB Channel 7(Digital Channel 7.1) and KTVB.COM, and from 3 - 4 p.m. on Idaho's Very Own 24/7 (Digital Channel 7.2), KTVB.COM, and Facebook Live. You can also watch both Bronco Roundup Game Day shows live on the Bronco Roundup app. Join Jay Tust for a live look at all of the major storylines leading up to kickoff.
GAME DAY POLL
How do you think the Broncos will fare against the Trojans in Troy? Will it be a close game or a blowout? Weigh in on the poll below. If you are having trouble viewing the poll, click here.
Note: The poll has closed. See the final results in the image below.
BRONCOS-TROJANS SERIES
The Broncos and Trojans have played each other just once - a 24-13 Boise State win in the 2017 opener at Albertsons stadium. The Broncos won thanks to great defensive and special teams performances. While the offense sputtered, Redshirt freshman Avery Williams introduced himself to Bronco Nation by returning a punt 81 yards for a touchdown in his first game action with the team. He finished with 172 kick return yards and earned Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Broncos held a Troy offense that returned 98.7 percent of their production from the previous season to just 207 yards, the Trojans' lowest total in three years. Troy's only touchdown came on a 53-yard interception return.
KEY LOSSES AND NOTABLE RETURNS
Troy
The biggest hole the Trojans must fill is that of four-year starting quarterback Brandon Silvers, who led Troy to a 21-5 record over the past two seasons and broke a number of school passing records. The two candidates looking to replace him are junior Kaleb Barker - Silvers' primary backup last season - and sophomore Sawyer Smith. Both are mobile quarterbacks and solid passers.
Troy also has to replace a key piece of the ground game after losing three-year starting tailback Jordan Chunn, and his backup Josh Anderson, to graduation. A trio of backs are looking to fill the void.
One position that is safe heading into the season is receiver. The Trojans return three starters in Deondre Douglas, Damion Willis and Sam Letton, who combined for 101 catches for 1,363 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
Despite losing some big-time players, the Trojans are looking to reload this season. The team received a conference-high 11 selections in the Preseason All-Sun Belt team, including six first-teamers.
Troy's defense looks particularly stacked heading into the 2018 season, and the secondary features arguably the best pass defense in the conference.
Boise State
Despite some key losses on both sides of the ball, the Broncos are loaded at many positions, and return some of their biggest weapons in 2018. Quarterback Brett Rypien is back for his senior year, and is expected to be one of the top-producing quarterbacks in the nation this season. Rypien was voted Preseason Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, after he threw for 2,877 yards with 16 TDs and just six interceptions last season. He has thrown for 9,876 yards in his career, the hightest total of any active FBS player.
The senior signal caller is one of a program-record eight players to land on the Preseason All-Mountain West Team. Also making all-conference team was junior running back Alexander Mattison (1,086 yards, 12 TDs last season), who will undoubtedly be one of Rypien's primary weapons this season.
The Broncos have a prominent hole to fill with the graduation of star receiver Cedrick Wilson. But fortunately, they have plenty of options with A.J. Richardson, Sean Modster, Octavius Evans and CT Thomas all returning. Rypien also has a big target at the tight end position in John Bates (6'6", 246 lbs).
The biggest loss on defense came was linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, a first-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2018 NFL Draft. Sophomore Riley Whimpey has been tapped to replace Vander Esch in the weakside linebacker role.
Also returning on defense are STUDs Curtis Weaver (11 sacks last season) and Jabril Frazier, as well as safeties Kekoa Nawahine and DeAndre Pierce, who combined for 191 tackles and four interceptions last season.
CREAM OF THE COACHING CROP
The Boise State - Troy game will feature two of the top coaching talents in the nation. Bryan Harsin is 42-12 in his fifth season at Boise State, carrying on the culture and success of the program that thrived under previous coaches Dirk Koetter, Dan Hawkins and Chris Petersen.
A former Boise State player and offensive coordinator under Petersen, Harsin returned to take over the program in 2014. Since then he has averaged 10.5 wins per season, and has collected two Mountain West Conference titles (2014 and 2017) and three bowl wins, including 38-30 Fiesta Bowl victory over Arizona in 2014.
In Troy, coach Neal Brown has started his own culture of winning, going 21-5 the last two seasons. Like Harsin, Brown returned to take over a program at which he was an offensive coordinator. In 2016, he coached Troy to its first 10-win season since the Trojans joined the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2001. That season, Troy gave mighty Clemson a scare, before falling to the Tigers 24-30. Last season Brown and the Trojans finally knocked off a strong SEC foe, beating LSU 24-21. Troy went on to share the Sun Belt Conference title with Appalachian State and beat North Texas in the New Orleans Bowl.
“I think we’re excited about where we’ve gone,” Brown told Alabama Newscenter. “Have we arrived? I don’t think so. We’ve only won one conference championship. I don’t know if we’ve arrived until we get to the upper tier of the Group of Five. This first game (against Boise State) affords us that opportunity. We couldn't get it done last year against Boise at their place... We’re not finished. I still think that we’ve got several milestones to reach.”
Day two: Boise State Football fall camp
POLL POSITION
The Broncos enter the season ranked in the top 25 of just about every preseason poll out there. They are currently at No. 22 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the Amway Coaches Poll. Interestingly, Boise State is neck and neck with last year's Group of 5 darling, UCF. The Knights went undefeated in 2017, and beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl. Their coach, Scott Frost, has moved on to greener pastures at Nebraska, but the Knights retain a lot of their talent are expected to be one of the top G5 contenders, along with Boise State. While the Broncos are No. 22 in both polls, the AP poll has UCF ranked one spot ahead - at No. 21, and the Coaches' poll has them one spot behind - at No. 23.
KTVB sports analyst Tom Scott said in his Scott Slant column that each team's strength of schedule will play a big role in how the rankings shake out this season:
"The Broncos have one Power 5 opponent (at Oklahoma State). UCF has two (at North Carolina and home against Pittsburgh). A Boise State win over the Cowboys would top whatever the Knights could do. Then again, if the Broncos don’t take care of business at Troy, it’ll be the Trojans jockeying for position with UCF."
A LOOK AHEAD
After opening the season with an away game, the Broncos will return to the friendly confines of Albertsons Stadium where they will take on Connecticut for their home-opener on the Blue.
Here's a look Boise State's schedule for the upcoming season:
- Saturday, Sept. 1, 4 p.m. MT
- Boise State at Troy
- Saturday, Sept. 8, 8:15 p.m. MT
- Connecticut at Boise State
- Saturday, Sept. 15, 1:30 p.m. MT
- Boise State at Oklahoma State
- Saturday, Sept. 29, 5 p.m. MT
- Boise State at Wyoming
- Saturday, Oct. 6, time TBD
- San Diego State at Boise State
- Saturday, Oct. 13, 8:30 p.m. MT
- Boise State at Nevada
- Friday, Oct. 19, 7 p.m. MT
- Colorado State at Boise State
- Saturday, Oct. 27, 5 p.m. MT
- Boise State at Air Force
- Saturday, Nov. 3, time TBD
- BYU at Boise State
- Friday, Nov. 9, 8:15 p.m. MT
- Fresno State at Boise State
- Friday, Nov. 16, 7 p.m. MT
- Boise State at New Mexico
- Saturday, Nov. 24, time TBD
- Utah State at Boise State