Boise State vs. Colorado State: Broncos Keys, Preview, Livestream, Odds
Broncos looking to go 12-0 vs. Rams
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Who is healthy is key.
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WEEK 9: Boise State Broncos (5-2) vs. Colorado State (2-5)
WHEN: Saturday, October 29th — 5:00 PM MT/4:00 PM PT
WHERE: Albertson Stadium, Boise, ID
WEATHER: Mostly Cloudy, High of 58
TV: FS1
STREAMING: Fans can sign up to receive a free one-week trial of FuboTV, which includes FS1
SERIES RECORD: Boise State leads the series 11-0, winning 28-19 last year in Ft. Collins.
LAST WEEK: Boise State won at home against Air Force, 19-14, while Colorado State won against Hawaii, 17-13.
WEBSITES: BroncoSports.com, the official Boise State athletics website | https://csurams.com/sports/football, the official Colorado State athletics website
ODDS: Boise State -27
https://twitter.com/MWCwire/status/1585333980202778635
After an off-season like Colorado State’s, the Rams envisioned coming into this game with probably one of their best chances to beat Boise State. With new Coach Jay Norvell, who has actually defeated the Broncos, and 21 transfers, Colorado State even had a first-place vote at media days. So coming into Boise with a 2-5 with the worst offense in the conference is far from their expectations. The Rams are trending upwards, winning two of their last three, and even almost had 400 yards of offense against Hawaii last week. Even with that output, the Rams had to come from behind to beat Hawaii and only had 17 points in the win.
Boise State has been led by their defense this year and is currently first in the Mountain West in yards allowed and third in scoring. Led by linebackers DJ Schramm and Ezekiel Noa, the Bronco defense has come out of the game against Air Force, allowing the fewest rush yards per game in the conference. Offensively the Broncos continue to improve and have become one of the best rushing teams in the Mountain West, only behind Air Force in yards per game.
With George Holani not playing and Alshton Jeanty missing the second half last week, the Broncos had to rely on Elelyon Noa and quarterback Taylen Green to move the ball on the ground. Holani was spotted practicing in pads earlier this week, so hopefully, he will be back in action on Saturday.
3 Keys to a Boise State Victory
Running Back by Committee
As mentioned, the Broncos have greatly improved running the ball this year, and a key reason for that is excellent depth at the running back position. While it would be nice to see Holani get the majority of the touches, it may be optional against the Rams. Hopefully, the Broncos can get themselves out to a comfortable lead and allow Jeanty, if healthy, and Noa a bulk of the carries.
Open up The Playbook (a little)
Offensive Coordinator Dirk Koetter has admitted that he has been pretty conservative with his playcalling, especially in the red zone. While getting points on the board is always good, the Boise State offense settles for field goals more than they should. Sometimes that is due to mistakes like penalties, but for others, it seems they are getting close enough and just mailing it in until kicker Jonah Dalmas can come out and hit his kick.
Go 1-0 This Week
Head Coach Andy Avalos said the goal was to go 1-0 every week when asked how important it was to get the 6th win this week and become bowl eligible. With a home game against BYU next, it would be easy to look past Colorado State.
https://twitter.com/BroncoSportsFB/status/1584690154140504064
A division loss to a terrible opponent, giving them their first win over the Broncos, would not be acceptable. The Broncos need to make sure this does not happen.
Prediction:
The Broncos are heavily favored in this game. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Boise State a 95% chance of winning, and there is a real chance that the Broncos could even shut out the Rams. With as poor as the Ram defense is, Boise State will be able to get touchdowns instead of field goals which will lead to garbage time in the 4th quarter, and I think Colorado State will be able to get a couple of scores then.
Boise State 48, Colorado State 10
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