The Broncos look good enough to run the table yet again but Al Dannity isn’t confident they can turn a perfect season into a first trip to the BCS Championship game.
The schedule Like so many years before, Boise State’s most important game comes at the start of the season. A not-so-neutral site game with Georgia in Atlanta will prove a massive test. It’s not all plain sailing after that, a home game with Tulsa should be challenging before hitting Mountain West play.
Nevada and Fresno State should test the mettle of these Broncos early, with the clash against the Wolfpack holding particular emotional significance for Boise State. November sees two more huge games, first up is a home clash with TCU before the Broncos hit the road to battle San Diego State.
The players The sheer depth of talent on this roster is the reason Boise State look good to go 12-0 despite starting with that game against the Dawgs. Kellen Moore leads an offense with 7 returning starters, including star linemen Nate Potter and Thomas Byrd. The defense is in fine health as well, with 7 returning starters and elite talent in every department. Billy Winn and Shea McClellin bring their immense force to the defensive line, Byron Hout has next-level talent at linebacker while safety George Iloka should star in the secondary. It isn’t quite the depth we saw return in 2010 but this is a senior-heavy roster that will command respect from College Football betting fans.
The verdict The Broncos need a lot of help from the teams they beat. By my rankings they will face three teams in the Top 25 but Boise State need me to be right about every one of those calls. They also need to hope that Nevada can prove me wrong and muscle their way into the rankings. The Broncos are routinely disrespected by the pollsters but even I can’t place them any higher this year. Even with wins over the Wolfpack, Georgia, TCU, and Tulsa, they simply won’t have the resume of the teams above them on this list.
Boise State’s only hope is that the Dawgs seriously out-perform my predictions, by both winning the SEC East and shocking the SEC West winner in Atlanta. Relying on other teams to get the job done for you is a dangerous business. It may be out of Boise State’s hands but this year I don’t see their 12-0 bringing them to the biggest bowl of them all.