In the 1980's, BYU was one of the elite teams in college football. From 1977-1990, the Cougars were 141-36. Thirty-five years after BYU began their run, Boise State is following in BYU's footsteps; the Broncos are 147-23 since 1999.
Under Lavell Edwards, BYU achieved two things Boise State has never accomplished. First, BYU won a championship in the Mountain West; in fact, they won three of them outright and tied for another. Despite all the hoopla surrounding last year's Boise State team, they didn't win the conference, losing on their home field to TCU. Second, BYU has a national championship to their credit (in 1984). Despite owning the best record in college football over the last 13 years, Boise State hasn't even had an invitation to the game.
Since 2010, BYU has allowed an average of 91.5 rushing yards per game, second only to Alabama. That spells bad news for the Bronco running game, which mustered only 37 yards against another tough run defense, that of Michigan State.
Boise State believes they have the problems worked out after exploding for 295 rushing yards against MIami of Ohio, with D.J. Harper getting 162 of that total and earning Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors. But the proof will be in the Thursday night pudding. Rushing for 295 yards against the Redhawks was one thing; mounting a sustainable ground attack against the Cougars will be much tougher.
The BYU offense will try to stretch the field, isolating their receivers on the Bronco defensive backs. Senior Riley Nelson (6-0, 199) is on the Watch List for both the Davey O'Brien and Maxwell Awards and excels in Coach Bronco Mendenhall's short passing game. Nelson has completed 60% of his passes so far (60-100) with five touchdowns and is also a threat to tuck it and run upfield. BYU is averaging 32 points a game in three contests, far better than Boise State's 26.0.
J.D. Falslev (5-8, 184, Jr.) is set to go in the slot while Cody Hoffman (6-4, 215, Jr.) and Ross Apo (6-3, 207, So.) give the Cougars great size at wide receiver.
Hoffman leads the team with 18 receptions for 281 yards (15.6 avg.) and two touchdowns. Kaneakua Friel (6-5, 250, Jr.) is one of the primary receivers in that short passing game with 15 catches for 195 yards and four touchdowns. The Cougars have had good success running toss sweeps to Michael Alisa (6-1, 220, Jr.) and David Foote (5-11, 200, Sr.). Alisa is a candidate for the Doak Walker Award this season, and has gained 163 yards on 39 carries so far.
BYU's offensive line has helped the team average 423.3 yards a game. Seniors Braden Brown (6-6, 300 at right tackle) and Braden Hansen (6-6, 307) at left guard anchor the unit. Hansen will be in charge of protecting Nelson's blind side. Center Blair Tushaus (6-2, 270, So.), right guard Brock Stringham (6-6, 290) and freshman left tackle Ryker Mathews (6-6, 292) complete the unit.
Bronco fans will note the similarity in height between the BYU linemen and the Michigan State linemen. Michigan State was able to run the ball at will against the defenseless Bronco defensive line with Le'Veon Bell. Meanwhile, Boise State could not get consistent pressure on the quarterback like Notre Dame could last week against the Spartans. The Fighting Irish, in fact, showed Boise State just how far they have to go defensively.
Speaking of defense, BYU boasts Lombardi and Nagurski Award candidate Kyle Van Noy (6-3, 235, Jr.) at linebacker. Van Noy has already been in on 7.5 tackles for loss this year with 4.5 sacks, and he has two forced fumbles, three pass breakups and four quarterback hurries. Stopping Van Noy will be crucial Thursday night. But then Uona Kaveinga (5-11, 233, Sr.) is up for the Butkus Award as the top linebacker in the land. Spencer Hadley (6-1, 227, Jr.) will play opposite Van Noy on the strong side of the ball while Brandon Ogletree (5-11, 228, Sr.) is the fourth starter in BYU's 3-4 defense.
Boise State will face three seniors up front Thursday night--Romney Ruga (6-2, 318) is the man in the middle while ends Eathyn Manumaleuna (6-2, 288) and Russell Tielavea (6-3, 265) will bring pressure from the outside. That trio has helped the Cougar defense allow just 53 yards a game on the ground this season. More trouble for the Bronco rushing game.
Cornerbacks Jordan Johnson (5-10, 185, So.) and Preston Hadley (6-0, 200, Sr.), KAT-back Daniel Sorensen (6-2, 206, Jr.) and free safety Joe Sampson (5-10, 203, Sr.) have done a better job in defending the pass than the Broncos (allowing 188 yards to Boise State's 213), and they've done it against tougher competition.
Riley Stephenson (6-0, 205, Sr.) does both the punting and placekicking; he's up for the Ray Guy Award in the former category. Falslev will be pack to field punts for BYU while Hoffman and Mike Hague (5-10, 190, Sr.) will return kickoffs for the Cougars.
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