Boise State Broncos Football Preview 2013 [AUDIO]

The Boise State Broncos have won 10 or more games for the past seven seasons. They look to continue that success with eighth year head coach Chris Petersen (84-8 in past 7 seasons).

Boise State, who ranked 12^th nationally in total defense in 2012, placed first in the conference in yards allowed/game, points allowed/game, and turnover margin. The Broncos are looking to continue where they left off with the return of an experienced group on defense. Rick Tjong-A-Tjoe returns as a senior on the Broncos defensive line and will most likely take over the leadership role on that side of the football. Fortunately, he’ll have Demarcus Lawrence playing by his side. Lawrence led the conference with 9.5 sacks which tied for 18^th nationally. He also led the conference in tackles for loss with 13.5 and ranked 31^st nationally in that category. Tyler Horn also looks to bring experience back to the Boise State defensive front and played in all 13 games last season. Horn ranked 20^th in the conference in tackles for loss with 8.5 and tied for 9^th in sacks with 5. Sam Ukwuacha, who finished 14^th in the conference with 4.5 sacks, will not return this season.

However, the Broncos do have to replace the team’s leading tackler from 2012, linebacker JC Percy. Percy finished with 118 total tackles and ranked 4^th in the Mountain West. Tommy Smith is another linebacker the Broncos will miss as he was the team’s third leading tackler with 61.

In the secondary, Jeremy Ioane comes back as Boise State’s leader at the safety position. He was also the team’s second leading tackler last season with 70. The production of cornerback Jamar Taylor will be missed as he ended the season with 4 interceptions.

Offensively, Boise State runs a hybrid between a spread and pro-style offense where they use a variety of formations to confuse the defense. The Broncos quarterback Joe Southwick returns as the signal caller in 2013. Southwick ranked 38^th nationally in passing efficiency and 68^th in total offense.

However, Boise State will lose a critical piece of their offense and special teams in running back DJ Harper. Harper led the team in rushing (87.5 yds/game), all-purpose yards (114.46 yds/game), and scoring (7.69 pts/game). Fortunately, experienced running back Jay Ajayi backed-up Harper last season and accounted for 49.8 yds/game and the Broncos will be depending on Ajayi to fill Harper’s shoes.

Lastly, the Broncos will be missing a large chunk of their offensive line as they must replace left guard Joe Kellogg, right guard Michael Ames, and right tackle Brenel Myers.

Dominate on D: Boise State has ranked in the top 20 nationally in total defense since 2008. Since being in the Mountain West, they have ranked tops in the conference each year in that category. Boise State must continue to be a force on defense.

Winning tradition: Chris Petersen is 84-8 in his past 7 seasons at Boise State. Since he took over as head coach in 2006, the Broncos have only lost two games at home (TCU in 2011, SDSU in 2012).

2013 Schedule:

8/31 at Washington
9/7 UT Martin
9/13 Air Force*
9/20 at Fresno State*
9/28 Southern Miss
10/12 at Utah State*
10/19 Nevada*
10/25 at BYU
11/2 at Colorado State*
11/16 Wyoming*
11/23 at San Diego State*
11/30 New Mexico*

*-Conference Games

Critical Games:

Fresno State: The Bulldogs are aiming to be atop the conference in 2013 and playing in Fresno will make this game even tougher for the Broncos.
Utah State: The Aggies have been on the rise the past two seasons. With the return of QB Chuckie Keeton and playing in Logan, Boise State will have their hands full with this one.

Boise State Broncos

Boise, ID

Founded in 1932

Head Coach: Chris Petersen (8^th season, 84-8 in 7 seasons)

Coordinators:

Robert Prince (2^nd season, Offensive Coordinator)
Pete Kwiatkowski (3^rd season, Defensive Coordinator)
Scott Huff (7^th season, Special Teams Coordinator/TE’s/FB’s)

2012 Record: 11-2 (7-1 MWC)

Game	Result	W/L
at Michigan State	17-13	L
Miami (OH)	39-12	W
BYU	7-6	W
at New Mexico*	32-29	W
at Southern Miss	40-14	W
Fresno State*	20-10	W
UNLV*	32-7	W
at Wyoming*	45-14	W
SDSU*	21-19	L
at Hawaii*	49-14	W
Colorado State*	42-14	W
at Nevada*	27-21	W

2012 Post-season: MAACO Las Vegas Bowl (Defeated Washington, 28-26)

*-Conference Game

2012 Statistics:

Category	Actual	MWC Rank	NCAA Rank
Points For/Game	30.2	4	54
Points Allowed/Game	15.8	1	8
Yards For/Game	391.3	5	68
Rush Yards For/Game	168.2	5	55
Pass Yards For/Game	223.2	4	70
Yards Allowed/Game	315.6	1	12
Rush Yards Allowed/Game	146.2	2	46
Pass Yards Allowed/Game	169.5	2	5
Passing Efficiency	141.9	4	38
Passing Efficiency Defense	101.4	2	5
Turnover Margin	1.54	1	2
Sacks Allowed/Game	0.77	2	6
Sacks For/Game	2.92	2	11
Tackles For Loss/Game	5.69	4	63

Returning Starters: 9 (5 Offensive, 4 Defensive)

Starters Lost: 13 (6 Offensive, 7 Defensive)

Returning Offensive Starters:	Returning Defensive Starters:
Senior QB Joe Southwick	Junior DE Demarcus Lawrence*
Junior WR Matt Miller^	Senior DT Rick Tjong-A-Tjoe
Senior WR Kirby Moore	Junior S Jeremy Ioane
Senior LT Charles Leno^	Sophomore S Darian Thompson
Senior Center Matt Paradis*
	Defensive Starters Lost:
Offensive Starters Lost:	LB JC Percy*
RB DJ Harper	LB Tommy Smith
LG Joe Kellogg	CB Jamar Taylor*
RG Michael Ames	DT Mike Atkinson*
RT Brenel Myers^	N Dextrell Simmons
WR Chris Potter	DT Greg Grimes
TE Chandler Koch/FB Dan Paul	CB Jerrell Gavins^

Returning Specialists:
Senior P Trevor Harman (41.2 avg/punt)