The Boise State Broncos find themselves in unfamiliar territory as they head into Bulldog Stadium for tonight?s 7 p.m. ESPN matchup with No. 25 Fresno State.
Usually accustomed to being the heavy favorite, the Broncos enter the key Mountain West Conference showdown as the underdogs for only the 10th time since coach Chris Petersen took over in 2006.
Fresno State is a three-point and half favorite,
?I kind of like that,? Boise State senior wide receiver Geraldo Boldewijn said. ?I think we play pretty good on the road, and just being the underdog helps you play with the chip on your shoulder and having something to prove.
?Personally, I like it a lot, and that?s the position we like to be in, being the underdog and playing with that chip on our shoulder.?
A game involving Boise State and a ranked team is nothing new. But having the ranked team be Boise State?s opponent and not the Broncos is pretty much unheard of.
The Bulldogs entered the USA Today Coaches Poll at No. 25 this week and received enough votes to rank No. 27 in the AP poll.
Had Fresno State cracked the AP top 25, it would have been the second time since Petersen took over ? the first was a 37-32 win over No. 17 Oregon in 2008 ? that the Broncos played a team ranked in the AP poll while not ranked themselves.
Boise State was also a Vegas underdog in a season-opening 38-6 loss at Washington, but the Broncos were the team ranked heading into that game. But that won?t be the case tonight, where the Broncos will be in an unusual spot.
?I really try not to pay attention to that too much,? Boise State safety Darian Thompson said. ?I just know what I have to do when I get on the field and what our team has to do to be successful. We just practice as if we?re ranked and they aren?t and it doesn?t matter if they are and we aren?t or if nobody is ranked, we just go out there and practice and get ready for the game.
?I know it will be a good game, a big-time game and it will be a way for us to get our program out there and let them know that we didn?t go anywhere, we?re still the Boise State Broncos.?
The Broncos are 5-4 in their previous nine games as the underdogs. They?ve been competitive in nearly all of them, covering the spread in seven of the nine. The loss at Washington to open the year was one of the two exceptions.
?We go into every game thinking we?re the underdogs,? safety Donte Deayon said. ?We always have to play with a chip on our shoulder, that?s just how it has to be. We have to go in there not expecting to win or not expecting anything to be given to us. We have to go out there and earn it.?
Fresno State was the media?s preseason choice to win the West Division and play in the first Mountain West championship game. They are 2-0 after a 52-51 win in overtime over Rutgers in the season opener and a 41-25 win in week two over Cal Poly.
Boise State, the preseason pick to win the Mountain Division and face them again on Dec. 7, is coming off a pair of impressive wins over UT Martin and Air Force following the loss at Washington to start the year.
?We don?t really care about the rankings or the roles,? running back Jay Ajayi said. ?But we understand that on Friday two teams are going to be playing and we have to take care of business. ? We understand each game we come out every team is going to give us their best shot.?
The team ranked higher in the BCS standings will host the inaugural Mountain West championship game and the winner of tonight?s game has the obvious leg up on that.
And despite having the rare chance this week to use the underdog card to motivate his players for what is arguably the biggest game remaining on their schedule, Petersen decided against it.
?We have a bunch of young guys, so we?re just trying to coach them and focus on ourselves,? Petersen said. ?It?s not going to help these guys to say, ?Fresno doesn?t really like you? and this and that. They are just trying to figure out what we?re doing and how to play hard and how to play effectively and efficient.
?We know Fresno has a heck of a team, no question about it.?
Usually accustomed to being the heavy favorite, the Broncos enter the key Mountain West Conference showdown as the underdogs for only the 10th time since coach Chris Petersen took over in 2006.
Fresno State is a three-point and half favorite,
?I kind of like that,? Boise State senior wide receiver Geraldo Boldewijn said. ?I think we play pretty good on the road, and just being the underdog helps you play with the chip on your shoulder and having something to prove.
?Personally, I like it a lot, and that?s the position we like to be in, being the underdog and playing with that chip on our shoulder.?
A game involving Boise State and a ranked team is nothing new. But having the ranked team be Boise State?s opponent and not the Broncos is pretty much unheard of.
The Bulldogs entered the USA Today Coaches Poll at No. 25 this week and received enough votes to rank No. 27 in the AP poll.
Had Fresno State cracked the AP top 25, it would have been the second time since Petersen took over ? the first was a 37-32 win over No. 17 Oregon in 2008 ? that the Broncos played a team ranked in the AP poll while not ranked themselves.
Boise State was also a Vegas underdog in a season-opening 38-6 loss at Washington, but the Broncos were the team ranked heading into that game. But that won?t be the case tonight, where the Broncos will be in an unusual spot.
?I really try not to pay attention to that too much,? Boise State safety Darian Thompson said. ?I just know what I have to do when I get on the field and what our team has to do to be successful. We just practice as if we?re ranked and they aren?t and it doesn?t matter if they are and we aren?t or if nobody is ranked, we just go out there and practice and get ready for the game.
?I know it will be a good game, a big-time game and it will be a way for us to get our program out there and let them know that we didn?t go anywhere, we?re still the Boise State Broncos.?
The Broncos are 5-4 in their previous nine games as the underdogs. They?ve been competitive in nearly all of them, covering the spread in seven of the nine. The loss at Washington to open the year was one of the two exceptions.
?We go into every game thinking we?re the underdogs,? safety Donte Deayon said. ?We always have to play with a chip on our shoulder, that?s just how it has to be. We have to go in there not expecting to win or not expecting anything to be given to us. We have to go out there and earn it.?
Fresno State was the media?s preseason choice to win the West Division and play in the first Mountain West championship game. They are 2-0 after a 52-51 win in overtime over Rutgers in the season opener and a 41-25 win in week two over Cal Poly.
Boise State, the preseason pick to win the Mountain Division and face them again on Dec. 7, is coming off a pair of impressive wins over UT Martin and Air Force following the loss at Washington to start the year.
?We don?t really care about the rankings or the roles,? running back Jay Ajayi said. ?But we understand that on Friday two teams are going to be playing and we have to take care of business. ? We understand each game we come out every team is going to give us their best shot.?
The team ranked higher in the BCS standings will host the inaugural Mountain West championship game and the winner of tonight?s game has the obvious leg up on that.
And despite having the rare chance this week to use the underdog card to motivate his players for what is arguably the biggest game remaining on their schedule, Petersen decided against it.
?We have a bunch of young guys, so we?re just trying to coach them and focus on ourselves,? Petersen said. ?It?s not going to help these guys to say, ?Fresno doesn?t really like you? and this and that. They are just trying to figure out what we?re doing and how to play hard and how to play effectively and efficient.
?We know Fresno has a heck of a team, no question about it.?
