Southern Miss/BSU Gameday...

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BRONCOS ON OFFENSE

The Broncos have not been sharp
on offense in their past two games
against good teams with good defenses.
They face the same combination
this week ? but players and
coaches say the Broncos have improved
their practice performance,
which usually pays off on game day.
The bye week might have given
true freshman wide receivers Titus
Young and Austin Pettis time to expand
their roles. Young averages
30.8 yards per catch but has just
four receptions.
Southern Miss will mix up threeand
four-man defensive lines. The
Golden Eagles get after quarterbacks
? they have five sacks ? but
opponents have had success
through the air. The Eagles allow 221
passing yards per game.
ADVANTAGE: BOISE STATE


GOLDEN EAGLES ON OFFENSE

The Eagles have built up their
passing game the past two weeks
? and they?ll need it in this game.
The Broncos have allowed just
80.7 rushing yards per game ? and
2.7 yards per carry ? this season,
continuing their trend of dominant
run defense. That shouldn?t change
despite the talent of Southern Miss
tailback Damion Fletcher.
The critical matchup will be the
Eagles? receivers against the Broncos?
defensive backs, who have broken
up 12 passes this season. Chris
Johnson has racked up 14 catches
for 188 yards and a touchdown in
the past two games.
The X-factor could be tight end
Shawn Nelson, a 6-foot-5, 240-
pound force who will have a serious
size advantage over the middle.
ADVANTAGE: EVEN


SPECIAL TEAMS

The Broncos? kickers remain a
question mark three games into the
season. Placekicker Kyle Brotzman
hasn?t been truly tested ? he has
not attempted a field goal between
30 and 49 yards yet.
At punter, Brotzman and true
freshman Brad Elkin are competing
for time. The Broncos rank sixth in
the WAC in net punting.
The return teams, however, have
shown big-play potential. The Broncos
have three returns of 50 yards
or more by three different players.
The Eagles get excellent punting
from the aptly named Britt Barefoot,
who also has nailed a 51-yard field
goal. Barefoot?s kickoffs only reach
about the 9-yard line.
Kickoff returner Tory Harrison
has busted a 51-yard return.
ADVANTAGE: EVEN


INTANGIBLES

Boise State is 53-2 at home
the past nine seasons and hasn?t
lost to a non-Bowl Championship
Series-conference team since 1998.
The two losses were to Washington
State (2001) and Boston College
(2005).
Southern Miss has played at
Florida, Tennessee and Virginia
Tech in the past 17 games ? and yet
the Golden Eagles seem excited
about the trip to the blue turf.
?It?s legendary,? linebacker Gerald
McRath said. ?It?s a trademark.
I?ve been telling my parents and
family to come up and see it.?
Southern Miss is 0-1 at Bronco
Stadium. The Golden Eagles lost to
Idaho 42-35 in the Humanitarian
Bowl on Dec. 30, 1998. The Eagles
are 0-2 against U of I all-time.
ADVANTAGE: BOISE STATE








Broncos impressed with Eagles' speed


Mention Southern Miss to a group of Boise State football players and coaches and they all point out one trait in the first 30 seconds.

Speed.

"To put that tape on and see all that speed is definitely scary," coach Chris Petersen said.

"They play with a lot of speed," quarterback Taylor Tharp said.

"They're fast," tight end Ryan Putnam said.

The Golden Eagles will sprint into Bronco Stadium on Thursday (5:46 p.m., ESPN) for a nationally televised, sold-out game between two of the nation's most consistent non-Bowl Championship Series-conference programs.

The Broncos say the Eagles are comparable to ? if not faster than ? the Washington Huskies, who jumped out to an insurmountable 24-10 halftime lead before the Broncos adjusted.

And adjusting to speed traditionally has been a problem for the Broncos, who have fallen into early deficits against teams like Oregon State, TCU, Arkansas and Georgia in recent years.

Washington rushed for 55 yards on the opening drive and 78 yards the rest of the game.

The Broncos must enter Thursday's game with a different mentality, senior safety Marty Tadman said.

"You have that in mind that you're going to feel a little slower in the beginning, so take a different angle than you would think you would need to,? Tadman said. ?? It?s like Washington ? as soon as we start playing our assignments and start making tackles, I think we?ll be fine.?

???

Most WAC football coaches have described the same dream schedule this year.

It?s the one Boise State already has.

One part BCS-conference team (Washington).

One part Division I-AA or other patsy (Weber State).

And two parts quality non-BCS teams (Wyoming and Southern Miss).

Coaches have become wary of schedules loaded with BCS teams ? the kind of schedules that cost Louisiana Tech coach Jack Bicknell his job and have Fresno State coach Pat Hill under fire.

Louisiana Tech and Idaho pledged to change their scheduling habits while hiring Derek Dooley and Robb Akey.

Petersen says he doesn?t know what the right balance is. For him, scheduling is all about home games. ?We want to bring teams ?in? ? that?s really the key word right there,? Petersen said. ?We want to bring teams in that our fans are excited to see us play. ? I think (athletic director Gene Bleymaier) has been very smart about that.?

The Broncos? future schedules include home-and-home deals with Oregon, Utah, Miami (Ohio), Bowling Green, Toledo, Oregon State and Wyoming.

The Broncos travel to Southern Miss next year to complete a two-year deal with the Golden Eagles.

???

The Broncos used four practices last week to focus on improving themselves. Petersen liked the effort, but considered the three game-week practices ? Sunday, Monday and Tuesday ? the true test of whether the offense met his demand to practice more efficiently.

?They were efficient,? offensive line coach Scott Huff said Tuesday night. ?They got better. That?s always the goal.?

Putnam, an offensive captain, said he liked the way the offense looked from the start of Sunday?s workout.

?We practiced awesome on Sunday,? he said. ?? I think the offense answered and had a real good practice. But it?s not just one practice. We?ve got to sustain that and do that every day.?

???

Defensive backs coach Marcel Yates said before the season that he wanted the Broncos to lead the nation in turnovers gained.

So far, they have generated just five takeaways ? three fumbles and two interceptions. They are tied for 88th in the nation.

Cincinnati leads the nation with 19 turnovers gained.

?We?ve been kind of passive as far as that aspect,? Yates said. ?We need to get our offense the ball. We need to help those guys out by getting picks for touchdowns or getting the ball as much as possible.?

???

Boise State has planned a ?Blue and Orange Out? for this week?s game. Fans in odd-numbered sections, the south end zone and the student section are asked to wear orange. Fans in even-numbered sections and the north end zone are asked to wear blue.

The fans executed the plan to near perfection last year against Fresno State.

Petersen looked at the information given to fans last year and figured the idea had ?no chance.?

?The fans were dialed in and they were great,? he said.

 

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USM facing big Boise St. line


Ryan Clady is not your normal human being.

Men standing 6-foot-6 are rarely called nimble. Especially when they are carrying 315 pounds.

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But there stands the Boise State left tackle.

There stands the preseason All-American.

There stands the Outland Trophy candidate.

"He's just a really impressive physical talent," Boise State coach Chris Petersen said. "For a guy as big as he is, he just moves very well. He understands football real well. He's a smart football player. The combination of those three things makes him a very good player for us.

"He'll be playing on Sunday sooner or later. We're not sure when."

Clady is anchoring the Bronco line, averaging 305 pounds, for the second consecutive year.

A line clearing the way for 198 rushing yards a game.

A line providing for 30 points a game.

Clady will be Southern Miss' problem come 6:30 p.m Thursday inside Bronco Stadium.

Specifically, the primary assignment for bandit Robert Henderson - who typically lines up over left tackle.

"From what I've been looking at, he's beatable," Henderson said. "I think you can beat him with speed. He's a big guy, so if you go in there and let him get his hands on you, you're really not going to get too much off him. If you beat him with speed and be more finesse than him, he's beatable.

"That's on both sides. Both of their tackles look beatable to me. They're good, but everybody can be beat."

That other tackle is the 6-5, 296-pound Dan Gore.

Both Henderson and USM defensive coordinator Jay Hopson compared the Bronco line to Tennessee's. The Golden Eagles lost to the Volunteers 39-19 on Sept. 8.

"Big, moves his feet well, athletic," Hopson said about Clady. "They're good up front. They're pretty physical."

Henderson explained how much trust the coaching staff puts has in the offensive line. Quarterback Taylor Tharp routinely sets up in the shotgun, putting the onus on the tackles.

"If your quarterback's going (from) eight (yards back), that means they expect their tackles and guards not to allow penetration," Henderson said. "Good enough to protect the quarterback at eight yards."

Petersen added, "We've kind of been spoiled there. The last six years, we've had a really good left tackle. It started with Daryn Colledge, who's playing for the Green Bay Packers right now. To not have to really think twice about what to do about shoring up protection on the backside."

Boise State enters as 10-point favorites with plenty of national recognition after winning the Fiesta Bowl and finishing ranked No. 5 in 2007.

Running back Ian Johnson was eighth in Heisman Trophy voting.

And Clady is the most notorious of the men that gives Johnson room.

"Going against a big guy like that gives you more motivation to expose them," Henderson said. "To let them know that they can be beat even though they're an All-American.

"Since they think we're such a smaller team, like our slogan says, 'Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime.'"

 

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Golden Eagles seeking balance

Boise State defense likes to stack the line against the run

Boise State is best known for its high-scoring offense led by running back Ian Johnson. But the key to a Southern Miss upset deals directly with the Bronco defense.

The Golden Eagles (2-1) are a 10?-point underdog in their final non-conference road game of the season.

The Broncos (2-1) are 27-1 at home since 2003 as the two teams meet for the first time. A return trip to Hattiesburg is scheduled for next season.

The game plan for Southern Miss is simple: run efficiently and pass consistently.

"They try to outnumber you, but like every week, we have to be able to run the football and try to keep it balanced," Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower said. "When we get one-on-one matchups, we have to make plays.

"It really depends on what personnel group you have, but they like to have seven or eight up there (on the line) and play a good bit of man coverage."

The game features the running offense of the Golden Eagles, led by sophomore Damion Fletcher, against the in-your-face run defense of the Broncos led by senior safety Marty Tadman, a preseason Sports Illustrated first team All-American.

Jeron Johnson and Orlando Scandrick lead the Boise State defense with 6.33 tackles per game.

Fletcher averages 101.33 yards per game and 128.33 all-purpose yards while senior quarterback Jeremy Young is completing 53.3 percent of his passes for 202 yards per game.

Chris Johnson leads the Golden Eagle receivers with 16 catches for 224 yards and two touchdowns.

Johnson, running behind 6-foot-6, 315-pound offensive tackle Ryan Clady, is the workhorse for an offense that averages 30 points with 97.33 yards per game.

Broncos quarterback Taylor Tharp, in his first year as a starter, leads the offense with 215 yards of total offense per contest.

"They mix it up," Bower said. "They'll use their tight ends a lot. They're 60 percent run, and they're physical. They've got a good back, and the quarterback is throwing the ball well."

Sophomore middle linebacker Gerald McRath leads the defense with 13 tackles an outing, second best in the nation.

"They are pretty good stats-wise against the run and it should be an interesting game as far as the running game," Bower said. "Both teams are pretty similar as far as what we want to do. They want to run the football and so do we."

The trip will be the Golden Eagles' first to Boise since the 1998 Humanitarian Bowl.