Win a high profile opener against a strong non-conference opponent and then run the table against inferior opponents for the rest of the season.
Last season the Broncos won a thriller over Virginia Tech in Landover, MD in a virtual road game on Labor Day Night. Their plan moved along smoothly until Thanksgiving weekend when they were stunned on the road by Nevada on a Friday night.
Last night Chris Peterson, Kellen Moore, and company took care of business in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta against the Georgia Bulldogs 35-21. Step 1 is now complete for Boise, but it's the rest of the plan that will have Broncos fans on the edge of their seats because it depends on more than just Boise.
The Broncos will now need to take care of their own business but also root for the other teams on their schedule to have successful seasons. Virginia Tech obliged last season, stumbling the week after their loss to Boise but rallying to finish 10-2.
This year's schedule might not be as helpful.
Boise State's move to the Mountain West was supposed to help, at least for this year, since TCU is not departing for the Big East until next season. That may not be the case though after TCU's upset loss to Baylor on Friday night. TCU's defense, which was supposed to be a strength, got lit up by Baylor and if they do not fix things it could be a long season, much to Boise's chagrin.
The other problem for Boise is that Georgia does not look to be anywhere near as strong as Virginia Tech was last season. For starters they have to go through the SEC, which is light years above the ACC slate the Hokies encountered. Georgia also has a lot more questions to answer. Aaron Murray's numbers were lackluster prior to a couple of late touchdown drives, and the rushing game struggled outside of Brandon Boykin's 80 yard run. Since Boykin is a starter on the defense they probably shouldn't be counting on him to deliver on a regular basis.
In Boise's favor is the fact that they will be favored for the rest of their games this season. There will obviously be mounting pressure with each passing game but they encountered the same thing last season, so it is not unfamiliar territory.
The Broncos should also be pleased with the performance of Kellen Moore's supporting cast last night. Doug Martin and D.J. Harper paced the running game, which was effective and provided balance. Freshman receiver Matt Miller led the team in receiving yards and caught a touchdown pass. The defense was stingy against the run outside of Boykin's long touchdown and held Aaron Murray under 200 yards passing until he padded his stats in what was essentially garbage time.
All the dominos are in place for Boise State. They took care of business in an hostile environment and shook the notion that they can't beat an SEC team. Their offense looks to be picking up where it left off even despite several key departures and the defense continues to be a strength.
Their season began in Atlanta in SEC territory and the hope in Boise is that it will end in SEC territory, in New Orleans for the BCS Championship game.
If they take care of their business, and get some help, they could be crashing the BCS party on Bourbon Street come January.
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Even if they go undefeated they still need some help. With their weak schedule, I don’t see them getting in ahead of a 1 loss SEC, Pac 12, or Big 10 champion.
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