Boise State at UNLV

 

#15 Boise State University (-25) at University of Nevada-Las Vegas

Date: Saturday, October 5, 2019

Time: 8:30MT

Stadium: Sam Boyd Stadium (36,800)

TV: CBSSN

Know Thy Enemy

The Broncos travel to Paradise this week… Paradise, Nevada that is. UNLV will play host this week as Hey Reb and the Scarlet and Gray take on Buster Bronco and the Blue and Orange in a Mountain West inter-division battle.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas football program has never been a power house team in college football. In fact, UNLV has had eleven head coaches in the fifty years of the program and only three of those coaches have a winning record. In fact, no coach has had a winning record since Tony Knap from ’76-’81.

UNLV hired current head coach Tony Sanchez in 2014 in hopes that he would be the one to turn the program around. However, after four-straight losing seasons, the former high school coach, has yet to deliver and is on the hot seat. UNLV Athletic Director Desiree Reed-Francois was very clear this off-season with her expectations for the 2019-2020 season: Bowl game or bust. After Saturday’s 53-17 loss to Wyoming, the Rebels are now 1-3 on the season and the chances of winning five more games has decreased significantly. According to ESPN, UNLV has only a 37% chance of winning another game this season. With that said, lets look ahead to see what we can expect to see from the Rebels this Saturday night. 

On offense, the Rebels will run a spread-option attack that will mainly lean on the RPO (Run/Pass Option) , where the quarterback reads the defense to determine if he needs to hand the ball to the running back or fake the handoff and throw the football. However, UNLV might be without their leading rusher, Charles Williams, who went down with an ankle injury against Wyoming. UNLV also might be making a change at quarterback this week. Incumbent starter Amari Rogers was benched late in the first half last week due to ineffectiveness for red-shirt freshman Kenyon Oblad.

On defense, there is some optimism with the front seven. Many have said that this is the deepest and most talented front that Coach Sanchez has had. This group will more than likely have to make up for the poor performing secondary. Defensive coordinator Tim Skipper’s focus is on rushing the quarterback and to cause turnovers. Skipper and the Rebel defense will rely heavily on the play from their linebacker corps.

Boise State and UNLV have met 10 times in school history. Boise State leads the all-time series 7-3. Boise State was 3-3 against UNLV from 1972-1977. Since 2011, Boise State is 4-0 against the Rebels with the average score being 44-20.

What Happened Last Year

With the rotating schedule with the West Division, Boise State and UNLV have not met since the 2016 season.  On “Senior Night” in a mid-November in front of 33,000 fans, it was Junior running back Jeremy McNicols who powered the Broncos past the Rebels. McNichols led the Broncos with 206 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.  Boise State took a 21-10 lead into halftime on three rushing touchdowns, one from quarterback Brett Rypien, and two from McNichols. The Broncos would open the second half with a rushing touchdown from freshman running back Alexander Mattison as well as McNichols third score on the night to take a 35-10 lead. Midway through the fourth quarter, McNichols would tack on his fourth score with a 31-yard run with 8:40 left in the game to take a 42-17 lead. Linebacker Darren Lee and defensive linemen Sam McCaskill would lead the way for the Broncos on defense, combing for 18 tackles. The Broncos would win the game 42-25.

Players to Watch

UNLV

Rs.FR., Kenyon Oblad, QB #7

With the Availability of quarterback Armani Rodgers in question for Saturday, the Rebels will turn to freshman Kenyon Oblad. Oblad has a distinctly different skill-set than Rodgers. Oblad is more of your typical pocket-passer and will try to defeat you with his arm rather than his legs. Oblad had an up and down day on Saturday, going 16 of 31 for 176 yard with zero touchdowns and two interceptions. Coach Sanchez has high hopes for the young quarterback, saying, “he’ll grow…and he’ll have a good career when it’s all said and done.”

JR., Charles Williams, RB #8

Williams is one the top rushers in the country though four games. Williams, who missed a good portion of Saturday’s game, has rushed for 478 yards on 55 attempts with six touchdowns. Williams is really what makes the Rebels offense go and if he is on his game then the Rebels usually have good success.

Rs.SR., Gabe Mcoy, LB, #25

A senior leader, McCoy is looking to have a breakout senior season. McCoy has bounced back and forth between defensive line and linebacker over the years. McCoy has started 21 games over the past two seasons for the Rebels. McCoy had two tackles last week against Wyoming, which brings his total to 10 on the season.

Boise State

Rs.JR., Robert Mahone, RB #34

Robert Mahone started off the season with a career day against Florida State when he rushed 24 times for 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Since that game he yet to break the century mark, rushing for 14, 59, and 73 yards in the next three games. Mahone did help the Broncos secure the win two weeks ago against Air Force when he rushed for 52 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Last week, UNLV gave up 374 yards on the ground. Look for Mahone to get back on track and have a huge day on Saturday.

 JR., Curtis Weaver, STUD #99

By now we all should know that Curtis Weaver is probably going to be the best player on the field each and every week. He is arguably Boise State’s best defender and has a real shot at going high in April’s NFL draft should he decided not to come back for his Senior season. Weaver is a nightmare for opposing offensive linemen because of his speed and agility. Weaver is third all-time in sacks with 26.5 and already has six sacks through four games this season. This week Weaver should have a monster day against an offensive line that has given up 13 sacks this season.

Rs.JR., Deandre Pierce, S #4

Bronco Safety DeAndre Pierce is likely to be back in the starting lineup this week against UNLV. After going down with an injury in the first game of the season, Pierce is back to practice this week. Pierce was primed for a comeback year this season after suffering a season-ending injury last year. As a sophomore, Pierce was named All-Mountain West honorable mention. In 2017 he was fourth on the team with 83 tackles. Last season he was leading the team in tackles with 23 before the injury.

***Bonus Player***

JR., Riley Whimpey, WLB #44

With Zeke Noa tearing his ACL and breaking his wrist against Air Force, the thin and inexperienced linebacker unit will lean on Whimpey to lead the charge going forward this season. Whimpey, a 6’-1” Junior for San Clemente, CA, is third on the team in tackles with 23. Whimpey had 10 tackles two weeks ago against Air Force and has five or more tackles in three of the first four games.

Focus Position Group: Linebackers

As mentioned before, the Boise State Linebacker unit has fallen on some rough times as of late. Coming into the season, coach Harsin felt as though the depth at this position wasn’t where he wanted it to be, but he had confidence in his starters to get the job done. Before his injury, Zeke Noa was getting the job done and was a real solid piece to the Bronco defense. Now that he is gone there will be some holes to fill. It will up to new faces with less experience to step up and fill that void. Players like Juniors Bruno DeRose (48), Benton Wickersham (25), and Freshman Brandon Hawkins (3) will be getting a lot more playing time. Coach Harsin made a comment this week that he hopes they have more of an “It’s my time to shine” approach and not an “Oh no, I have to play” mentality.

Rev's Route to a Bronco Win

Ground and Pound

UNVL gave up over 300 yards on the ground last week against Wyoming. Boise State started to show signs that their rushing attack was getting back on track in the fourth quarter against Air Force. This week the Broncos need to focus on rushing the ball with purpose and passion. Look for Boise State to feed their running backs early and often this week.

Light ‘em Up

Boise State has done a good job this season at getting to the opposing quarterbacks. As mentioned before, Curtis Weaver is on pace for 18 sacks this season. This week it will be important for the Broncos to get after the UNLV quarterback, whoever that will be, and force some early turnovers. Boise State has only intercepted two passes this season and that may be due to the removal of the Turnover Throne. Perhaps Coach Shmedding should bring that back…

  1-0

Let’s face it, UNLV is straight hot, stinky garbage, and most fans have already put this game in the win column for the Broncos. Boise State takes on a team that hasn’t won more than 5 games in a season for the past five years and Wyoming just hung a 50-burger on the Rebels last week. It will be important that Boise State stays focused on just going 1-0 and not playing down to the level of their competition. Next week’s game against Hawai’i is going to be a big game, but the Broncos have to focus on the game that is right in front of them. 

Editorial Note:

This week is a week for opposites. A week between the haves and the have not’s. Boise State has a rich tradition of winning, UNLV does not. Boise State has gone to 20 straight bowl games. UNLV has only been to two in that span. Boise State should not have any problem taking care of business this week and getting to 5-0. I think that the Broncos should dominate both sides of the ball and should rush for over 200 yards, and Bachmeier, will throw for 300 yards and four touchdowns.

Broncos win big and the second teamers play the whole fourth quarter.

Broncos 52, UNLV 14