Boise State (2-1,1-0) (-16) at University of Texas El Paso (1-3)

 

Boise State University (-16) at  University of Texas El Paso

Date: Friday September 23, 2022

Time: 7:00pm MT

Stadium: Sun Bowl (45,971)

TV: CBS SportsNetwork

TV Commentators: Rich Waltz, Aaron Taylor, and Sherree Burress

Radio: KBOI 670 AM

Commentators: Bob Behler and Pete Cavender

 Know Thy Enemy

El Paso, sitting on the banks of the Rio Grande will play host as Boise State travels to West Texas for the first time since 2004 to face the Miners of UTEP, but it will be the Broncos hoping to strike it rich with their third straight win. 

The Miners have had a disappointing start to the 2022 season after finishing last season at 7-5 which included a 6-1 start before losing 4 of their last five. Those losing ways have carried over into this season as the Miners have lost three of their first four games. The Miners have been dealing with major turnover issues so far in 2022, committing 11 turnovers through four games. Last week alone, the Miners committed seven turnovers against New Mexico. It seems their biggest problem is ball security. They have fumbled the football 10 times so far this season, but have had a bit of  luck, if you can call it that, because they have only “lost” 6 of those fumbles. 

On Offense the Miners are retooling from last season. They did return their starting quarterback, but have to find new production from their receivers and running back. So far this season, receiver Tyrin Smith has emerged as their top offensive threat. UTEP will try to establish the run, but will abandon it quickly in favor of the pass if things are not going well. The Miners 172 pass attempts so far this season ranks them #1 in all of the FBS. Quarterback Gavin Hardison has had three games of over 40 pass attempts, including one game where he threw the ball 48 times. 

Defensively, the Miners are a little bit better than the offense, but not much. The Miners run defense is a mess, giving up almost two hundred yards per game on the ground. Opposing running backs are averaging close to 5 yards per carry. The Miners pass defense is a little better than their run defense, giving up just a little bit under 175 yards per game through the air. 

UTEP is coached by Dana Dimel. Dimel is entering his fifth season as head coach for the Miners. During his four plus seasons, Dimel is 13-36. Dimel has Mountain West ties as he was the head coach of the Wyoming Cowboys from 1997-99. Last season Dimel led the team to its first bowl appearance in the last eight seasons. 

Boise State and UTEP have played quite a few times over the years, but the Miners haven’t put up much of a fight, with  Boise State holding a 6-0 record in the series. The average score in the six games has been 48-18. 

What Happened Last Time

Hank Bachmeier threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns, and Stefan Cobbs added a special teams touchdown and a 61-yard scoring reception as Boise State defeated UTEP 54-13 almost a year ago to the day. Boise State gave coach Andy Avalos his first win as the Broncos head coach and the win was the program's 20th-straight home opening victory.

UTEP appeared primed to put up a fight early despite being 25-point underdogs, but six turnovers along with a defense prone to yield big plays ultimately doomed the Miners.

With the score tied 3-3 in the first quarter, Cobbs wove through traffic after fielding a punt before breaking out of the swarming UTEP coverage team and racing 81 yards for a touchdown.

Bachmeier took over from there, hitting seven different receivers in leading the Broncos on six consecutive scoring drives. Andrew Van Buren also rushed for a pair of touchdowns for the Broncos. 

Players to Watch 

UTEP

RS.SO., TYRIN SMITH, WR#1

Tyrin Smith made an immediate impact on the Miners offense last season in his first year with the team. Smith has relished the opportunity to become the top target for UTEP this season and his production has matched. Through four games Smith has 27 catches, 437 yards and two touchdowns. Last week alone, Smith had eight catches for close to 200 yards receiving. Boise State has been susceptible to the homerun ball this season so keeping a lid on Smith will be important.  

SR., TYRICE KNIGHT, LB #10 

So far this season the senior from Lakeland, FL has had a nose for the football. Knight leads the team in tackles with 37. Knight has had 9 or more tackles in three of the first four games. Last week against New Mexico, Knight acculated 14 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. With Boise State wanting to establish the running game Knight might be in for a busy night come Friday. 

SO., JOSHUA SLOAN, P #13

Not often is the punter someone to write home about, but Joshua Sloan has been a bright spot during what has been a dark season for the Miners. The sophomore from Melbourne, Australia has had a terrific year punting for UTEP. In his 15 attempts this season he is averaging just over 46 yards per attempt with a season long of 64 yards. He has also had five punts that resulted in a fair catch, 3 punts that have been over 50-yards and three punts that have been downed inside the 20-yard line. That might not be exciting for most, but if the Miners are going to have any chance come Friday night they will need to flip the field position battle and not allow Boise State to have any good returns. 

BOISE STATE 

RS.SO., COLE WRIGHT, WR #83

Coaches and media members are very high on sophomore Cole Wright. Wright hasn’t been a focal point of the offense yet, but has thrived in his limited role so far. Wright has had a catch in the last two games. Wright also sees time on special teams as a returner. It would not be a surprise if Wright starts to get more and more opportunities to shine as the season goes along. 

Rs.SR., SCOTT MATLOCK., DT #99

Scott Matlock is the poster boy for what it means to be a Bronco. The Senior from Homedale, ID is as tough as they come and has really become an anchor on that defensive line. This week Boise State goes against an offensive line that has had their issue so far this season so Matlock should have plenty of opportunity to impose his will on the Miners 

Rs.SR., JL SKINNER, SS #0

Watching JL Skinner roam the Boise State secondary is worth the price of admission. The Senior was named to just about every major defensive award watch list to start the 2022 season. What makes him a player to watch this week is the fact the Miners have a hard time taking care of the football. UTEPs quarterback is not very accurate, only completing about 48% of his passes, with Skinner making it a priority to go after the ball whenever the opportunity presents itself, he could be in for a couple INTs Friday night.  

Focus Position Group: Defensive Secondary 

The Boise State secondary has had its ups and downs so far this season. Defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson likes to say that they live on the ‘razor's edge.’ This is true, because the defense could be playing great, but if they give up a few big plays, it's all that fans can talk about. Well the secondary has given up its fair share of big plays in the passing game including last week against UT Martin. This week they go against another pass heavy offense. With the recent injuries to the position group more young guys and inexperienced players will get their opportunity. Let’s hope they shine when the lights are the brightest. 

Rev's Route to a Bronco Win

Look Out Block

UTEP’s offensive line has had its fair share of problems keeping their quarterback upright. A few weeks ago, they gave up 10 quarterback hits and 6 sacks. Boise State's defensive line has shown spurts of being able to get after the quarterback. DC Spencer Danielson says the goal each week is 10 QB hits and 3 Sacks. Let’s hope the likes of Matlock, Tarlas, Bagnah and company can force a lot of, “LOOK OUT!” blocks Friday NIght. 

Bone Shaker

Boise State’s defense has been nicknamed the ‘Boneyard Boys’ and every time they create a turnover they add a replica skull to a pole. Last year against UTEP the defense forced six turnovers. Last week New Mexico forced UTEP to turn the ball over seven times. Now I don’t think the Miners will turn the ball over seven more times this week, but seeing the Broncos get two or three turnovers would go a long way in sealing this victory. 

By George! 

George Holani finally seemed to get back in the grove of things after his 100 plus yard rushing day. His 157 all purpose yards lead the team. Boise State has come out and said in a roundabout way that they are going to become a ground and pound, clock eating, smash mouth offense. Well there is no better week than this week to get that type of offense going. The Miners are giving up almost 200 yards per game on the ground. Holani and Jeanty should have plenty of room to run all over the UTEP defense. 

Editor Note: 

Bronco Nation Boo’s

 I, like many others, hit my bronco fandom low point on Black Friday 2010. But it was shortly after that, after seeing the nastiness of an overhyped overcharged fan base, I realized that I had taken my fandom too far. The Broncos we love and cheer for are 18 to 22 year old young men. Most of us who cheer for these young adults are much older. So when it comes to booing a college kid, I have no room for that. As a Boise State fan, I always have next season. I don't have any eligibility restrictions. These young men have 4 to 5 years of playing top-level collegiate football and then for many of them their playing days are over. These young men work their tails off day after day after day and I guarantee you they don’t go into any game expecting to lose, wanting to lose, or being OK with losing. They want to play their best, they want to achieve success and they can’t fully do that if their supporters don’t support them. Bronco Nation needs to be better. These are not professional athletes, these are college kids trying to make their university proud.

Good Little Soldier 

Earlier this week in article came out from the Idaho Press that quoted former Boise State head coach, Dan Hawkins when talking about Tim Plough, saying, “[Plough is] just trying to be a good soldier and figuring out what Andy wants and how Andy wants to do it...Tim Plough, he’s as good as it gets and he’s trying to do it the best he can for what they have.” Tim Plough's offense  has been anything but spectacula since he came to Boise State. At first I had suspicions that maybe he was over promising and under delivering and maybe he just didn’t have the coaching ability to do what he said he was going to do. But maybe, just maybe he’s getting every ounce of talent out of the players that he has.

Defense Wins Championships

 It’s clear that Boise State so far this season wants to control the clock and win games by running the football and playing elite defense. There’s no debate that Boise State's best players play on the defensive side of the football, so why wouldn’t we as a fan base be okay with having a Smash- Mouth blue collar, workmanlike approach to winning football games? Last time I checked, total yards doesn’t win football games, scoring more points than your opponent wins football games. So if our offense can put up 20-30 points a game there is no way any team in this conference can score more than 30 points on this defense. This is a new look Broncos, a slower paced Broncos but I like winning and so this is OK with me.

Prediction…

Boise State only comes into this game as a 16 Point Favorites. Last week New Mexico was only able to score 27 points despite forcing seven turnovers. I think the Broncos are more than capable of scoring more points than 27 without forcing any turnovers. If Boise State can get the run game clicking and build upon that with the play action pass game and hit on some of those home run balls Boise State is going to win and win big.

Boise state 34, UTEP 3