College Game Day is coming to Boise
LARAMIE, Wyo. - The ESPN College GameDay crew jokingly helped Boise State football coach Chris Petersen select blue carpet for his home during a promo for the popular pregame show.
Now the GameDay folks can help Petersen with a much more serious issue.
College GameDay will originate from Boise State for the first time Saturday morning. Later that night, No. 3 Boise State (2-0) will face No. 25 Oregon State (1-1) in a game that will air at 6 p.m. on ABC in a full national broadcast.
The exposure - and the Broncos' performance on that stage - could have a major impact on the Broncos' pursuit of a spot in the BCS National Championship Game.
The Broncos walloped Wyoming 51-6 on Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium. ESPN immediately informed the Broncos of its plans for next weekend.
"About time, is all we got to say," Petersen said. "We've been waiting for them."
Boise State's championship worthiness likely will be a hot topic during the 3-hour pregame show, which is one of college football's signature TV events.
The broadcast on ABC should be valuable, too. The Broncos haven't appeared on ABC since moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 1996.
"We've got Oregon State, GameDay - it's a big one," senior nickel Winston Venable said. "Hopefully we'll just get it done."
The Broncos certainly did that in Laramie, where they never gave the Cowboys any hope of pulling an upset.
The Broncos took a 17-0 lead in the first quarter for the second straight game and led 31-0 early in the second quarter. At that point, they had outgained the Cowboys 280 yards to minus-2.
"That's one of the things we always talk about is starting fast," Petersen said. "The kids did a great job of preparing - we took this team very serious. We came out with great energy, great emotion."
The Broncos' effort countered the emotional edge the Cowboys should have had. They had a near-sellout crowd and were playing at home for the first time since the death of freshman linebacker Ruben Narcisse.
The Broncos had struggled in two previous trips to Laramie, in 2002 and 2006.
"One thing that's good about our guys - they always hear what we have to say," Petersen said. "That doesn't always mean that we get it done, but they know this is a tough place to play, they know that if we keep them in it and the crowd gets into it it's a whole different ballgame. So they came ready to play."
The Broncos dominated the game in the trenches.
Their offensive line cranked out 275 rushing yards, including 105 and a touchdown by junior tailback Doug Martin, and didn't allow a sack. Boise State racked up 648 yards - the fifth-most in school history.
Martin, who broke countless tackles, also had 40 receiving yards. He averaged 7.6 yards per touch.
"That's what he does - he's a physical runner," Petersen said. "I thought our O-line did a nice job in the run game of being really physical. I thought that was a physical game by us."
The defensive line also controlled the action. The Cowboys rushed for minus-21 yards and finished with 135 total yards - the lowest total by a Boise State opponent in nearly three years. The Broncos recorded four sacks.
"I would think we have one of the best defensive lines in the country," Venable said. "We're deep at that position and there's some big, physical, mean guys."
Wyoming coach Dave Christensen, whose team lost 34-7 a week earlier at Texas, said the Broncos have "good power on both lines."
"But that's not their only strength," he said. "I'm still trying to figure out where a weakness might be."
His team never found one.
The Cowboys only stopped the Broncos' first-teamers twice - one Kellen Moore interception and one punt.
Moore was 20-of-30 for 370 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Austin Pettis on a 58-yard touchdown pass on a flea flicker and Titus Young on a 49-yard scoring strike.
The Broncos added scoring drives of 11 and 13 plays in the third quarter.
"They're style points, but they're not necessarily for the nation," Moore said. "It's for us to feel like we're taking care of business and we're able to execute the way we wanted to."
The Broncos will need to execute precisely next week.
Their doubters will be watching.
"We're already talking about (Oregon State)," senior defensive end Ryan Winterswyk said. "Everyone's so excited to play at home right now."
Read more:
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/0...#ixzz100WeQVq8
Great publicity for the city! Lets go Boise State!!! I'll be down at the game!
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