With college football right around the corner, I wanted to start discussing some of my surprise teams for the upcoming season. While Boise State has always been a perennial powerhouse in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), the Broncos are a legitimate National Title contender for the following reasons:
- Quarterback Kellen Moore had a spectacular 2009 season wherein he threw for 3,536 yards with an incredible 64.3% completion rate and a 39-3 ratio. In short, Moore is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation who continues to be vastly underrated and largely ignored by the football pundits and media talking heads.
- Moore will be supported by one of the best backfields in college football as Boise State returns 100% of its rushing yards from last year, including D.J. Harper, Doug Martin and Jeremy Avery.
- Moore will also be supported by a Top 20 offensive line that boasts 88 career starts and allowed a mere 5 sacks (1.1%) last year, which was the best in college football.
- Head coach Chris Petersen is 49-4 with three undefeated regular seasons in four years at Boise State. Indeed, Petersen is the only coach in football to win the Paul “Bear” Bryant COY Award twice! With Petersen recently signing a five-year contract extension, look for Boise State to dominate the WAC in 2010 and beyond.
- Boise State has 20 of 22 returning starters back in 2010, which is nine more than the Broncos enjoyed in 2009.
If Boise State can defeat Virginia Tech in Week One, look for the Broncos to run the table and make a very compelling case to play in the National Championship game.