It’s called the biggest game in Boise State history. Why? A win Monday night over a 10th-ranked team in its own backyard (Landover, Md., is 280 miles from Blacksburg, Va.) would justify Boise State’s No. 3 ranking and eliminate one of two threats on its schedule.
The Broncos are loaded. They return 22 starters from the unbeaten team that shut down Texas Christian in last season’s Fiesta Bowl 17-10.
Only current Denver Bronco Tim Tebow had a better passing percentage than Boise State’s Kellen Moore, who threw for 3,936 yards and a fantasy-like 39 touchdowns against only three interceptions.
He has two returning all-WAC receivers in seniors Austin Pettis and Titus Young, who combined for 24 TD passes, plus a 1,000-yard rusher in Jeremy Avery.
Oh, also returning is an offensive line that gave up a national-low five sacks as Boise State led the nation in scoring at 42.21 points per game.
Defensively they return the Fiesta Bowl defensive MVP in cornerback Brandyn Thompson and two-time all-conference end Ryan Winterswyk.
It must stop a stacked Virginia Tech offense that finally has some balance with Tyrod Taylor leading the ACC in pass efficiency a year ago. The Hokies may have the deepest tailback position in the country with Darren Evans, who set an ACC freshman-record 1,265 yards in 2008, coming back from a knee injury to team with sophomore Ryan Williams, who gained 1,655 yards last year.
Virginia Tech’s problem, however, is it lost five starters on defense and its legendary special teams are rebuilding with a new punter and kicker.
History also isn’t on its side. Against top-five teams, Virginia Tech is 1-25.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
Players to watch
John Brantley, Florida: Is the quarterback ready to emerge from Tim Tebow’s shadow? 10 a.m., ESPNGarrett Gilbert, Texas: All eyes will be on Colt McCoy’s replacement. Texas is smoothing the transition by giving the offense more balance. 1:30 p.m., ESPNPatrick Peterson, LSU: The junior cornerback is a national defensive player of the year candidate. He’s not only LSU’s best one-on-one pass defender, but he will be making his debut as kickoff and punt returner. 6 p.m., KMGH-7Kellen Moore, Boise State: The junior could start his Heisman hype. Nobody has won from a non-BCS school in two decades. But if the Broncos can run the table, he figures to get tons of good pub. 6 p.m. Monday, ESPN
Northwestern St. (0-0) at Air Force (0-0)
Noon, Falcon Stadium
Expect Air Force to get off to a running start. In last year’s opening game, the Falcons ran for 490 yards against Nicholls State. AFA tailback Asher Clark, left, rushed for 66 yards on six carries and went on to have a strong second half of the season. Coach Troy Calhoun says Clark would carry the ball 25 times a game if that’s what the Falcons needed. Chances are he will get plenty of work against the Demons.
Southern Utah (0-0) at Wyoming (0-0)
7 p.m., War Memorial Stadium
Coach Dave Christensen is expecting more scoring this season from sophomore QB Austyn Carta-Samuels, left, and the Cowboys’ offense. Christensen was hired to put some punch in the offense (Wyoming averaged only 18.3 points in 2009, his first year). Christensen said his team’s overall speed and strength have improved. Last season, Carta-Samuels led five fourth-quarter comeback wins and passed for 1,953 yards (10 TDs, five interceptions).
Adams State (1-0) at Northern Colo. (0-0)
1:30 p.m., Nottingham Field
The Bears are starting a new quarterback after two seasons of Bryan Waggener, left, running the offense. Junior Dylan Orms gets his first start after playing sparingly the past two seasons. Look for the Bears’ defense to be more solid with preseason all-Big Sky picks in each area: CB Korey Askew, LB John Eddy and DE Nick Hernon. Adams State beat Dixie State 34-14 last week, amassing 576 yards of offense and holding Dixie to 23 yards rushing.
Colorado Mines (0-1) at S.D. Mines (1-0)
6 p.m., Dunham Field at O’Harra Stadium
It’s the Orediggers vs. the Hardrockers in a meeting of the Mines. Colorado Mines is 9-0 in the series, which dates to 1917. Orediggers junior QB Clay Garcia, left, is coming off a big debut last week against Washburn, when he was 27-of-40 passing for 314 yards and four TDs with no interceptions. South Dakota Mines junior RB Jamie Dale, all-conference last season, opened this season with 189 yards on 28 carries in his team’s victory last week.
