Notes on BSU news conference

Here a few quick notes that I took away from Monday’s Boise State news conference:

-Head coach Chris Petersen announced that tight end Gabe Linehan will be out for the next month at least, possibly longer, due to a lingering hamstring injury. Petersen said that they will have to rely on younger backup tight ends in his absence, but that Linehan would be hard to replace due to his knowledge of the offense and experience.

-Wide receiver Geraldo Boldewijn is eligible for this week’s game at Southern Miss and will make the trip according to Petersen. Boldewijn has been on the scout team for BSU, where he had been playing well. Petersen did not know how much, if any, playing time he would get. Boldewijn missed the the first part of the season serving a four game suspension for NCAA rules violations.

-This week’s game at Southern Miss will be the earliest since November 13, 2004, when the Broncos beat San Jose State on the road, 56-49 in overtime. Saturday’s game is set to start at 10 AM Boise time. BSU quarterback Joe Southwick said that he didn’t think the early start would bother the Broncos thanks to early practices that the team switched to this season. The Broncos usually take the practice field at 8:45 AM. Coach Petersen echoed his quarterback’s opinion, saying “it sure can’t hurt.”

-Petersen said he didn’t take much from the Golden Eagles’ close loss to No. 19 Louisville last Saturday. The game was played in a downpour, and Petersen said that weather changed the game and strategy. He also said that the 0-4 record that Southern Miss has doesn’t mean much to him.

— Ryan Larrondo