10/22: Notes from coach Petersen’s press conference
The Boise State football team will travel to Laramie on Saturday to face Wyoming.
While the Cowboys have posted just a 1-6 record on the season, three of their losses have been by three points or less while another defeat came in overtime.
“That’s what stands out. They have had a lot of close games,” Petersen said. “You see how they’re playing and they are right their.”
“I think this is a good team. I think this is a very very scary team for us. We just have to make sure we’re playing at a high level.”
Coach Petersen quickly recalled the effort the Cowboys brought to Bronco Stadium last year as well.
While Boise State went on to win the game 36-14, Luke Anderson picked off a Kellen Moore pass and returned 29-yards for a touchdown to give Wyoming a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Broncos then sputtered on offense themselves before runningback Doug Martin finally tied it with 1:10 left in the second quarter and wide receiver Matt Miller caught a 46-yard heave into the endzone from Kellen Moore as time expired.
“I remember the game last year,” Petersen said. “It was tied 7-7 (right before the) half until we got just totally lucky and scored on a Hail Mary to make it 14-7 going into half.”
“If you go on the road and play like that, you’ll get beat.”
Other notes from coach Pete…
- Coach Petersen pointed out the play of Wyoming quarterback Brett Smith. Despite missing two games due to injury, the sophomore has still thrown for 1,335 yards, rushed for 169 more and scored 15 total touchdowns.
“He’ll keep things alive. Sometimes that’s some of his best football - most scary to me when I watch (him). He really can get out of things. You sometimes think about making a highlight clip of those types of plays - I don’t know how you practice against them other than just know what you’re getting yourself in to.
- The forecast in Wyoming for this Saturday is 34-degree and there is a chance of snow on Thursday and Friday.
“We’ve already been told what its going be like out there,” said junior nickel Dextrell Simmons. “Its suppose to be bad weather, but we’re ready for it. We’re ready to face whatever comes at us.”
With this in mind, coach Petersen says it will alter the Broncos practice plan this week. The team will spend one day indoors to allow them to solely focus on preparation, then they will spend the rest of the time outside to get used to the elements.
- Defensive end Demarcus Lawrence will return to action this week. The sophomore was suspended for the UNLV game for a violation of team rules. Lawrence leads the Broncos with 5.5 sacks on the season.
- Wide receiver Mitch Burroughs - who injured his wrist against Southern Mississippi - could return this season. Coach Pete said Burroughs has had a cast put on it and is hopeful the senior could return for the last regular season game.
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The Boise State football team has posted five straight first-half shutouts, outscoring the opposition 90-to-0 over that span.
“We just play as hard as we can,” said Simmons. “Whether its the first half or the second half, we just want to go out there and shut them down.
According Simmons, Bronco Nation has also helped.
“Really, I want to credit it to the crowd. When we play at home, it’s just an amazing feeling. They really get us going.”
There were 36,012 fans that showed up for the UNLV game last Saturday. It marked the second largest crowd in school history.
Top 5 All-Time Attendance Marks
1. *36,864 vs BYU - Sept. 20, 2012
2. *36,012 vs UNLV - Oct. 20, 2012
3. *35,742 vs Fresno State - Oct. 13, 2012
4. 34,196 vs Air Force - Oct. 22, 2011
5. *34,178 vs Miami (OH) - Sept. 15, 2012
*This season
Dextrell Simmons
On the play of the Boise State defense
“These last probably three or four weeks of practice have been amazing. I’ve actually enjoyed going out there and getting ready to practice.
“Preparation is everything. When we go out there we try to do our best and try to fly around. We just try to compete with each other the best we can.”
“It basically comes from not wanting to fail. New Mexico was probably our worst defense game. After that, we were like ‘it can’t happen again.’”
“From the start of fall camp, defensively we wanted to be excellent. It was definitely a point in time we realized that we could be beat and we need to do everything in our power not to let that happen again.”
(Since then, they haven’t.)
WYOMING WILL BE WITHOUT THEIR HEAD COACH THIS WEEKEND
Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman announced that head football coach Dave Christensen has been fined $50,000 and given a one game suspended for is actions following the Cowboys loss to Air Force two weeks ago.
Below is the statement Burman released on Monday:
“After a long and difficult week of consideration, I believed it was in the best interest of the University and our Athletics Department to take this action,” said Burman. “The reputation of our University and of our athletics programs is of the upmost importance. Over the past week, I have reviewed the contract situation with our university legal department, I have spoken numerous times with President Buchanan and have consulted with other individuals in college athletics whom I respect.”The other factor that was a very important consideration of mine was the well being of the young men in our football program. I think it is important to send the right message to them in terms of taking responsibility for your actions. This has been a difficult time for those young men. We hope that our fans will show their support for the team this coming weekend.”
— Jay Tust (Follow on Twitter: @KTVBSportsGuy)
