News from Boise St. is news around Corvallis when the Broncos are on the Beavers' schedule, as they are this fall, and there have been some recent developments that will be factors come this fall.
The Broncos' made for ESPN showcase game with Virginia Tech that will be played at FedEx Field in Washington DC has been moved to Sept. 6, Labor Day. As a result, the Beavers will be the Broncos' opponent for their home opener when they visit at the end of September.
Boise St., like Oregon St., have a bye in the second week, after both teams have played their season openers on the road for ESPN. The Broncos visit Wyoming the week before the Beavers come calling.
When Oregon St. gets their, the Boise St. defense might look different than it did in the Broncos' 17-10 Fiesta Bowl win over TCU (the Beavers' opening opponent). Defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox has left to take the same position at Tennessee, for new coach Derek Dooley, in the post-Lane Kiffin (now at USC) era.
In addition to the potential on-field impact, in the "it's a small world in college football" category, Wilcox, who played at Junction City and the University of Oregon, will face the Ducks on the second Saturday of the season.
Recruiting day has just past, and so it's a good time to check out future opponents' recruiting classes as well. Boise St. signed just 10 players, including one from just up the road from Monmouth, Central High QB Grant Hedrick.
Because of its' small size, Boise St's. class is ranked rather low, at least by some ratings services, including Rivals. Oregon St. is familiar with this, as the Beavers' class was small as well. The problem with these ratings formulas is they are skewed by total numbers.
The Broncos, like the Beavers, had relatively few needs, or openings. However, this small sized group means the Beavers won't see a lot of inexperience, even on special teams and in the reserves, on the Blue Turf. Boise St. returns almost all of their starters from last year, when they wound up ranked fourth in the final poll. A class of 10 means they bring back 75 scholarship players from that BCS team.
At least the new defensive coordinator for the Broncos, expected to be current defensive line coach Pete Kwiatkowski, has some experience to work with.
