BOISE TO MEN
Boise State no longer needs to rely on trickery
STILLWATER — The test is coming.
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy knows it. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles knows it.
Linebacker Justin Phillips knows it, even though he stuck to his media training when he answered the question.
“I’m not gonna downgrade other teams that we played,” Phillips said Tuesday evening, before gently admitting that No. 17 Boise State brings a more potent and physical offense than either Missouri State or South Alabama.
Physical might be the key word in that description, particularly for OSU folks who haven’t been paying close attention to what Boise State has actually been doing in building its program into a nationally respected brand over the last 20 years.
On Tuesday, OSU players were asked plenty of questions about the OUBoise Fiesta Bowl of 2007, when a few well-executed trick plays carried the Broncos to the upset that really put their program on the map.
But don’t expect a team like that to come into Boone Pickens Stadium for Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. kickoff against No. 24 OSU on ESPN.
Known for the hijinks that won them the Fiesta Bowl over a decade ago, the Broncos aren’t a team that needs tricks to win big games anymore.
“We might be. I don’t know,” Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said this week. “Hey, I’m of the mindset of, whatever it takes. If we gotta throw a ball behind our head backwards, and that’s what it takes to win a game, then we’ll do it. We’re not above that either.
“I’m proud of our football team. Where they are. I do think we have really good players, and I do think they work hard. So I think our guys have to go out there and prepare to go play their best game and see what happens.”
But Knowles isn’t spending hours preparing his team for hook-and-laterals or the Statue of Liberty.
He’s getting them ready to face multiple-tight end formations, a punishing running back and a quarterback who can play with finesse behind a hard-nosed offensive line.
“I don’t think we’ve been tested,” Gundy said of his defense after routing South Alabama 55-13 last Saturday. “I’m not saying they haven’t played good. They played good. But we’ll find out a lot more (against Boise State).”
Albeit against mediocre opponents, the Broncos have churned out more than 1,200 yards of offense in the first two weeks, allowing one quarterback sack and averaging 59.0 points per game.
“I think our front four has been physical and been tough and controlled the line of scrimmage,” Knowles said. “I think the question is still up in the air with some of our safeties and corners who are gonna get thrown into action against big tight ends. They’re gonna be tested.”
At the center of it all for Boise is quarterback Brett Rypien, a veteran who, in many ways, can be compared to what OSU had in Mason Rudolph a year ago. His experience might be his most valuable asset.
“He makes the right decisions,” Phillips said. “When we get out there, we’re gonna try to mess with his head a little bit and get him to throw us the ball a couple times. We gonna throw some things at him.”