Tequilla's Talking Points (5 Reasons) for Boise State

1) @CokeGreaterThanPepsi often talks about explosive plays and I think that that will be important tonight. Browning's first start should be littered with some inconsistencies. However, if we can find 10+ chunk plays of 10+ yards during the game, that will be a very good sign. I'd like to also see 3+ plays of 20+ yards.

2) Taking away the run from Boise State. In the 2013 game in Seattle, Boise ran for an average of 4.1 yards per carry with a NFL caliber RB in Jay Ayaji. In the 2012 Las Vegas Bowl, Boise ran for an average of 3.0 yards per carry. We SHOULD be able to dominate the LOS with our front 7 given depth and superior quality of athlete. If we're keeping Boise in the 3-4 yard per carry range, we should keep ourselves in the game.

3) Turnover margin. I expect that Browning is going to make a mistake or two. But Boise's QB is young as well and with the experience that we have in the secondary, we should also expect to force a few turnovers ourselves. I'm looking for both Sidney Jones and Buttah Baker to get a big turnover tonight.

4) Our ability to run the football. Citing the 2012-2013 games against Boise again, we averaged 5.4 and 5.0 yards per carry in those games respectively while piling up well over 200 yards on the ground. While we don't have Bishop Sankey running, we have greater depth than what we had then. Again, given the athletic superiority that our OL should have over their DL (even with some of the retreaded Seven recruits), we should be looking to have a 4-5 yard average per carry. If we can run the ball successfully, that will take a lot of pressure off of Browning and his feeling that he needs to force the action. Big key in the game.

5) Special teams. I think we hold a decided edge on special teams as this has historically not been a strength of Boise (and definitely wasn't last year). We hold advantages at both kicker spots and will have superior return players. This is another area where the quality of our athletes should hold a decided edge. I'm looking for us to have a significant play in the kicking game tonight.

All in all, when you look at Boise's success under Petersen, a lot of it came down to them being superiorly coached and out-executing the opposition. I don't think that they will hold that advantage tonight. We definitely win in the Jimmy and Joe category. The spread seems to be way too high to me citing the "below expectations" season of last year, Washington's recent history of underperformance (Seven), and breaking in a true freshman at QB. I see an improvement at the QB position, the changing of culture from last year to this year completing, and a quiet sense of confidence coming out of Montlake.

This won't be a program changing victory, but will be a very solid victory tonight. UW 27, Boise 20.