COLLEGE FOOTBALL LOOK AHEAD

Boise State defense will be tested by Fresno State

The Sports Xchange

October 07, 2012 at 10:18 pm.

Cornerback Jamar Taylor leads a stout Boise State defense. (Chuck Cook - US PRESSWIRE)

WHAT’S AHEAD: The Broncos play one of the key matchups in the Mountain West race Saturday at home against red-hot Fresno State. The Bulldogs will bring a high-octane passing attack to the blue turf, something the Broncos haven’t seen much of this season.

–Boise State is ninth in the nation in pass-efficiency defense and sixth in pass defense.

–Quarterback Joe Southwick has climbed to 41st in pass efficiency after starting near triple digits. He has thrown three touchdown passes in back-to-back games.

KEEP AN EYE ON: DE Sam Ukwuachu — The redshirt freshman has recovered three fumbles this season. He entered last week’s game without a sack but finished with 1.5, including the lineman hat trick — a sack, strip and recovery right before halftime.

LOOKING GOOD: The Broncos scored four touchdowns off the Golden Eagles’ five turnovers Saturday. In the first four games, they had generated just two touchdowns and two field goals off of 10 turnovers (two more were returned for touchdowns by the defense).

STILL NEEDS WORK: The offense continues to misfire at times. The Broncos were 2-for-11 on third downs against Southern Miss and only assembled one lengthy scoring drive, in the second half. Some bad plays in the run game, losing several yards, have been an issue and the third down performance has been inconsistent.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “We’ve got to get a little more rhythm to our offense. There’s no question. We’re making strides, but it’s still … at times, it’s smooth and at times, it’s clunky. We’ve got to run the ball a little bit better and cleaner. If we can establish our run just a little more, I think it’s going to take a lot of pressure off everything else.” — Boise State coach Chris Petersen

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