COLLEGE FOOTBALL LOOK AHEAD

Boise State well positioned for New Year’s Six bowl

The Sports Xchange

October 24, 2016 at 9:19 pm.

Oct 20, 2016; Boise, ID, USA; Boise State Broncos quarterback Brett Rypien (4) looks for an open receiver during first half action against the Brigham Young Cougars at Albertsons Stadium. Photo Credit: Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports

Oct 20, 2016; Boise, ID, USA; Boise State Broncos quarterback Brett Rypien (4) looks for an open receiver during first half action against the Brigham Young Cougars at Albertsons Stadium. Photo Credit: Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports

Boise State finds itself in the favorite’s role when it comes to landing the coveted New Year’s Six bowl bid that goes to the top team that isn’t associated with a power conference.

The No. 13 Broncos (7-0, 3-0 Mountain West) only have two bona fide hurdles left to clear and one of them is when they visit Wyoming (5-2, 3-0) this Saturday.

A loss to the Cowboys would be painful and could even prevent Boise State from playing in the conference title game.

But Broncos coach Bryan Harsin is worried about more than that. He is fixated on getting his offense to avoid miscues as Boise State committed five turnovers while surviving against Brigham Young and pulling out a 28-27 victory last Thursday.

“You could say we were lucky, or you could say we persevered,” Harsin said at a press conference. “Nobody folded. They all worked hard and found a way to win. We are 7-0. We found the way to win.”

A big factor in Boise State’s undefeated season has been the play of junior running back Jeremy McNichols, who has carried the ball a whopping 70 times over the past two games.

McNichols has rushed for 915 yards and 12 touchdowns and also has four receiving scores — including a 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown against BYU.

McNichols’ production has been so superb that Harsin sees no reason to lessen his workload.

“Jeremy has shown that he wants the ball in his hands,” Harsin said. “He wants a chance to win the game. He continues to improve. He’s versatile, and a guy like him, you want the ball in his hands.”

McNichols is on pace to top the 1,337 rushing yards — sixth most in Boise State history — that he put up last season. The school record is 1,823 in 2014 by Jay Ajayi, who is fresh off posting back-to-back 200-yard rushing games for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

NOTES, QUOTES
PLAYERS TO WATCH

–QB Brett Rypien passed for 442 yards and three touchdowns against BYU and the 400-yard outing was the third of his career. But the sophomore also made some poor decisions and was intercepted twice — with both being returned for touchdowns. Rypien has been picked off just five times this season while passing for 2,064 yards and 15 touchdowns.

–RB Jeremy McNichols has been sensational and is just 85 yards away from his second straight 1,000-yard season. McNichols had 249 total yards (140 rushing, 109 receiving) against BYU to surpass 200 yards of total offense for the sixth time in his career, matching current Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi for second most in program history. The junior has been terrific as a receiver with 25 grabs for 372 yards and four touchdowns this season.

–SLB Tanner Vallejo recorded 11 tackles against BYU for his second-highest output of the season. The senior had 14 stops against Washington State earlier this season to match his career high and his showing against the Cougars was easily his second best of this season. Vallejo ranks second on the squad with 47 tackles and has four stops for losses.

–DT David Moa had a sack against BYU to raise his team-leading total to 6 1/2. The sophomore made a bigger contribution by blocking the late 44-yard field-goal attempt to save the one-point victory. “They snapped the ball, we got a great push up the middle, and the ball hit me right in the hand,” Moa said while downplaying his heroics.