Will Bronco Players Finally Get Respect?

Boise State players have to hear year after year how they are not good enough, big enough, strong enough nor fast enough. Might as well get those comments in early in the second week of the season. Going against the mighty Huskies, the Bronco players have a bit of a statement game.

It sounds pretty crazy for a college football team coming off a season in which they finished ranked fifth in the nation.  However, the truth is that the Boise State football players still find themselves starting another year without any respect. 

First of all, they began the year #23 while the team they vanquished in the final game of 2007, Oklahoma, started the year ranked ninth.  After their first victory of the season, the Sagarin football rankings dropped them from #13 to #26. 

Then you have the lack of respect for the Bronco players themselves.  Tad Miller and Jeff Cavender have started every game in three of the most successful seasons in Boise State history, yet neither has received recognition from their own conference on the All-WAC team. 

Ian Johnson, Ryan Clady and Marty Tadman have gotten respect, certainly, but aside from those three, the rest of the WAC and the country at large doesn’t think they have any talent.  Washington Husky fans believe their team, with its huge size advantage and speed advantage will roll over the Broncos.

Despite everything Boise State has achieved over the last eight years, the Bronco players must yet again “start over” and prove themselves all over again.  They have a chance to do that this Saturday afternoon.  It would be stating the obvious to say that the team needs to make the plays early in a hostile environment with 65,000 Husky fans attempting to make life difficult on the Broncos.  Washington provides an opportunity to make a statement.  How good are these Broncos?