Fiesta Bowl

What two facets of the game must a good football team do well to win? The answer, according to most

Throw on us? Don’t think so. One of the biggest reasons Oklahoma finished 11-2 this year was

football coaches at least, is a good team must be able to stop the run on defense and run the ball effectively on offense. Boise State can do both. The Broncos allowed opponents a suffocating 82.3 yards per game on the ground this year. BSU has been equally controlling on the offensive side of the ball while racking up 222.8 rushing yards per contest. If the Broncos can continue this trend against the Sooners, they’ll remain one of possibly two undefeated teams in Division 1A for 2006.

because the refs jobbed the Sooners over in the Oregon game. Turn that loss into a W and this team might be fighting for a national championship come January. Okay, so another big reason why OU went 11-2 this year was because of its pass defense. The Sooners allowed less than 180 yards per game through the air this season on their way to finishing seventh in the country for pass efficiency defense. Boise State is no joke on offense, but OU’s secondary should be up the challenge.

Ryan Clady vs. C.J. Ah You. This will be the match up of the game right here. There’s not too many

Adrian Peterson vs. Boise State’s run defense. It’s pretty much guaranteed that Broncos head

times where a sophomore anchors your offensive line, but that’s exactly what Clady does form his left tackle position. Clady is mammoth at 6’6”, 312lbs, but has surprising mobility. Clady is also agile for a big man and will certainly need to be against Ah You. The senior defensive end is big himself at 6’4”, 265lbs, but extremely fast for a d-lineman. Ah You can run a 4.7 in the 40 and his vertical leap has been recorded at 32.5 inches. Even if Clady can keep him off of quarterback Jared Zabransky for most of the game, Ah You is such a gifted jumper that he can disrupt the passing game by batting balls down at the line of scrimmage.

coach Chris Peterson has not forgotten about Okalahoma stud running back Adrian Peterson. Adrian broke his collarbone in an October game against Iowa State, but vowed to return to whatever bowl game the Sooners landed in. As promised, Adrian is back and is likely keeping Chris up nightly thinking of ways to defend the explosive back. Adrian was having an incredible season before the injury, rushing for 935 yards and 10 touchdowns in just six games. The Broncos run defense has been fantastic this season, however, giving up less than 90 yards per game. If the BSU front four can’t get a good push up the field and crowd Adrian’s running lanes, Chris might be up all night after the game too… with nightmares.

Boise State will win if it can load up the box and stuff Adrian Peterson for most of the game. It’s doubtful that

Oklahoma will win if it doesn’t take Boise State lightly. Even though the Broncos went 12-0 this year, many

Bob Stoops will steer away from his gifted runner now that he’s healthy again, so the Broncos are just going to have to gear up to stop the run. There’s no magic potion to effectively halt an explosive running game. Just line up and prepare for battle in the trenches. Bringing safety help up into the box will probably be a must, but watch out because that’s when the play action pass is deadly. It’s not like BSU faired well against just the run all season either. The Broncos led the WAC in total defense, yielding just 273.8 yards per game. It’s just that Peterson is a different animal. Offensively, this is where running back Ian Johnson needs to shine. Johnson set a school record with 1,613 yards this season and will need to set the stage for BSU early and often. Johnson can take a lot of pressure off of quarterback Jared Zabransky if he can get rolling early. Even though he’s going to have his hands full with C.J. Ah You, the Broncos can’t be afraid to run behind monster left tackle Ryan Clady. He’s been the rock in BSU’s offensive line for two years and this is the type of game where you have to rely on your top players. Getting back to Zabransky, the kid loves to make plays. The senior QB threw 20 touchdown passes this season and if Johnson can provide the balance this offense needs, Zabransky will flourish. The major issue will be if Oklahoma jumps out to a big lead or Boise State becomes too one-dimensional because the Sooner defense is solid and always well prepared. Rhythm, rhythm, rhythm, is the key to the Broncos offensive attack. The unit has been fantastic all season and needs to establish rhythm in order to be effective against Oklahoma’s stingy defense. There are not a lot of teams in college football that can stop BSU when it’s running on all cylinders offensively.

people aren’t giving them a shot because of what conference they play in. Can’t hang with the big boys, right? BSU’s offense is so good and so explosive that it could be 21-0 before the Sooners blink. On the field, OU has the speed and talent to take it to the Broncos. The speed of the game is usually what separates WAC schools from Big 12, SEC and Big 10 programs. Head coach Bob Stoops is a defensive mastermind and should be up for this challenge, but he must have his team in the right mind frame. One player who always seems to be in the right mind frame is wide receiver-turned-quarterback Paul Thompson. The best way to describe Thompson is unselfish. He has made the position transition look easy with his 60.9 completion percentage and his 20 TD passes. Thompson has only thrown eight interceptions and his favorite target is 6’-4” wide out Malcolm Kelly. Of course it doesn’t hurt Thompson that he has a bevy of good running backs behind him. Adrian Peterson is a stud, but the job Allen Patrick and Chris Brown have done filling in for Peterson has been remarkable. The combination of Patrick and Brown has won eight straight games and it doesn’t seem to matter whom Stoops throws out there at tailback. OU just needs to stick to the ground game and the Sooners will be fine. Defensively is where OU is going to turn the game on its head. Weakside linebacker Rufus Alexander is going to need to shadow Ian Johnson all over the field. Boise State loves to run the ball to set up the entire offense, so if Alexander is up to the challenge, he can dominate and blow up the Broncos’ whole game plan. C.J. Ah You is going to need to use his big frame to knock balls down at the line of scrimmage. Ah You has also been great at tipping passes up, which either lead to picks, frustration for the opposing quarterback or a disruption of the passing game. And speaking of the passing game, opponents usually don’t have one because the OU secondary is that good. Just don’t fall asleep on what BSU can do offensively.

The threat of the underdog. Even at 12-0, nobody fears what Boise State can do. Oklahoma better, or else

Act like you’ve been there. While Boise State is enjoying its first run at a BCS bowl game, Oklahoma

this storybook ride the Broncos are on is going to have a very happy ending. Buckets of credit need to be given to head coach Chris Peterson in his first year at BSU. Peterson always has his team focused and prepared. Peterson’s game plans have been flawless as well. But it’s the threat of the underdog that may lift the Broncos over the Sooners come January 1. The element of surprise is always deadly and with what Boise State can do on offense, the Sooners better be in full preparation mode right now.

is preparing for its fourth in the Bob Stoops era. This is nothing new for Stoops and the Sooners, so OU just needs to stand up to the Broncos initial punch. No doubt BSU is going to come out rocking, but how will the Broncos fair as the game wears on? You can’t replace experience, not even with loads of talent. So while the underdog story of Boise State is intriguing, one can’t forget that Oklahoma has been here before and is ready to show the Broncos that they don’t belong. Should be fun!

If you think this fun fact wasn’t going to mention the “smurf turf,” you’re crazy! Bronco Stadium is well

Before Adrian Peterson left an October game against Iowa State, he was able to rush for 183 yards

known across the country for its blue turf, which happens to be the only non-green football-playing surface in the country. Unfortunately the turf is also a breeding ground for death. Apparently, birds that fly above the stadium look down and think the turf is water. Well, it’s not water our feathered friends, it’s the smurf turf. Sadly, most of the birds don’t survive the crash landing.

and two touchdowns. The performance was awfully significant for Peterson, because his father was among the Oklahoma fans. Peterson’s father spent most of Adrian’s life in prison for drug trafficking. He had never seen Adrian play in high school or college. Even though the day ended poorly for the Peterson family, it must have been great for Adrian’s father to finally see what his son can do on a football field.