Boise State hopes to avoid a bumpy transition to the deeper Mountain West - The Idaho Statesman
Chris Petersen's first year in Boise still burns a decade later.
The Broncos joined the Western Athletic Conference in 2001 with Petersen as the offensive coordinator. They lost two conference games and sat home during bowl season — the only time either of those things have happened to Boise State in the past 12 years.
Petersen, entering his sixth year as the head coach, has used that disappointment to form a standard answer when reporters ask about the Broncos' transition to the Mountain West in 2011.
"That first year, no matter how good a team is supposed to be, it usually doesn't go that great," Petersen said in April.
He has repeated that sentiment throughout the offseason — even to his team.
And the research proves him right.
Only two of the 47 Football Bowl Subdivision teams that have switched conferences since 1992 have made it through their new league unscathed and just eight have won the league title.
The success stories include Florida State (1992, ACC) and TCU (2005, Mountain West) — two programs that, like Boise State, entered their new leagues with considerable momentum.
The disappointments include Louisville (2005, Big East), which nearly contended for a national championship the year before, and Miami (2004, ACC), which still hasn't won its new league.
"Everybody's aware of this challenge," Petersen said.
In fact, he wishes they'd be more aware.
"Build the list," Petersen said. "... All the reasons why we don't have a chance. I can use it with our guys."
OK, coach, here are three reasons the Broncos could stumble in the Mountain West:
NEW OPPONENTS
Boise State never has faced three of its seven Mountain West opponents — San Diego State, Colorado State and Air Force. New Mexico and UNLV haven't appeared on the schedule since Petersen arrived in 2001. That leaves Wyoming and TCU as the only familiar foes.
Those teams easily could spend some time studying the Broncos in the offseason. For the Broncos, studying seven new conference mates wasn't practical.
"The competitive edge, everybody that we play, it's just slim," Petersen said. "We may win a game in the past by a wide margin but there were usually a couple plays that break the game open. … When you go somewhere new, you don't know about any of those edges and we've got to get them."
Players say they get to know opponents' schemes and personnel from playing them every year. Prepping for Colorado State will require more video study — and even then, there will be an unfamiliar feel to the game.
"A team like Air Force, I've never seen an offense like that," safety George Iloka said. "Everything is going to be going super fast for me."
NEW PLACES
The Broncos have been to San Diego and Las Vegas for bowl games, but those are much different setups than quick visits for regular-season games in front of hostile crowds. They've never been to Fort Collins, Colo.
"It's new stadiums, new locker rooms, new airports," Petersen said. "The more that we know the situation, that we have the lay of the land, the better it makes it for us.
"It all matters."
NEW LEVEL
The Mountain West isn't a huge step above the WAC, but it is a step. The Broncos will face one of the nation's top programs in TCU, one of its most unsettling teams in Air Force and a bottom half of the league that has, in the not-so-distant past, shown the ability to compete for conference titles.
"From top to bottom, it's a different level," Petersen said.
Despite all of the potential pitfalls, the Broncos enter their first season in the Mountain West as prohibitive favorites.
That's the one part of the Mountain West that should feel familiar.
"We know there's a bull's-eye on our back," Iloka said, "… and a lot of teams will have a chip on their shoulder because of the success we've had the last few years."
Chadd Cripe: 377-6398
28 Aug, 2011--
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNG603ueWUi40aIftUfwDyh2aKkQ_A&url=http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/08/28/1773097/a-tougher-summit.html
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