Boise State Football: 5 reasons why Broncos will struggle in 2017

4. Boise State’s defense just can’t generate turnovers

It is telling that the above photo is from the 2015 game against Colorado State. Getty Images has no readily available photography of the Broncos punching out a fumble last year. That’s because Boise State recovered just two fumbles throughout the entire 2016 season, ranking 126th out of 128 FBS teams.

The secondary was nearly as bad at generating interceptions. In 13 games, the Broncos managed to pick off just seven passes. The nine total turnovers generated by Boise State in 2016 were 20 fewer than conference leader San Diego State produced last year. The offense finished in the top 50 in terms of turnovers lost, but the Broncos still ranked outside the top 100 in turnover margin.

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In that regard, the fact that the Broncos defense loses seven starters from last season’s squad might not be terrible. But a secondary that was experienced and good (if not great) at limiting opponents’ passing efficiency will be hoping that replacement players are going to improve turnover generation while maintaining or exceeding last year’s averages in other areas.

It is probably a tall task to ask new players to do too much too quickly. Boise State will probably once again settle for sound defense over ball hunting. That means that, no matter how efficient Brett Rypien and the offense are in protecting the ball, the Broncos might once again lose the turnover battle in 2017.