Boise State Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2017

Over the past few years, Washington State has evolved back into a contender in the Pac-12 North. For years the Cougars were the laughingstock of the conference, but with 17 wins in the past two seasons they have rebounded. The creator of that success has been Mike Leach, who also helped take Texas Tech to prominence in the early 2000s.

Under Leach, the Cougars have gone bowling in three of the past five seasons. Prior to his arrival, Bill Doba and Paul Wulff had combined for eight straight losing seasons at the helm in Pullman. Now that Leach has restored Washington State to regular bowl appearances and comfortable eight-win seasons, the next step is to actually win the conference again for the first time since 2002.

With the majority of both the offense and defense returning from the 2016 roster, Leach has a team that can keep pace with just about any opponent. Last year the Cougars narrowly fell in Boise 31-28, and both teams are mostly intact from that game.

Final: Washington State 45, Boise State 41 (1-1)

Of course, there are some essential differences from last season. Both teams should be somewhat stronger on offense but weaker defensively. The Martin Stadium scoreboard is going to get a major workout as Luke Falk and Brett Rypien duel through the air. Boise State will acquit itself well enough in defeat, and as a non-conference game against a Power Five opponent this loss will not eliminate the Broncos from either Mountain West or New Year’s Six contention.