Boise State football hosts Hawaii in a pivotal Mountain West matchup. Will the Broncos be able to escape the run and shoot on The Blue?
Boise State football comes into Saturday’s matchup undefeated at 5-0 and is dreaming big in their 2019 campaign. Ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll and the highest-ranked Group of Five team in the country, the Broncos have high hopes to secure a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl.
The Broncos have a ton of weapons on the offensive side of the ball with wide receiver burner CT Thomas and senior leader John Hightower that can run away from people on the edge.
The Boise State defense has been the unit that has saved the Broncos time and time again, only giving up 17 points a game and just under 310 yards of total offense in each of their last five outings. Junior defensive end Curtis Weaver leads the defense with nine total sacks, breaking a Mountain West record for sacks in a career in just his junior campaign with eight or nine games left.
Hawaii is an opponent that Boise State was not looking for at the beginning of the year. After beating two Pac-12 teams and playing tough against a Washington Husky team that was ranked at the time, Hawaii quickly became a team to look for in the Mountain West. Now sitting at 4-1 with their only loss on the road to the Huskies, Hawaii is looking to beat the Broncos at home and crack the top 25.
Junior quarterback Cole McDonald has been lighting defenses up for the Warriors through the air. Throwing for over 1,600 yards in just five games and 17 touchdowns, McDonald has moved the chains for Hawaii in a big way. The problem for Hawaii on Saturday is going to be protecting the ball as he has nine interceptions in just five games and needs to protect the ball on the road in a crazy environment up in Boise.
Here are three keys for Boise State to take down Hawaii at home.