Boise State Football: 3 bold predictions for opener vs. UCF

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Oct 5, 2019; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Boise State Broncos quarterback Hank Bachmeier (19) warms up before a game against the UNLV Rebels at Sam Boyd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Hank Bachmeier, Dillon Gabriel have best QB duel of Week 1

There are going to be some exciting quarterback battles to watch in Week 1 such as JT Daniels vs. DJ Uiagalelei, Bryce Young vs. D’Eriq King, and Matt Corral vs. Malik Cunningham, to name a few, but one might just top all of them on Thursday night.

Hank Bachmeier was named Boise State’s starting quarterback a couple of weeks ago and it’s a good sign that he’s continued to develop despite injuries, beating out USC transfer Jack Sears.

Bachmeier is one of the best quarterbacks in the Group of Five and he had 1,150 yards and six touchdowns in limited action last year after a breakout freshman season in 2019.

On the other side is Dillon Gabriel who is arguably the most prolific passer in college football and he finished with 3,570 yards and 32 touchdowns with only four picks in 10 games last season. He’s going to approach 4,000 yards again in 2021 and that starts on Thursday.

Boise State had the No. 37 passing defense in the country last season but lost both starting quarterbacks and didn’t face an offense like UCF’s. The Knights had the No. 121 passing defense in the nation last year and return just one starter to the secondary.

This is going to be the best quarterback duel of Week 1.

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