2007 Hawaii Bowl Preview

SHERATON HAWAI'I BOWL: East Carolina vs. #22 Boise State

Date: Sunday, December 23, 2007

Time: 8:00 p.m. (EST)

Location: Aloha Stadium (50,000); Honolulu, HI

Television: ESPN

Records: East Carolina (7-5 overall, 6-2 CUSA); Boise State (10-2 overall, 7-1 WAC)

Rankings: Boise State (Coaches Poll- #22, AP Poll- #24)

All-Time Series Record: First Meeting

Injury/Personnel Report:

East Carolina

• DE Marcus Hands, shoulder; out

• LB Danny Muhwezi, leg; out

• OL Fred Hicks, ankle; out
• LB Nick Johnson, knee; doubtful
• LB Jeremy Chambliss, ankle; questionable
• DT Khalif Mitchell, knee; questionable
• DT Brandon Setzer, knee; questionable

• WR T.J. Lee, knee; questionable

• S Chris Mattocks; questionable

Boise State

• OG Tad Miller, knee; out

• CB Rashaun Scott, knee; out
• CB Orlando Scandrick, dislocated thumb; probable

East Carolina vs. Boise State General Overview

This unique intersectional match-up features two schools that have never met on the gridiron.

While the Pirates would certainly rather be CUSA champions and in the Liberty Bowl facing Mississippi State, they have to be extremely excited about the opportunity with which they’ve been presented in the Hawaii Bowl versus No. 22 Boise State.

If everyone didn’t know about the Broncos’ program prior to last season, which they should have, they certainly do now. Anyone who follows college football is aware of Boise State’s thrilling 43-42 overtime win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl that made it the only team with a perfect record in 2006.

However, the “three plays heard round the world” opened outsiders eyes to what has been taking place in Boise for sometime. Coaches such as Houston Nutt, Dirk Koetter and Dan Hawkins have roamed the sidelines on the “smurf” turf.

Speaking of the “smurf” turf—the name given to the notorious blue field turf at Boise State’s Bronco Stadium—the Broncos play pretty well there. They’re only 32-1 at home the last five seasons. Opposing teams aren’t the only ones to go down there, as it has been said that birds have bitten the dust after taking nosedives into what they mistook for water.

Care to take a guess at who the winningest program in the country is over the past decade? If you said, “ Boise State,” then you were right. The Broncos have compiled a 102-23 mark during that span.

They are also the highest scoring team in the nation since 2000, as they’ve lit up scoreboards for an average of 41.9 points per contest.

They’ve had six ten-plus win seasons in the last eight.

The Broncos’ high-scoring offenses and generally exciting brand of football has made them a regular on national television in recent years.

BSU made the transition to the FBS (formerly known as Division I-A) prior to the 1996 season when it joined the Big West conference. After a couple successful seasons to close its stay there, the Broncos made the jump to the WAC. They’ve dominated the league—winning five league titles in seven years—and had not lost but two conference games (both in their initial season) until dropping two this year when they’re reign was broken by unbeaten Hawaii in the final week of the season.

The Broncos, who are 23-2 under second year head coach and former offensive coordinator Chris Petersen, won nine consecutive contests after losing 24-10 at Washington in the second week of the season. While the 39-27 loss to Hawaii knocked them out of any possible chance at another BCS berth, they are still making their six straight bowl trip.

However, the destination isn’t what the Boise State fans had hoped for. Some felt like the team turned its back on them by opting out of a Humanitarian Bowl berth against a BCS opponent in Georgia Tech for its second trip to Hawaii in the past month.

The Boise State program represents a lot of what the East Carolina program aspires to become. Third-year head coach Skip Holtz, the son of coaching legend and ESPN analyst Lou Holtz, has now taken the Pirates to back-to-back bowl berths. ECU has now made four bowl trips since the year 2000. The Pirates, who went 7-6 in 2006 and lost 24-7 to South Florida in the PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, AL, are trying to win eight games for the first time since 2000.

Holtz’s club has been a tough one to figure out this year. After starting 1-3 with losses at top ten clubs in Virginia Tech and West Virginia, the Pirates closed by winning six of their final eight—which included giving league champion UCF its only loss in conference play. However, there was the 26-7 road loss to a then 1-8 Marshall team that kept them from playing for the CUSA title.

While these two schools have never met, Boise coach Chris Petersen is familiar with East Carolina and head coach Skip Holtz. Petersen was the quarterbacks coach at the University of Pittsburgh in 1992 when the Panthers fell 37-31 to the Pirates. In that same season, Petersen’s Panthers were whipped 52-21 by Notre Dame. The offensive coordinator of the Irish that season was Holtz.

Not surprisingly, this will be the furthest that East Carolina has ever traveled to play a football game. The previous long road trip was in 1993 when the Pirates played the Washington Huskies in Seattle.

The Pirates and Broncos did share a common opponent this season in Southern Miss. Boise bucked the Golden Eagles 38-16 while East Carolina fell 28-21.

Boise State Offense vs. East Carolina Defense

Advantage: Boise State

Running back Ian Johnson, who scored the game-winning two-point conversion on the infamous statue of liberty take-off versus Oklahoma, is probably the most well-known player on a very complete and explosive Boise State offense. The Broncos average 475.7 yards (10 th in the nation) and 42.8 points (5 th in the nation) per game. They rushed for 34 touchdowns while passing for 32.

Ian Johnson is a well-rounded back. The 5’11, 204-pound junior rushed for 1,030 yards and 16 scores despite missing two games. He also had 25 receptions totaling 312 yards. Johnson, who was named First Team All-WAC the past two seasons, isn’t the only back that can hurt you. Jeremy Avery ran for 603 yards and D.J. Harper totaled 373. The duo had their coming out party in the win at Fresno State when they each topped 100 yards in the contest.

Senior quarterback Taylor Tharp took over the reins for the departed Jared Zabransky. Tharp was named Second-team All-WAC after completing 68.3 percent of his passes for 3,070 yards and 28 scores (to only nine interceptions).

First-team All-WAC wide receiver Jeremy Childs had a supreme sophomore campaign, as he hauled in 82 balls for 1,045 yards and reached the end zone nine times. Also making up for the loss of receivers like Gerard Rabb and Drisan James are guys such as wideout Titus Young and tight end Austin Pettis. Young has 37 catches for 592 yards and five scores while Pettis has 37 grabs for 376 yards and five touchdowns.

The offensive line is led by First-team All-American (Sporting News, AFCA, Playboy) offensive tackle Ryan Clady (6’6, 315). Jeff Cavender is the most versatile and has played center, right guard and right tackle at various points in his career.

The Broncos will face an East Carolina defense that has given up a lot of yards (436.2)—particularly through the air—and points (29.8). However, the Pirates have made a living off of forcing turnovers. They rank sixth nationally in turnover margin (1.17)—having forced 27 takeaways while giving the ball away only 13 times. They have had their share of injuries, but they should be the healthiest they’ve been in a while after having a month to heal. ECU has done a pretty good job of slowing down rushing attacks featuring quality backs (except West Virginia), but its pass defense ranks 115 th nationally (290.6 ypg). It has 15 interceptions, but no one with more than two.

Strong safety Van Eskeridge leads the team with 96 stops. Linebacker Quentin Cotton is very good at flowing to the football and making plays. He has the second most tackles on the team (88) with 11 of them coming behind the line of scrimmage. Defensive ends C.J. Wilson and Zack Slate do a good job of pressuring the quarterback, as they have six and 4.5 sacks, respectively.

East Carolina Offense vs. Boise State Defense

Advantage: Even

While most people probably think of high-powered and unpredictable offensive attacks when they think of Boise State, the Broncos aren’t too shabby on the defensive side of the ball either. That’s saying something in the offensive-minded Western Athletic Conference. Their most impressive outing was in their 58-0 shutout win against New Mexico State when they limited the Aggies to a measly 89 yards of total offense—the fewest ever to a Division I opponent. They also pitched a shutout against Utah State.

However, there were times that they were exploited—such as against Nevada and Hawaii. The Wolf Pack rushed for 396 yards in their four-overtime loss while Hawaii threw for 495 yards.

They have an experienced starting front seven that is composed of strictly juniors and seniors. This has resulted in BSU being at the top of the WAC against the run—allowing only 114.9 yards per game.

First team All-WAC safety Marty Tadman is second on the team with 83 tackles and has two interceptions.

Linebacker Kyle Gingg (5’11, 220) has a team-high 86 stops while fellow linebacker Dallas Dobbs tops the squad with three interceptions.

Defensive ends Mike T. Williams (6’4, 245) and Ryan Winterswyk (6’4, 264) are the primary pressure appliers. The duo has combined for 10.5 sacks.

The Broncos will face one of nation’s top senior running backs in Chris Johnson. The versatile Johnson, who has world class 4.2 speed over 40 yards, has rushed for 1,200 yards and 16 scores. However, he also is the Pirates’ second leading receiver with 34 catches for 495 yards and five more scores.

Boise State will also be forced to prepare for the two-quarterback system that East Carolina has employed for essentially the entire season. Patrick Pinkney received most of the snaps in the first three games while Rob Kass was serving a suspension, but each has received a relatively even number of snaps in the last nine contests. The duo brings different strengths to the table, which makes game planning more difficult for opponents. Pinkney has thrown for 1,240 yards and ten touchdowns while completing 60 percent of his passes. The mobile junior is also the team’s second-leading rusher with 253 yards. Colin Kaepernick of Nevada burnt the Broncos for 177 yards on the ground. Kass, who is your stereotypical pocket passer, has connected on 55 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,128 yards and nine scores.

Jamar Bryant leads the ECU receiving corps with 42 catches for 626 yards and six scores. Redshirt freshman Dwayne Harris is also someone the Broncos will need to keep an eye on. The Pirates get him the ball in a variety of ways, as he may carry it on a reverse or direct snap in addition to his receiver duties. The former high school quarterback has thrown the ball on reverse passes and such this season. Harris has 25 catches for 224 yards while he has toted the rock 17 times for 173.

ECU vs. Boise State Special Teams

Advantage: Boise State

The Bronco special teams are just that, special. Boise State has blocked eleven kicks—four punts, four field goals, and three extra-points—this season, which is the program’s highest total since 1990.

Kickoff coverage has been good for the Broncos and it will need to be again, as they’ll face one of the nation’s fastest and most dangerous return men in the Pirates’ Chris Johnson. Johnson has taken one to the house and is averaging 28.5 yards per bring back—ranking him 14 th nationally.

BSU safety Marty Tadman averages 11.7 yards per punt return. East Carolina’s Dwayne Harris is also a threat in the return game. He can make the first guy miss and then has the potential to do some damage.

Bronco place kicker Kyle Brotzman, who was a semi-finalist for the Lou Groza Award, made 15-of-17 field goals and all 61 of his point after touchdown attempts. The Pirates’ Ben Hartman had a streaky season. After going 2-of-5—although he did make the game-winner in his team’s 34-31 last second win over North Carolina—he got hot, but struggled toward the end of the year. He finished 11-of-20 and was only 9-of-17 from 39 yards in.

Brotzman and Brad Elkin share the punting duties for Boise State. Brotzman has 17 boots for slightly more than 45 yards per while Elkin is averaging 37.5 on 27 punts. They net 37 yards. ECU punter Matt Dodge averages 41.2 per attempt, but only nets 32.9 due to inconsistencies in his hang times and distances. In the North Carolina game, he followed up a 12-yard punt with a 61-yard effort.

Intangibles

Advantage: Boise State

With the success that Boise State has experienced, it know exactly what it takes to win at the highest level. While the Broncos are certainly disappointed that they didn’t extend their streak of consecutive WAC titles to six and potentially cash in another BCS berth, it would be surprising if they came out not ready to play.

Additionally, as a member of the WAC, Chris Petersen’s club is familiar with playing games in Hawaii and they’re making a trip that isn’t so out of the ordinary for them. After all, they just made it less than a month ago.

While it certainly doesn’t possess anywhere near the experience and success of Boise State, East Carolina does have the benefit of playing a lot of guys that had the chance to become acquainted with the bowl experience last season. This time around, they are much more likely to have better focus due to the valuable lessons learned a year ago. As coach Skip Holtz said, the next step the Pirates’ program needs to take is to win a bowl game and he seems to feel confident that his club is committed to that goal.

Both teams will have their mental approach tested, as they’ll be experiencing a trip of a lifetime—the luau’s, the beaches, Pearl Harbor, and everything Hawaii offers—while doing their best to prepare for one another.

Final ECU - Boise State Analysis & Prediction

This game could end up being four hours when you take into consideration that there could likely be a lot of points, penalties and television timeouts. Boise State has committed 88 penalties this year while East Carolina has been whistled for even more with 97. Both teams rank 100-plus in the penalties committed category.

With the exception of the penalties, Boise State is a very well rounded football team that has very few weaknesses. The Broncos will definitely be the best team the Pirates have faced since traveling to Morgantown to face West Virginia back in September. Chris Petersen’s club will undoubtedly seek to scorch the struggling East Carolina pass defense. Defensively, they’ll need to prevent explosion plays from the Pirates’ Chris Johnson and force ECU to drive a long field.

The Pirates will have to play their most complete game to date if they are to garner their program’s biggest win since the ’99 win over No. 9 Miami in Raleigh. Defensively, they will need to prevent Boise State from getting its usual big plays while continuing their trend of being opportunistic. This has largely been the saving grace this season—get a turnover and convert it into points. Pressure must be placed on the passer to assist the secondary. The ECU offense must get the ball in the hands of playmakers Chris Johnson, Dwayne Harris and Jamar Bryant. The Broncos probably haven’t seen as complete of a back as Johnson the entire season and the speedster taking a couple the distance would greatly aid the Pirates’ chances. Finally, the Pirates’ special teams simply cannot allow any blocked kicks for points since they will need all they can get in this one.

The Pirate “O” will have a decent day, but will the defense be able to limit the damage of Taylor Tharp, Ian Johnson and company?

The consistent Broncos will likely be too much for an up and down East Carolina team.

Boise State 41 - East Carolina 24

Find more 2007-2008 College Bowl previews at College Sports Fans.