The Boise State Broncos defense has been a quiet catalyst for their surge to the College Football Playoff; upon praise from Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki, let’s take a look at how they match up with the Penn State Nittany Lions offense.
Penn State OC Lauds Tough, Disruptive Boise State Defense
While much of the chatter of Boise State football in 2024 has been centered around their all-world running back Ashton Jeanty, their defense has been a huge reason why they’re in the position they’re in: Mountain West Conference champions and a No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoffs.
The Broncos rank 32nd in the country in scoring defense, giving up only 21.9 points per game.
Broncos defensive lineman Ahmed Hassanein and Jayden Virgin-Morgan, as well as linebacker Marco Notarainni, were each honored as All-Mountain West First-Team selections. Fellow defensive lineman Braxton Fely and defensive back Seyi Oladipo were second-team selections.
But it’s not just individuals that are getting the job done; it’s the entire unit.
Ahead of their matchup against the Broncos in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, Penn State offensive coordinator Kotelnicki lauded the Broncos’ physicality and complementary play on the defensive side of the ball.
“First of all, they play great team defense,” he said. “They’re one of the top teams in the country in terms of sacks and disruption up front.”
In fact, the Broncos rank second in the nation in terms of sacks per game, taking down the opponent’s quarterback an average of 3.92 times per game.
In the second game of the season, facing the No. 7 Oregon Ducks in Autzen Stadium, the Broncos sacked quarterback Dillon Gabriel a season-high four times. And look no further than the first third-down of the game to see the swarming nature of the defense.
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Flushed from the pocket, Gabriel escaped to his left. Seven Bronco defenders were in pursuit of the Ducks quarterback as he fell short of the first-down marker, forcing an early punt. Though it wasn’t a sack, the exact disruption up front that Kotelnicki spoke about was on display three plays into the game.
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Kotelnicki continued, saying “They have a nice pressure package that complements what their base defense is.”
In the Mountain West championship game against the UNLV Rebels, a monster sack set the tone for the day.
At the 50-yard line, Rebels’ quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams faced a 3rd-and-7. A delayed pressure off the left side of the line by the Broncos forced Williams to back up — and continue to back up. He was eventually sacked near his own 30-yard line, the first of six sacks by the Broncos defense.
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The Rebels, averaging 38.6 ppg before the game, were held to a mere seven points.
But it’s not just pressure in the passing game. The Broncos ranked fifth in the country in tackles for loss per game with 8.0.
An instance against an elusive quarterback in John Mateer of the Washington State Cougars encapsulated the Broncos’ ability to stand their ground in a clutch moment.
With the score knotted at seven, the Cougars decided to go for it on 4th-and-2 inside Boise State territory. Mateer quickly abandoned the called pass play and decided to keep it himself. He was quickly stopped and stood up by multiple blue jerseys before being taken down.
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A key fourth-down stop in a game the Broncos eventually won 45-24, holding the Cougars 10 points below their season average.
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar commenting on the Boise State defense said, “Defensively, they’re a really sound unit. You don’t see many mistakes in the run game, like guys in the same gap. So, I think they’re a very sound and disciplined group, and that starts with the coaching staff.”
The ability to force turnovers is also a key skill the Broncos excelled at in 2024.
The Broncos, needing to win every regular season game to have a chance to make the CFP, found themselves in a tie game with the San Jose State Spartans with under five minutes left in the third quarter.
On 4th-and-2 in Boise State territory, Spartans quarterback Walker Eget found a running lane, passing the first-down marker. That was before Boise State safety Ty Benefield performed a picture-perfect hit that forced the ball out of Eget’s hands and into the waiting arms of Virgin-Morgan.
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The running lane was rare — on the day, San Jose State ran for only 37 yards. It was also one of four Spartan turnovers, fueling a 42-21 Broncos victory, furthering their standing in the CFP race.
“You see a defense that’s making opponents earn their touchdowns and their points and they’re not really giving up things, which is what you would expect this time of year for a team that’s playing in the national playoffs,” Kotelnicki said.
But while the Broncos’ defense has wreaked havoc in the sack and tackle-for-loss column, those are parts of the game in which the Nittany Lions excel offensively. Allowing only 1.07 sacks per game, Allar has been kept relatively clean all season, including six games without taking a sack. In the run game, an average of only 3.71 rush attempts result in a loss per game.
Led by talented running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, Penn State rushes for 201.2 yards per game, good for 17th in the country. Boise State has held opponents to 112.5 yards on the ground.
Something will have to give.
Kotelnicki finished his statement by saying, “Certainly, up front, as we talk about every week, that’s going to be the battle. When you’re in playoff football, this time of year playing football, you need to be good up front on both sides of the ball.”
As the two teams meet in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31, don’t be surprised if the game is decided based on who has the upper hand up front; the Nittany Lions’ talented rushing attack or the Broncos’ pesky, disruptive front seven.
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