Football Talk: The Boise State Defense

Last week we discussed how Boise State’s offensive philosophies aren’t all
that different from Virginia Tech’s. Today we’ll switch sides to the Bronco
defense. Yet again, we’ll see that the two schools are very similar.

Last season, Boise State finished 14th nationally in total defense, 14th in
scoring defense, 28th in rushing defense, 21st in pass defense and 13th in pass
efficiency defense. Though this defense wasn’t dominant in 2009, they did
dominate in Boise State’s two highest profile games of the year, against Oregon
in the season opener and TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Broncos lost defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox to Tennessee in the
offseason. Wilcox, who is only 33, has been replaced by Pete Kwiatkowski, a 1990
graduate of Boise State. Kwiatkowski has served as the Broncos’ defensive line
coach since 2006. Head coach Chris Peterson decided to promote from within the
program and go with “a Boise State guy”, as Frank Beamer would put it.

The Bronco program is run in the same way as the Virginia Tech program. There
are Boise State grads on the coaching staff, and the people in charge like to
promote from within. Even Chris Peterson was the offensive coordinator before
taking the head position in 2006.

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