Boise State’s bye week plagued by injuries

Boise State has struggled on both sides of the ball this year with a team that only returned 9 starters from their 2012 squad. Now scanty reports are emerging that key players have been sidelined due to recent injuries. One source suggests it has gotten so bad that with the exception of season-ending injuries, the “injury information faucet” at Boise State has been turned completely off.

The latest rumor is that new star RB Aaron Baltazar could be out for season after hurting his knee in last week’s game with Southern Miss. His loss could prove critical for a Broncos offense that promoted the freshman into the backup position after the first two games of the season. Baltazar was the subject here of an earlier report that touted his abilities and the expectations the Broncos had for their running game after the loss last year of RB DJ Harper to the pros.

Senior WR Kirby Moore, who is the second leading receiver on the Broncos’ squad with 25 receptions for 195 yards and two TD’s in four games, is also among a growing number of key players with injuries. Along with Moore, fellow WR Aaron Burks, DE Tyler Horn, and TE’s Holden Huff and Gabe Linehan were also warming the bench with injuries during the Southern Miss game. That was the game that starting OT Rees Odhiambo was sidelined with an injury.

“We’ve definitely got to get better,” head coach Chris Petersen said about the injuries. “We’ve got a really good team in Utah State that’s going to be staring at us. If we don’t play our best football of the year, we won’t win.”

That game is next up for the Broncos with a road trip down to Logan a week from Saturday to do battle with the Aggies. They need to have their top guys healthy and ready to play if they have any hope of winning the Mountain Division championship.

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