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Boise State is on the road Friday night against the New Mexico Lobos in a game that is key to the conference and divisional race as both the Lobos and Broncos are 1-0 early in league play.
This is a big game and those on the outside who may stumble upon this game might be surprised, because last year New Mexico provided a huge upset on the Blue Turf by winning, 31-24.
Ever since Boise State and New Mexico became conference members this series has been close, with the exception of two games. New Mexico broke through last year with the win.
Here are the results between these two since they both joined the league.
- 2011 - Boise State over New Mexico, 45-0
- 2012 - Boise State over New Mexico, 32-29
- 2013 - Boise State over New Mexico, 45-17
- 2014 - Boise State over New Mexico, 60-49
- 2015 - New Mexico over Boise State, 31-24
Boise State should be ready to jump on this New Mexico defense that has struggled.
Quarterback Brett Rypien is certainly looking forward to facing a Lobo defense that is allowing more than 32 points per game. The ground game has been more potent for Boise State though, led by Jeremy McNichols, back-to-back Mountain West Player of the Week award-winner. Despite being held out of the end zone last week, McNichols already has seven rushing touchdowns on the season and ranks in the top 20 in the country in yards. And he is an asset to Rypien out of the backfield. It is going to be hard for New Mexico to stop McNichols’ in this one.
For New Mexico to get the win they need to slow down the Boise State running game.
Jeremy McNichols has easily been one of the top running backs in the conference this year and the Broncos' coaching staff knows it. Last week he ran the ball 30 times against Utah State for 132 yards. If that's not enough, he also had 6 catches for 73 yards. The tailback, who does so many things well, is a danger to the fragile New Mexico defense. That is to say, with a guy like McNichols, you don't hope to take him out of the game, you only hope to make the game hard for him.
When: 9 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MT Friday, Oct. 7
Where: University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Capacity: 39,224 (PLEASE BE FULL)
TV channel: CBS Sports Network
Commentators: Carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor, Jenny Dell
Live stream: CBS Sports Network / CBS Sports app
Line: Boise State by 17.5
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