Boise State Football

The Boise State Broncos gave fans a glimpse of what to expect from the program in 2013 on Saturday. The annual Blue vs. Orange game was entertaining and showed off the good aspects of the team, as well as some of the areas in need of improvement.

The game features a different scoring format because they don't break the squad into two teams. Instead, it's offense vs. defense.

Here's how each side can tally points:

Score format, per BJ Rains of Idaho Press:

Instead of breaking into two teams, they will play offense vs. defense.

The game will consist of four eight-minute quarters. The offense will get the traditional six points for a touchdown, three points for a field goal and one point for a PAT. The defense will get six points for a touchdown, three points for a turnover or fourth down stop, two points for a sack and one point for limiting the offense to a field when they are inside the red zone.

Rains also gave us the list of players who didn't dress for Saturday's action:

• Linebacker Tyler Gray
• Nickelback Chris Santini
• Defensive end Kharyee Marshall
• Safety Jeremy Loane
• Tight end Gabe Linehan,
• Offensive lineman Charles Leno Jr
• Cornerback Brian Douglas

The Broncos fans turned out pretty well for the practice session. Per the program's official Twitter account, over 9,000 fans were in attendance.

The Action

John Garretson of Arbiteronline.com and Blue Turf tweeted the first score of the game. It came from an interception by Tyler Horn. The defense took the early lead as it looked good most of the first half.

Standout running back Jay Ajayi scored on an 18-yard TD run to make the score 6-3 at the beginning of the second quarter. The extra point made the score 7-3.

After two sacks, the defense was able to even the score at seven. Beau Martin and Demarcus Lawrence did the honors. 

Just before the half, Joe Southwick showed why Broncos fans should be excited about the 2013 season. He led a nice drive that culminated with a 25-yard TD pass to Geraldo Boldewijn with just 10 seconds left.

After being seemingly outplayed most of the half, the offense went into the half up 14-7.

In the second half, the offense continued to roll. Jack Hardee's 21-yard TD catch from Grant Hedrick made it 21-7 for the offense.

The defense would continue to make plays, though. Donte Deayon picked off a pass and took it in for a 30-yard interception return for a TD. This true freshman really stood out on Saturday.

The score and turnover brought the score to 21-16.

Deuce Mataele forced a fumble and recovered the ball for three more points to bring the score to 21-19. The Broncos can't be happy with their ball security at this point. With this scoring format, the offense has an advantage if it simply takes care of the ball.

The offense was able to hold onto the ball the rest of the way. It even added a one-yard touchdown run from quarterback Jimmy Laughrea to win, 28-19.

It is hard to tell whether head coach Chris Petersen should be happier about his defense's playmaking ability, or sad about his offensive mishaps.

Grades

Pass Rush: B

In the first half, the Broncos came up with two sacks from Martin and Lawrence. The two junior defensive ends will be counted on to generate a pass rush this season. The Broncos defensive line was young in 2012.

Now as both are upperclassmen, much will be expected of them. No sacks in the second half kept this from being an A.

Quarterbacks: B-

Southwick, Hedrick and Laughrea were held down most of the first half, but they showed their explosiveness as well.

This team will be better this year offensively than it was last year. Southwick's maturity will be key in that.

Also, Broncos fans should be excited about Laughrea. He could be a star in 2014.

Running Game: A

Jay Ajayi had a nice first half. The sophomore is going to have a really nice year with D.J. Harper moving on.

He had 69 yards rushing in the first two quarters. The running game looks to be in good shape.

Secondary: B

Despite being burned on a couple of intermediate length TD passes, the unit still made some plays. Deayon's pick-six was the highlight of a decent day.

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The Boise State Broncos will kick off the 2013 season with the program's Blue and Orange spring game on Saturday, April 13, and there are multiple positions up for grabs.

Boise State has been one of the best programs in the nation under head coach Chris Peterson.

Last season was supposed to be one of transition and potential disappointment after Kellen Moore and Doug Martin left for the NFL. Peterson kept his young men focused, however, and the Broncos had another successful season with an 11-2 record and a win at the Las Vegas Bowl over Washington.

With even more stability this season under starting quarterback Joe Southwick, the Broncos are set up for another successful season. 

Here's what you need to know about the spring game.

Where: Bronco Stadium, Boise, Idaho

When: Saturday, April 13 at 7:00 p.m. ET

Tickets: Now On Sale

TV: N/A

Position Battle To Watch: Kicker

It's rare that a college program's biggest battle is at the kicker position, but that is the case for the Broncos heading into the 2013 season. 

Michael Frisina was marginal for the Broncos last season—his one and only season with Boise State—hitting on just 15 of 20 attempts, and the team is looking for more consistency. 

Tyler Rausa and Dan Goodale will fight for the right to kick field goals next season in a heated competition this spring and throughout the summer. 

Rausa is a JUCO transfer from Riverside (Calif.) City College. Goodale is a returning sophomore who made 60 percent of his attempts last year.

Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman spoke with Rausa, who gave some insight into what coach Peterson is looking for in his kicker in 2013:

They’re not looking for a huge leg. They want someone to just be himself, to not be overwhelmed by the crowd or the situation. A guy who will work hard and do what he has to do. It’s not given. I have to come in and earn that spot. I have to work my butt off.

Kickers don't receive the fanfare that quarterbacks, pass-rushers and other skill positions receive, but they are a big part of winning teams. This battle will likely be ongoing well into the summer, and it will be interesting to see which young man wins out in the end.

Area In Need of Most Improvement: Passing Attack

As pleasantly surprising as Southwick was last year, the senior quarterback has room for a lot of improvement in 2013. 

Southwick only passed for 2,730 yards and 19 touchdowns last season, and the team only scored 30.2 points per game—the worst scoring output at Boise State since 1998, according to Cripe of the Idaho Statesman. 

With the losses of Jamar Taylor, Jerrell Gavins and Lee Hightower (who was kicked out of the program) on the defensive side of the ball, scoring points and running an efficient offense will be even more important for the Broncos this season than it was last year.

Southwick must continue to be efficient as a passer while cranking up his production—a task that is easier said than done. 

Coach Petersen believes he overwhelmed his offense with too many formations last year, and he's going to streamline his playbook for Southwick and company in 2013, according to Cripe. 

This should benefit Southwick, and if he can ramp his game up to another level, the Broncos will be a dangerous team for opposing defenses to face.

What To Expect in 2013

Given Petersen's track record of getting the most out of his players, Broncos fans should expect another big year from their team.

Sophomore running back Jay Ajayi will likely be the team's starting tailback, and his explosive burst will result in more big plays on the ground, which will open up things for Southwick through the air. 

Petersen's conscious effort to reduce the volume of the playbook and streamline the offense should result in more decisiveness from his quarterback, which will inevitably result in more points on the scoreboard.

The team's defense will be strong once again—especially up front, where the trio of Demarcus Lawrence, Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe and Samuel Ukwuachu will continue to grow as a group.

Lawrence will look to bounce back from an up-and-down season last year after missing the Las Vegas Bowl due to a suspension—his second of the year. If he can stay out of trouble and on the field, Lawrence has the talent to become one of the nation's top pass-rushers.

An 11- or 12-win season is always the expectation for Petersen's Broncos, and it will be a big disappointment if Boise State were to lose more than one or two games this upcoming season. 

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On Saturday, April 13th at approximately 5:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, the Boise State Broncos will take to the blue turf for the annual spring game.

It will be the first time since the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas that fans will be able to see the Broncos take part in a true game scenario, and will give fans something to talk about in the months leading up to the rematch with the Washington Huskies.

Chris Petersen’s team comes into 2013 with some pretty high expectations, which isn’t something that should bother this squad.

However, that means there will be a very different dynamic to this year’s spring game compared to the one Boise State experienced last season.

That being said, there is a completely different list of things to watch for during the 2013 edition of the spring game in Boise.

As a primer for the game, let’s take a look at a few of the most important things to look for this coming Saturday.

How Well the Offense is Clicking Out of the Gate

One of the things fans won’t have to hold their breath about is whether or not they have a capable playmaker at quarterback.

At the end of the 2012 season, Joe Southwick showed Bronco Nation just how good he can be, and really raised the bar of expectations for the 2013 campaign.

In addition to being an improved decision-maker and him starting to use his scrambling abilities to his advantage, Southwick became a much more efficient passer during the final quarter of last year.

Southwick probably won’t get much of a chance to show fans his running ability in the spring game, but he will get a chance to show how much of a command he has over the offense.

Generally, the first-team offense runs a fairly stock set of plays in the spring game, but that will still serve as a chance to see whether or not the offense has the ability to pick apart the defense with ease. It may even be more helpful to see how the offense works with fairly simple formations considering  Petersen’s comments about slimming down the offensive playbook this season.

Above anything else, the hope is that the offense looks crisp, and that starts with Southwick.

This isn’t a green squad; most of the starters have had plenty of time working alongside one another in game situations.

Even players such as Jay Ajayi, who will be on display as the Broncos’ likely starter at running back, played quite a bit last season.

Watching the offense come out in the first series and look extremely sharp shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Rather, it should be what is expected of this team.

Evaluating the Defensive Secondary

At this stage in the year, the defensive secondary is still a work in progress for Boise State.

One of the potential starters at cornerback (Bryan Douglas) is recovering from a knee injury suffered last season and won’t see any spring game action. Mercy Maston, a Class of 2013 recruit who may see time at cornerback as well, has not yet joined the team. Both starting cornerback positions are still open.

But the nice thing about the spring game is that the secondary will get worked by one of the best offenses in the Mountain West Conference. More specifically, the corners will be matched up against a wide receiving corps that may be the best in the conference.

Admittedly, it will be hard to take a lot away from the play of the secondary from the spring game because it is still anyone’s guess as to which players will be slotted into starting roles by the time the regular season is set to begin.

At the same time, the game serves as a chance to either confirm strong spring practice performances or expose them.

Junior Deon’tae Florence and sophomore Donte Deayon, who are both vying for a starting cornerback spot, have each had a fantastic spring so far. But nothing is a replacement for actual game situations, and this weekend we will get the chance to see if those two can continue to impress the coaching staff.

Arguably the area where the Broncos needed to replace the most is the defensive secondary, and that will be an extremely important part of the team to watch on Saturday.

The Strength of the Kicking Game

Do not be surprised if this year’s spring game action is halted and Tyler Rausa or Dan Goodale is called out to kick a few field goals in front of the crowd.

More than anything, the Broncos could use some consistency in the kicking game. That’s what Rausa was brought in to do.

The sophomore transfer from Riverside (CA) City College isn’t going to be asked to kick extremely long field goals all the time. The coaching staff simply wants a guy who they can feel confident sending out on the field to kick a 30- to 45-yarder when the game is on the line.

The spring game provides a great opportunity to give Rausa some experience kicking in front of a crowd much bigger than anything he played in front of in high school or during his freshman season at Riverside.

It will be interesting to see how the young kicker responds, whether he gets the opportunity to come out and kick in the spotlight or whether he gets a few chances throughout the course of the game.

One thing is for sure: regardless of how it is handled, artificially creating the “big moment” for a kicker is essentially impossible. But that isn’t what the coaches want.

They simply want consistency. Someone on the team needs to step up and provide it.