Coaches No. 13 2008 record 12–1 (8–0 WAC) | AP No. 11 | |
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Conference Western Athletic Conference Head coach Chris Petersen (3rd as HC; 8th overall year) Offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin (3rd as OC; 8th overall year) | ||
The 2008 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Broncos played their home games at Bronco Stadium, most famous for its blue artificial turf surface, often referred to as the "smurf-turf". The blue turf was new for the 2008 season, as the old Astroplay surface was replaced by Field Turf. The Broncos won the Western Athletic Conference championship and were one of only two teams (the other being the Utah Utes) to finish the 2008 regular season with an undefeated record. However, the Broncos were unable to finish the season undefeated after losing 17–16 to #11 TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl.
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Previous season
The Broncos entered the 2007 season ranked #23 in the coaches poll and were on a 13-game winning streak after going undefeated in 2006. After an opening home win against Weber State to extend their winning streak to 14, the Broncos traveled to Seattle to play Washington. The Broncos failed to win against a Pac-10 team, losing to the Huskies 24–10, ending their nation's best winning streak, and dropping out of the top 25. The Broncos would win 9 straight games from September 15 to November 17, including 7 WAC games and wins over rivals Fresno State, Idaho, and Nevada in a 4 OT game that set a new NCAA FBS record for points scored with 136 (69–67; that record total was matched later that season when Navy beat North Texas 74–62). The Broncos reentered the top 25 on November 3 and made it as high as #15 before dropping to #17 for the season ending game at #13 and undefeated Hawaii. The game with Hawaii was for the outright WAC championship, won by Hawaii 39–27. The Broncos would return to Honolulu to play East Carolina in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on December 23, won by East Carolina 41–38. The Broncos would finish the season 10–3, but failed to win either a conference championship or a bowl game for the first time since 2001.
Pre-season awards
On July 25, the Broncos were selected as the favorite to win the WAC by the media by a total of 383 points to 379 for Fresno State and first place votes of 25 to 20. The WAC coaches (not allowed to vote for their own team) voted Fresno #1 with a total of 63 to 57 points. Fresno had a total of 7 first place votes among WAC coaches to Boise States 2.
The USA Today Coaches preseason top 25 poll was released on August 1, with Boise State receiving 25 votes to rank 34th.
The Associated Press preseason top 25 poll was released on August 16, with Boise State receiving 17 votes to rank 36th.
WAC Coach of the Year
Chris Petersen
WAC Freshman of the Year
Kellen Moore-QB
First Team All WAC
Jeremy Childs- Jr. WR- Second straight year on 1st team
Andrew Woodruff- Sr. OL
Ryan Winterswyk- So. DL
Ellis Powers-Sr. LB
Kyle Wilson- Jr. DB- 2007 2nd team
Second Team All WAC
Austin Pettis- So. WR
Kellen Moore- Fr. QB
Ian Johnson-Sr. RB- 2006 & 2007 1st team
Mike T. Williams- Sr. DL
Jeron Johnson- So. DB
Kyle Wilson- Jr. ST/KR