It would be so easy for Boise State to hand the ball off to running back Ashton Jeanty 35-40 times a game and take their chances.
He’s that good.
But the Broncos have a good quarterback and explosive receivers that a defense has to account for so it can’t just focus on Jeanty. This is how they operate and this is how they plan on playing the Ducks when the Broncos come to Autzen Stadium Saturday night for a 7 pm kickoff televised on the streaming service Peacock.
Quarterback Maddux Madsen is entering his first season as the full-time starter and he had a good opener against Georgia Southern. He was 22-of-31 passing, good for 280 yards and a touchdown.
According to Dan Lanning, the Broncos offense is multi-faceted and difficult to prepare for.
“Their offense does a lot of good things to scheme you up. And you know, they have compliments off of each play,” he said. “So a great stretch play is going to have a great boot play action off of it as well. So they hold you accountable. They make you tackle. They’re going to make, you know, DBs tackle. They do a really good job of that. And the back certainly, you know, is a big piece of their success.”
That back, Jeanty, is one of the best backs in the country and Lanning says the Broncos star is ready to play on Sundays right now. Unfortunately for the Ducks, Jeanty is still playing on Saturday.
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“I think it’s the best running back I’ve seen since I’ve since I’ve been here,” Lanning said. “You know, he’s certainly an NFL guy, and he is. He doesn’t go down on first contact ever. He’s one of the best arm guys that we’ve gone against. You know, he runs really, really physical.
The Oregon defense is going to have to be as physical on every level, including the back end. Boise State has some receivers that are as good as they’ll face in the Big Ten.
Their leading receiver last week was Cam Camper, a transfer from Indiana. He led the Broncos with four catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. Behind Camper was Latrell Caples with his five catches and 81 yards. He redshirted last season due to injury, but in 2022, he led Boise State with 51 catches549 yards and four touchdowns.
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