It will be a tough year for the Broncos. They lost some key offensive players last year. They lost quarterback Grant Hendrick and running back Jay Ajayi, both of whom were key players in their run to the Fiesta Bowl. But the Broncos have a history of turning it around after losing key players. They still have a good chunk of an offfense that ranked 13th in the nation and a good part of a defense that finished in the Top 50 in the nation. But the key for the Broncos will be the starting quarterback and running back situation. Who will replace Grant Hendrick and Jay Ajayi? 

The quarterback duel will come down to sophmore Ryan Finley and true freshman Brett Rypien. Although Rypien was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school, this writer thinks Bryan Harsin and the coaching staff will go with experience and go with Finley. But Finley doesn't have any major experience under center so the first few games will be a test for the young QB. As for the backfield, they will most likely use a committee of running backs. Jeremy McNicholas looks like the main man for most of the carries as he will look to replace Ajayi, although replacing his production will be tough. But veteran receiver Shane Williams-Rhodes will be back to help ease the starting QB for the Broncos. But they will have a stern test in their first four weeks. 

The Broncos will host their former coach Chris Peterson when he brings his Washington team to the Blue on opening weekend. This is a statement game for the Broncos as they will have to show themselves and America (the game will be televised on ESPN) that they can win the Mountain West and reach a New Years Six Bowl again. They will also face the likes of BYU and Virginia in the opening weeks. The good thing for Boise State is that they won't have to go undefeated to make a top bowl game. The Group of 5 rule allows Boise State to not have to go undefeated, while in the past we have seen good Boise State teams end up in the Las Vegas Bowl because they lost just one game. The toughest games in the Mountain West for Boise State will be Utah State and Air Force. 

It will be a transition year for Boise as they will lose some key players on offense but in college football, there is no such thing as transition. Boise State will have to be on their A-game once again if they want to make a New Years Six Bowl.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Vijay Vemu
Vijay is a sports journalist who covers mainly the NBA and soccer. He is a credential reporter on the Chicago Fire and also covers NBA for VAVEL as well. He is also a editor for Mash Chicago, the publication of the Chicago Tribune. He is also a contributor at SB Nation's Blog A Bull and Big East Coast Bias as well as writing on European Soccer as well. He plans on attending the University of Illnois at Chicago (UIC) in the fall with a major in computer science. You can follow him on Twitter : @VJVemu