After leading Boise State to two Fiesta Bowl wins in what was a dominant seven year tenure for the Broncos, Chris Petersen decided to take the Washington head coaching job. Some wondered if this was a step up for Peterson as he created a mid-major powerhouse in Boise. But Petersen has improved this Washington program already and will bring a tough team back to the place that made him who he is. 

It will be a tough game for Washington as they will face a stout Broncos defense which relies heavily on the strength of their defensive line and linebackers. Led by star linebacker Tanner Vallejo, Boise State's defense will look to make life miserable for Washington. The Huskies will look to running back Dwayne Washington as the main man on offense. He had a strong ending to the season last year and will look to help Washington control the game on the ground. 

Washington's biggest problem however is their quarterback situation. There are three potential quarterbacks that Petersen could start. Freshman Jake Browning seems to be the favorite to start for Washington although it is out of character for Peterson to start a young player at quarterback. 

Boise State isn't a bad team on offense either. Although they lost key players like quarterback Grant Hendrick and star running back Jay Ajayi, Boise State has some firepower on offense. Ryan Finley will be the new leader for Boise State on offense and he will have a good wideout group to help him ease into the starting job. Boise State has had a solid list of good quarterbacks from Kellen Moore to Grant Hendrick and now Finley will have the reigns in Boise. 

One of the main players in the wideout group will be Thomas Sperbeck. After losing veteran Matt Miller for the season last year due to an ankle injury, Sperbeck stepped up big time for the Broncos. He ended up leading the team in receiving yards and will look to be the main guy on the Broncos offense. 

This will be the first game of a tough non-conference schedule for Boise State. After this game, they will face the likes of BYU and Virginia on the road. With a semi-difficult schedule, getting off to a good start in non-conference play is crucial. If Boise State wants to reach another major bowl again, this is a must win for the Broncos. 

It will be a weird game for Petersen, although he has insisted to the media it won't be. This is the place where he build his legacy and he was able to land the Washington job because of his success at Boise State. Now Boise State has to show how much they have grown without him. 

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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