BOISE, Idaho — Through five weeks of the season, there isn't much certain about Boise State's offense — but the defense might be another story.
The team changed starting quarterbacks and got a new offensive coordinator prior to Friday's game against San Diego State and that game had two halves that were night and day.
The offense looks to be on the come up. In their last two quarters they scored 35 points and had 273 rushing yards, but the team is far from a cemented offensive force.
Their defense on the other hand, might be earning that title. If you take out the three special teams touchdowns that have been scored against Boise State, the defense is giving up 14.8 points per game. In their two Mountain West matchups, the defense has given up only one touchdown and two field goals.
In those two games, the special teams have allowed two touchdowns.
They lead all Mountain West teams with the fewest yards allowed per game and are top three in points allowed.
This is something co-defensive coordinator Kane Ioane thinks his team can achieve when they all play cohesively.
“Just stay within (their) lane, stay in (their) roll, and do (their) assignment, do (their) job, and when that happens good things happen for our entire defense," Ioane said. "When all eleven are on the same page and everyone is doing their job and playing with great fundamentals and technique we’re a very good defense.”
Kane Ioane on the Defense
Defenses, like most things, can always get better. The team has only five turnovers in the first five games. When ranked across all of college football, that ranks tied for 98th.
Five games is still a relatively small sample size. Senior safety JL Skinner said getting turnovers doesn't happen as much when you're forcing a team out on third down.
Cool Stat: #BoiseState is third in the country in third down conversion defense. They have only allowed a third down conversion on 22% of opponent attempts
— Brendyn Jones (@brendyn_jones) October 4, 2022
The only teams they trail? Minnesota and Alabama
Here is the Top 15 (shout out #Illini Football for being in the mix) pic.twitter.com/2NY00i8RoS
BSU is third in the nation in third down conversion defense. However, he adds getting takeaways is something Skinner says the team is working on.
“We’re for sure trying to search for some more we have some opportunities," Skinner said. "We left some out there at San Diego State with a couple of balls on the ground we just weren’t able to get on. So, we’re just trying to focus on the little things so that when does happen, the next time, we’re in the correct position to get that and cause a turnover and get the ball on the ten instead of at the minus-forty.”
JL Skinner on Turnovers
The team's next game is Saturday night. They'll play Fresno State at Albertsons Stadium at 7:45 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.
