BOISE, Idaho — The Boise State defense gave up nearly 30 points a game in their first five games, but in their final eight games they have only allowed 17 points per game as the defense improved throughout the year, especially in the secondary.
"Yeah there is no question about it," said Boise State defensive coordinator Erik Chinander. "I think those older DB's have taken it upon themselves to improve every week and help those young guys get better."
The front seven for Boise State has been dominant and they will need to perform against Penn State who has a strong offensive line and two running backs that both nearly gained 1,000 yards.
"That’s one of the better running back tandems I’ve seen in a long time," said Chinander. "The thing that impresses me about both of them is how physical they run the football, they are hard to tackle."
Penn State is led by junior quarterback Drew Allar who Chinander told us can make all the throws. However, Penn State's leading receiver is Tyler Warren at tight end, he had more than 1,000 yards receiving and he can do a lot of different things on the field.
"Yeah, obviously he’s an elite player, he’s won some awards which he deserves," said Chinander. "He's really good in the run game, he makes some unbelievable catches, runs great routes, they put him as the Wildcat quarterback. He's just a really good player."
The Boise State defense will be fired up for the Fiesta Bowl as both of these teams have never lost in this bowl game and this year there's a spot in the College Football semifinals up for grabs.
"This is going to be a heavyweight fight," said Chinander. "We are going to get punched and we are going to have to punch back, this is December. It is tough guys only in December and January."
Kickoff for the Fiesta Bowl is set for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday and it will be aired on ESPN. We have crew on their way to Glendale, Arizona for the game so watch out for their coverage in the coming days on Idaho News 6.
