The best way to size this game up is the opponents both teams have already played. Fresno State came to Martin Stadium and held Washington State to 6 points in a 26-6 win. Boise State went to Fresno and scored 38. Utah State beat the Cougars 16-17 in Logan, and Boise beat the Aggies at home by 19. The 2 teams played the same 2 opponents and got very different results.
South Dakota38-24
Duquesne48-7To be fair to Washington State, the Cougars haven't been easy to beat every week. The Utah State loss was a 1-point game, and they put up 30 at Oregon State even while giving up 48. The offense can score in streaks. The problem is a defense that gives up points faster than the offense can get them back, and Boise State's running game is the worst possible matchup for that.
Boise State isn't spotless either. South Dakota, an FCS team, scored 24 on the Broncos in Boise, and Fresno State got to 31. This defense has let teams hang around, and a road trip into a loud Pullman crowd on a Saturday is exactly the kind of game a 5-1 team can sleepwalk through. The forecast is friendly for late October on the Palouse: 62 degrees, mostly sunny, almost no wind. Weather won't slow either offense down.










