Interview with the Enemy: Boise State

So this weeks interview has a twist. In addition to a Q&A exchange, winner of the game gets to post something (within reason.) on the loser’s blog.

1. This is the first real challenge Oklahoma State will face this season. What is it about the Broncos team that could give the Cowboys fits?

That’s a toughie with this season’s team! It’s like picking a favorite child. (Well okay, besides moody teenagers.) I was very impressed with the “new” receiving corps that has stepped up in a Cedrick-Wilson-shaped hole over the last two games. In the first game against Troy, Sean Modster was running under bombs for yards and TDs, then last game John Hightower lit up the scoreboard and was running wild all over the field. Not to mention AJ Richardson who had a SportsCenter-Top-Ten-worthy one-handed catch, nasty stiff-arm, and juke to get to the end-zone. Interestingly, the WR who was supposed to be Rypien’s go-to guy (Octavius Evans) has not played due to injury, but is listed as a starter for this game. With a quarterback as efficient as Rypien has been, I’m excited to see who will step up and be the next playmaker.

2. Who player should Cowboy fans be watching for on Saturday?

I think it’s about time starting RB Alexander Mattison makes some tracks. He rushed for 1,086 yards and 12 TDs last season, and he has some real breakaway speed after hitting a hole. He had some good runs in the last few games, but for the most part, defenses played the run and so the game-plan was adjusted for a more aerial attack. He’s due for a big game, especially if Oklahoma State is preparing for the Boise State play-calling in the last two.

3. What are your thoughts on the turnover throne?

I love it! Most of the time, I think of turnover trophies as gimmicky, probably because last season BSU had a lame belt like other teams. But during camp, the coaches came up with a decked-out BMX bike for the “King of Chaos” to ride, and they came up with the throne as a way to up the game (and probably give the playmaker a rest while minimizing chances to recreate a Marshawn-Lynch-in-a-golf-cart-chaos-scenario).

4. What, in your opinion, does Oklahoma State have to do in order to win this game?

I’m not sure I have an accurate gauge on your team just yet, but I have always been a fan (truly) of watching past Cowboy’s teams light up the scoreboard with fast, explosive offenses. Plus, something about that orange color just looks cool to me. It sounds like you have a pretty formidable stable of running backs, and I don’t think this year’s Bronco squad has really been tested on that front yet. I think the Cowboys need to eat up clock time with long, sustained drives, keeping the Broncos’ offense off the field, and probably win the field position battle on special teams. It’s funny, but we always come into games like this (with two powerful offenses) and they always seem to turn into low-scoring defensive battles (like BSU against TCU in the 2010 Slap-In-The-Face Bowl).

5. On a scale of DC Movie Heroes (with Halle Berry’s Catwoman being “Not At All” and Christopher Reeves’ Superman being “Supremely”), how confident are you coming into this weekend’s matchup?

I would have to say Dean Cain’s Superman from the TV show Lois and Clark. I’m confident we have a good team, but I also hesitate a bit because I don’t have a good read on a traditionally good Oklahoma State team. We might be strong enough to bust through walls, but the limits of our action might be a TV-G-rated “stand-there-with-our-chests-puffed-out-until-the-bad-guys-run-out-of-bullets-and-give-in” kind of game. Fun fact you can impress your friends with: Dean Cain and Erik “Ponch” Estrada from CHiPS both are now real police officers in the small town of St. Anthony, Idaho.

I also did my own Q&A with One Bronco Nation Under God. You can read that here.