mangrumsNet

"Boise State is No. 1 because it hammered and nailed until the bridge-to-somewhere was complete. The national christening came with its stunning 2007 Fiesta Bowl victory against Oklahoma."

So says Chris Dufresne at the LA Times.  Holy smokes, this is going to be an interesting season.  Polls, reviews, opionions ranking BSU anywhere from #5 to, now, #1.  There is a lot of pressure to perform, and the first game this Monday will go a long way to confirm or deny the placement.

The school has worked for years to build its football program, now the preseason favorite. The formula includes mixing divergent, undervalued players into a winning team.

From Boise, Idaho

The cool-downs after Boise State practices this summer didn't require an ice tub. Defensive end Ryan Winterswyk and teammates simply ran out of Bronco Stadium and jumped in the Boise River.

Boise State is preseason No.1?

Yeah, we know — go jump in a river.

Why the Broncos? And why now?

The time has come to say fair's fair.

This has actually been years the making — born of the brow sweat of thousands who dared to dream. "There are people who came long before I got here to set this up," Winterswyk said.

Reaching the prove-it pinnacle has been a junior college, Division II, I-AA and K2 climb, given that Boise State began in 1892 as an all-girls school (St. Margaret's Hall), was a junior college until 1965 and did not start playing major-division football until 1996.

The conspiracy that is college football would never allow this to happen — or so the politicians have argued.

Read the whole story

GO BRONCOS!