TULSA, Okla. - As good a football coach as Boise State's Chris Petersen is, he is a better worrier.

And of all the things he is prepared to worry about - let me tell you, the list is long - he is not going to spend any of that time worrying about the thing that preoccupies fans and media members the most: Boise State's Bowl Championship Series chances.

In the aftermath of the Broncos' 28-21 victory at Tulsa on Wednesday night, Petersen deflected the usual assortment of style-point questions and inquiries about how the less-than-dominant performance could affect the Broncos in the minds of pollsters.

He will let everyone else in and around Bronco Nation fret about margin of victory.

"At the end of the season, it's all going to be forgotten. Did you get it done or not?" Petersen said.

The Broncos got it done Wednesday night - for the sixth time in six tries.

Boise State, however, is playing more than just the opponent on the field. The Broncos are being pitted against teams from around the country in the minds of voters - the ones who will ultimately cast their decision on the Broncos' fate at the end of the season. Those games are nearly impossible to win, so Petersen has crossed it off his to-worry-about list.

"I know for a fact if we didn't play well this team could beat us. When you go into a game like that, you're just trying to win the game. It's that simple," Petersen said.

For him, it is. For everyone else, it's not. They want to compare scores and see strength of schedule. They have to.

"All we're trying to do is win, one game at a time. I'm not looking at a clock and there's not a player on this team looking, going, 'Boy, this isn't enough points,' '' Petersen said. "It's enough points if it's one more than the opponent has.''

No one, not even Petersen, will tell you it looked pretty. These Broncos have not shown the ability to put away teams - and they allowed Tulsa to hang around way too long and it almost came back to bite them.

Boise State dominated the game from the end of the first quarter until five minutes into the fourth quarter. Yet, the Broncos' lead was a mere 14 points. Boise State settled for field goals twice inside the red zone, something that also plagued the Broncos against UC Davis.

It will no doubt cost them votes in the polls that are released Sunday. Since reaching the rarefied air of the Top 5, Boise State is battling perception as much as any opponent.

One of Petersen's favorite sayings is, the wind blows harder at the top of the mountain. It's blowing hard now, with everyone looking for a flaw in BSU's game. Every misstep is magnified, every miscue maligned.

Nothing better illustrates Petersen's focus on winning the game - rather than the hearts and minds of voters around the country - than his decision to kick a field goal on fourth-and-goal at the Tulsa 1 late in the third quarter. Boise State led 25-14.

A field goal makes it a two-touchdown game, important against a team with the speed and quick-strike ability of Tulsa.

A touchdown, though, certainly would look better. A failure to gain the yard would leave Boise State susceptible to a loss with a TD and a field goal.

What's your priority?

"I didn't want to be bullheaded or pound your chest, this is who we are," Petersen said. "Players want to do that. Coaches need to be, sometimes, a little bit wiser."

Petersen is wise enough to know that being undefeated is the only way into the BCS for the Broncos. He'll worry about everything else later.