When Boise State sophomore cornerback Ebo Makinde tore a pectoral muscle during a weightlifting session in May, he was told he’d be out at least until November.

Instead, he only missed one game.

Makinde, who has started one game as a third cornerback and the Air Force game as the boundary cornerback, will rotate with fellow sophomore Quaylon Ewing-Burton on Saturday in Las Vegas when the No. 5 Broncos battle UNLV (8:32 p.m. MDT, CBS Sports Network).

“If you had asked me probably in May if I’d be playing right now, I probably wouldn’t be 100 percent sure,” Makinde said. “It’s just a blessing that I really haven’t missed any time.”

So much so that Makinde says his recent increased role — he rotated into the Colorado State game Oct. 15 before starting against Air Force on Oct. 22 — isn’t the reason he’s smiling.

“I’m just happy to be playing,” he said.

Makinde generated a buzz during his redshirt season with the Broncos with his athleticism and work ethic. He played mostly on special teams last year and was expected to serve as the third cornerback this season before an illness in spring ball and the pectoral injury derailed him.

Ewing-Burton replaced injured senior Jerrell Gavins in the starting lineup against Nevada, Fresno State and Colorado State, but Makinde has contributed an interception and a forced fumble since entering late in the first quarter against the Rams.

“I don’t think one of them is playing much better than the other,” defensive backs coach Marcel Yates said. “They’re both good players, good kids. They work hard. They study a lot of film. They’re both fast. I’m just trying to get a feel for if one’s going to step up or one is going to make more plays than the other.”

Makinde played the entire game against Air Force because once he became accustomed to the Falcons’ funky offense, Yates didn’t want to substitute.

He does plan to rotate the duo this week. Makinde says he has played “up and down” so far.

“I’ve definitely got to be more consistent,” he said. “It’s going to come from more reps I get on the field.”

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Senior safety George Iloka is the third player to hold the Boise State tackles lead this season. He has 35, two more than senior middle linebacker Byron Hout.

Junior cornerback Jamar Taylor (25) held the lead for four games and senior defensive end Shea McClellin (27) was on top for two.

Senior defensive end Tyrone Crawford (28), junior weak-side linebacker J.C. Percy (25) and senior safety Cedric Febis (24) also are in contention to succeed former safety Jeron Johnson, who led the team each of the past three seasons.

It should be an intriguing race.

“It would be cool to have,” said Iloka, who moved in front with 12 tackles against Air Force. “The design of our defense is for the rover (Febis) and middle linebacker to have the most tackles. The fact that I’m leading, it’s cool. But I don’t think it will end that way.”

Taylor says he’s more worried about interceptions (he has one) than tackles. He took the lead when teams were trying to get the ball to the outside to avoid the defensive line, which could happen again with some of the offenses the Broncos face this month.

“George and Byron, they should be leading the team in tackles,” Taylor said.

Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski agrees. He says an inside linebacker or safety should win, but he likes the way it’s going this year with tackles so widely dispersed.

The Broncos don’t have anyone in the top 25 in the Mountain West in tackles.

“It’s a team defense and you’ve got a lot of guys running to the ball,” Kwiatkowski said. “Definitely, that’s the way you want it.”

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The old adage is that defense wins championships. If that’s the case, poll voters might want to reconsider how they’re ranking the nation’s undefeated teams.

Boise State has the third-best defense of the six teams, behind only LSU and Alabama, and when you adjust the numbers based on the offenses each team has faced the Broncos compare favorably to the two Southeastern Conference bullies.

Alabama, which leads the nation in total defense, has limited opponents to 163 fewer yards per game than they average against other teams. Boise State’s number is 149.2 and LSU’s is 137.6.

Stanford, which has the next-best defense of the undefeateds, is at 84.8.

Oklahoma State, which is ranked No. 3 and considered a lock for the title game if it wins out, ranks 111th out of 120 teams in total defense. The Cowboys allow 2.7 yards per game more to their opponents than their opponents average against others.

Seven of the past eight BCS national champions have finished in the top 10 in total defense. The exception was Auburn (60th) last year.

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Boise State’s opponents have been giving the Broncos’ schedule strength a boost in recent weeks. Their five non-conference opponents are a combined 18-3 in their leagues, with Tulsa (5-0 in Conference USA) and Nevada (3-0 in WAC) unbeaten.

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Boise State redshirt freshman kicker Dan Goodale says his confidence is on the upswing and he has made some adjustments that he hopes will prevent anymore blocked PATs.

Goodale is 33-of-38 on PATs and 3-of-4 on field goals. Of his missed PATs, three were blocked.

“A lot of ups and a lot of downs,” he said of his freshman season so far. “The whole thing is a learning experience. I obviously haven’t performed as well as I’d like to, but it’s something I can learn from and move forward with. … I’m starting to feel settled in a little bit.”

He has worked in practice to improve his elevation on PATs. Those kicks call for a slightly different technique to pop the ball quickly into the air, since distance isn’t an issue.

“Extra points are all about elevation,” Goodale said. “At the beginning of the season, when I was hitting my extra points, I was trying to hit them like 45-yard field goals.”

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Boise State coach Chris Petersen and his staff will be more prepared for their next encounter with Air Force, which could come in 2013 in the Big East. The teams don’t play next year in the Mountain West.

“We’ve got a page of notes of some stuff that we would do a little bit different,” Petersen said.

Air Force rushed for 264 yards, gained 408 yards overall and picked up 23 first downs while scoring 26 points — all season highs allowed by the Broncos.

Petersen doesn’t expect upcoming opponents to mimic Air Force’s unique offense.

“It’s pretty foreign,” he said. “Someone may line up in the double wing, the wishbone, and break something out, but that would be hard to do.”

Quick hits

Boise State offensive coordinator Brent Pease and UNLV head coach Bobby Hauck were roommates for a summer at Montana. Pease played at Montana with UNLV defensive coordinator Kraig Paulson. … Boise State has appeared in both major polls for 55 straight weeks, which ranks No. 2 in the nation. Alabama has been in 58 straight polls.

Chadd Cripe is in his 10th season covering Boise State football for the Idaho Statesman. He also is a voter in The Associated Press Top 25. Contact him at ccripe@idahostatesman.com or 377-6398.

Note: SOS from collegebcs.com