Boise State football coach Chris Petersen keeps giving basically the same answers. His team, unfortunately for Petersen, continues to have the same results on fourth down.

“Are you kidding me? We can’t get that?” Petersen said, holding his fingers just inches apart, after the Broncos were stuffed on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1 against BYU earlier this season.

“We’ve got to hit that. We’ve either got to run for it or hit it. It was open,” Petersen said after the Broncos failed to convert on fourth-and-1 from the New Mexico 4 last week.

No matter what the Broncos try — run or pass — they haven’t been able to convert a single fourth-down attempt this season. The short misses against BYU (on a quarterback sneak) and New Mexico (on an incomplete pass from quarterback Joe Southwick to Dan Paul) stand out, but the Broncos are 0-for-7.

They missed on one attempt in the fourth quarter against Michigan State, failed on five tries against BYU and missed the short pass against New Mexico.

It is a big departure from the Broncos’ overall success on fourth down under Petersen. Twice since Petersen became head coach, the Broncos have ranked in the top three nationally. Four times they’ve ranked in the top 25.

Despite the struggles, Petersen is clear that he won’t change his aggressive, go-for-it approach. The Broncos have eschewed short field goal tries in several situations, trying to pick up a first down and, ultimately, a touchdown.

“I don’t want to kick field goals, regardless,” said Petersen, a former offensive coordinator. “I don’t care if we have the greatest field goal kicker in the world, I don’t want to do that.”