Boise State beat notes: Thanksgiving plans vary widely for players, coaches

Perhaps Boise State safety Jeron Johnson has the best idea for how to spend Thanksgiving away from home.

"I'm going everywhere - house to house and I'm going to get a plate," he said.

Johnson will spend part of the day with cornerback Antwon Murray, whose mother is in town. He also plans to stop by the home of defensive backs coach Marcel Yates, who is deep-frying a turkey.

"I'm going to roam around and be a tester," Johnson said.

The Broncos, who play Nevada on Friday at Bronco Stadium, get a few hours off to celebrate Thanksgiving. Players and coaches made sure everyone had dinner plans.

Some players are importing cooks, like Murray.

Some are importing food, like safety Jason Robinson, whose family members are bringing his grandmother's food with them.

And some are taking the easy route - dinner out.

Coach Chris Petersen will have dinner at his house with his wife's family and his father. He also invited some younger coaches to join them.

It won't be your typical holiday dinner, though. The WAC championship game will remain top of mind for Petersen.

"I feel bad, but that's just how it is," he said.

Offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin plans to eat at his sister-in-law's house. Harsin grew up in Boise, so his Thanksgiving will include six families - and plenty of football questions.

"You pretty much talk about it the whole time," he said.

The mothers of quarterback Kellen Moore and tight end Tommy Gallarda are in charge of the cooking at their sons' house. The crowd of 20-25 will include a few of the younger players on the team.

Moore and Gallarda live with linebacker Derrell Acrey and offensive lineman Kevin Sapien. They play games on Thanksgiving.

"Last year, a few guys were not able to keep rhythm with some of the little first-grade games we were playing," Gallarda said. "I'm not going to say Sapien, but . ..."

REAL FIREPOWER

When Nevada coach Chris Ault invented the pistol formation in 2005, he wanted to jump-start his rushing attack without putting his quarterback under center. His offense evolved into what it is today - a dominant rushing attack with a passing complement.

But for Boise State and many other teams, the pistol still is used for the reason Ault first intended. By putting the quarterback 4 yards deep instead of 5, the pistol formation allows the tailback to line up behind the quarterback instead of at his side, as the back does in the traditional shotgun. The alignment gives the tailback a running start when he gets the ball. In the shotgun, he was flat-footed when he got the ball.

The Broncos use the pistol at times - they call it the "Q" - and have been pleased with the results.

"I like it obviously for Kellen - it keeps him in the gun and still we're able to have a downhill run game," Harsin said. "Obviously he's pretty good in the gun."

Nevada's version is different because quarterback Colin Kaepernick is such a running threat. The Wolf Pack have rushed for a national best 373.2 yards per game and thrown for just 161 per game this year.

Five years ago, the Pack passed for 110 yards per game more than they rushed.

"That's been one of the strangest things to happen - our run game has clicked on all cylinders and has not presented us with the situations to throw," Ault said. "Against Boise, you're going to have to throw the ball. They're going to force that."

Last year, Kaepernick was 19-of-50 passing in a loss to the Broncos. The Wolf Pack offense only scored 20 points.

STRONG IN THE RED ZONE

The Boise State starters have scored touchdowns on 12 straight red-zone possessions - covering two full games and a fourth-quarter touchdown against Louisiana Tech.

That's a huge change for a group that had struggled for eight games and three quarters to capitalize on its scoring opportunities. The Broncos were so bad that their hot streak has bumped up their touchdown percentage to just 61.9 percent. Nevada converts at a 78 percent clip.

The Broncos have run the ball better lately, which has helped. But Harsin says he adjusted his playcalling, too.

Before, the Broncos often got stuck in third-and-long. He has taken a safer approach on first down to prevent those situations.

AVERY MOVING UP LIST

Boise State junior tailback Jeremy Avery has rushed for 1,008 yards this season and moved into sixth in school history in career rushing yards.

Avery has 2,294 yards in his career. He has topped 100 rushing yards in three straight games.

The Broncos have averaged 6.8 yards per carry in their past two games. The oft-criticized offensive line has stepped up, players and coaches say.

"Everybody was barking about our running game," Avery said. "We tried to pick it up and show we can run the ball."

HIGH RANKINGS

The Broncos rank in the top five in the nation in takeaways (29, tied for fifth), giveaways (10, tied for fifth) and turnover margin (plus-19, second).

"Which is amazing because of the snap issues that we've had," Petersen said. "... A lot of those turnovers have come at very opportunistic times."

Turnovers could play a significant role Friday. Nevada was minus-9 in its three losses and plus-7 in its eight wins.

"When you're playing a good team, that's when those turnovers really matter," Petersen said.

NEVADA CAN WIN WAC TITLE OUTRIGHT

Boise State clinches a share of the WAC title with a win but would need to beat New Mexico State on Dec. 5 for the outright title.

Nevada wins the outright title with a victory because this is the Wolf Pack's regular-season finale.

So if there's a trophy presentation Friday night, it will be for the Wolf Pack, not the Broncos.

TICKETS REMAIN

Boise State has a little more than 1,000 tickets remaining for the Nevada game. They cost $64 for adults and $43 for juniors. They are available at www.idahotickets.com, and at the box office on game day. The tickets are leftovers from the student allotment.

Chadd Cripe is in his eighth 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.