Boise State football needs to find some ‘tackle-breakers’ to spark stagnant offense

Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin described the missing element to the Broncos’ offense succinctly.

“We need some tackle-breakers,” he said Thursday after a third straight middling performance from that side of the ball in a 28-14 defeat of New Mexico.

The Broncos have relied on one dynamic playmaker in the open field this season: senior wide receiver Cedrick Wilson, who has four of the team’s seven offensive plays that have covered more than 20 yards.

The rest of the receivers have combined for 19 catches for 116 yards (a measly 6.1 yards per catch). The tailbacks have carried 73 times for 283 yards (3.9 yards per rush). The quarterbacks have given opponents three defensive touchdowns. And the offensive line is a young, inexperienced group that has allowed too many hits on the quarterback and opened too few holes for the runners.

The Broncos (2-1) have scored 10 offensive touchdowns in regulation going into Friday’s home game against Virginia.

“Opportunities are there for other guys,” Harsin said. “... But when you have a hitch route, a 6-yard route and it’s 1-on-1 on the outside, it doesn’t have to be a 7-yard gain. That can be one where you catch it and make somebody miss.”

The Broncos’ dependency on Wilson and the running ability of backup quarterback Montell Cozart – their leading rusher – isn’t a sustainable model. Opponents notice the lack of variety, and they can key on those two players.

“I know for me personally I left a couple plays out there where we should have had some shots and had some other guys make big plays,” Cozart said after starting in Brett Rypien’s place against New Mexico.

It’s one thing to produce a big play when it’s clearly available, such as tight end Alec Dhaenens’ wide-open reception against Washington State or Alexander Mattison’s long touchdown run against Troy. What the Broncos need is someone other than Wilson and Cozart who can take a contested play and turn it into an explosive play – and occasionally a touchdown.

And the other offensive players have not shown even a flash of that ability so far this season.

“Distribution (to many players) is something that I think good offenses do,” Harsin said. “They distribute the ball to different guys so there’s different points of attacking the defense. But you’ve got to be able to do something with it. I think we’ve got guys to do that.”

The Broncos need a playmaking spark to come out of the backfield, where they have been spoiled by the presence of Jay Ajayi or Jeremy McNichols as the featured back for the past four seasons.

Mattison, a true sophomore, was supposed to be the next in line. But he looked unsure where to go with the ball against New Mexico. He has 106 yards this season outside of the well-blocked, 49-yard TD run against Troy.

Senior Ryan Wolpin runs hard but isn’t explosive. Redshirt freshman Robert Mahone has three carries and true freshman Drake Beasley — the guy whose playmaking earned raves from coaches and teammates during fall camp — hasn’t seen the field.

The Broncos are averaging 3.65 yards per carry, which ranks 92nd in the nation.

“Offense is about execution and efficiency,” Harsin said.

The Broncos have neither, as evidenced by the 10 drives on which they have reached the end zone. Only three of those drives covered 60 yards or more, with the offense instead relying on the field position provided by outstanding defense and special teams play to get on the scoreboard.

Against New Mexico, the Broncos gained 28 yards on their first four possessions of the second half. They finished with 264 total yards, the team’s lowest total in five years.

The productivity wasn’t much better in the win against Troy (357 yards) or the triple-overtime loss to Washington State (401, including the three extra possessions).

True, the Broncos are playing with a backup quarterback and a shaky offensive line. But that’s even more reason they need players to absorb Wilson’s “give me the ball and watch me work” mentality.

“Go make somebody miss,” Harsin has told his offensive players.

The Broncos’ season depends on it.

This story was originally published September 16, 2017 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Boise State football needs to find some ‘tackle-breakers’ to spark stagnant offense."