PROVO — Coming off an extremely difficult loss to the Utah Utes, the BYU Cougars face the No. 24 Boise State Broncos on Thursday night in Idaho.

Known for its blue turf and super loud fans, Bronco Stadium will be rocking when the Cougars enter. This stadium is one of the hardest place to play. Since 2000 Boise State has a 75-3 record when playing at home.

Last week the Broncos beat Miami (Ohio) 39-12 at home. This helped improve the Broncos to a 1-1 record this season.

Boise State is a member of the Mountain West Conference and is favored to be the conference champion this season.

Nate's Notes:

Kellen Moore on the success of blue-collar Boise State

Former Boise State Bronco Kellen Moore listed several key words in a conversation with former BYU receiver Nate Meikle.

The Broncos are led by head coach Chris Petersen, who is in his seventh season at the helm of Boise State's program.

This will be the third meeting between the Cougars and the Broncos. The Broncos lead the series 2-0.

Offense

After losing star quarterback Kellen Moore to the NFL, the Broncos have had some large shoes to fill in their offense.

The unit is led by junior quarterback Joe Southwick, who is helping to fill the leadership void left by Moore.

Last week, Southwick completed 24-of-31 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns. This season he has a completion rate of 62.9 percent.

Another offensive star for the Broncos is senior running back D.J. Harper. Harper had a career high of 162 yards and four touchdowns last week against Miami. He was also named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week.

Sophomore wide receiver Matt Miller leads the team in receiving. This season Miller has nine receptions for 130 yards. Seven of those receptions and 71 of those yards came last week against Miami.

Miller also helped lead the team in receiving last season with 62 receptions for 679 yards.

Defense

The Boise State defense has also had a challenge this year after losing nine of its defensive starters at the end of last season. However, the unit has created new stars this fall.

Sophomore defensive lineman Demarcus Lawrence is the leading defensive player. Against Miami, Lawrence had four tackles, two-and-a-half sacks and one-and-a-half tackles for loss.

Senior linebacker J.C. Percy is also becoming a star on defense. Last week he had four tackles. Percy finished last season with 48 tackles.

Senior cornerback Jamar Taylor is expected to be another playmaker this season. Last season Taylor had 27 tackles and two interceptions.

The defense has many fresh faces and it will be intriguing to see those new faces step up against BYU and try to create a name for themselves.

Overall, Boise State is going to be a challenge for this BYU team. Boise State is a tough squad that won't lose without a fight.

BYU quarterback Riley Nelson acknowledges the Broncos are one of the best teams in the country.

"They're very talented, very athletic and very disciplined," said Nelson. "They are similar to Utah as far as tenacity and things like that."

Ashley Anderson is a senior at BYU majoring in public relations with the hope of one day having a career in sports public relations.

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