Boise State Broncos @ Colorado State Rams Football Recap

Boise State 63, Colorado State 13

Amidst the whirl and the confusion of the never-ending conference realignment saga, one question is hovering over the Boise State Broncos' first season as a member of the Mountain West Conference: Will this first season in the league be a one-and-done proposition?

Yes, with constant Big East rumors swirling around the nation, it's very possible that Boise State will spend only one year in the Mountain West, enticed by the prospect of joining a conference with an automatic berth to the Bowl Championship Series in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. If it's the case that Boise will stick around for just 12 months, one can assume that the Colorado State Rams will be quite grateful to see Boise leave. After the way in which the Broncos treated the Rams this past Saturday at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado, the reality is as unvarnished and undeniable as humanly possible: Colorado State would have to be properly insane to want another year of competition against the Broncos on a football field. This matchup could unfold for many more years, and CSU wouldn't be able to hold a candle to BSU. It's true that Boise State won't always have superstar quarterback Kellen Moore, but one must also realize that even with Moore out of the picture, this game still wouldn't have been terribly close.

Of course, Boise State wouldn't have beaten Colorado State by 50 points with Moore out of the lineup. Yes, the Broncos would have clubbed and clobbered CSU by "only" 25 or 30. At every position and in every facet of competition, the newcomers to the Mountain West outclassed their Colorado hosts, creating a beatdown that looked far worse than the final 50-point spread.

This was, simply stated, a case of the Ram, not the lamb, being led to slaughter. Boise State ran off the game's first 35 points to assert its total dominance of the situation. Colorado State then had the audacity and the nerve to respond with 13 points before halftime, reducing Boise's lead to "only" 22. Angered by that display of intransigence from the Rams, the Broncos developed a healthy hatred in the third quarter, storming the Bastille with 28 points before the fourth quarter even arrived. The final score of this contest might have technically embraced all of four quarters, but the 63-point tally posted by the Boise boys was achieved in roughly 40 minutes of clock time, just two-thirds of the full canvas of regulation. That's how scary the Broncos are at the moment, and that's how great the distance was between college football's nomadic program and its Rocky Mountain host.

Sometimes, the numbers paint a false picture of a competition, but in this game, they didn't. Boise State more than tripled - yes, you read that right - Colorado State in total yards, 732 to 241. In terms of rushing yards, Boise owned a positive differential of 309 yards (393 to 84). As for the aforementioned Mr. Moore, here merely completed 26 of 30 passes for 338 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. In other words, he was as close to perfect as one can realistically be.

Let's ask the question one more time, Colorado State: Do you really want Boise to remain in your league for one more season, or do you want the Broncos to head off to the Big East? After Saturday night, the answer shouldn't be in doubt... not if Colorado State wants to move to the upper tier of its natural conference habitat.

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By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer