Boise State’s three keys to victory against South Dakota

Boise State will continue the non-conference portion of its schedule on Saturday with a home matchup against South Dakota.

Kickoff between the Broncos (1-1, 0-0 Pac-12) and Coyotes (3-0, 0-0 Missouri Valley) is slated for 8 p.m. Mountain time at Albertsons Stadium. The game will air live nationally on CBS Sports Network.

In the latest odds from FanDuel, Boise State is a heavy 24.5-point favorite over South Dakota.

Here are three keys to the Broncos avoiding the upset at Albertsons Stadium.

1. Limit explosive plays

Boise State’s defense has surrendered a number of chunk plays this season, including a pair of 80-plus-yard touchdowns in last week’s victory over Memphis.

Due to the explosive plays, the Broncos rank last nationally in passing defense (381 yards allowed per game) and No. 136 of 138 teams in total defense (508 yards allowed per game).

Head coach Spencer Danielson didn’t downplay the defensive issues this week.

“We can’t give up nine or 10 explosive plays,” Danielson said during his Monday press conference. “You’re not going to be successful as a defense when you give up those kind of yards. … Giving up 500 yards of offense two weeks in a row is not OK. Period, end of story, end of discussion. We’ve got to get it fixed.”

2. Keep the ground attack rolling

After experiencing mixed results against Oregon, the Boise State rushing attack was back to its usual self in Week 2.

The Broncos piled up 357 rushing yards on 47 carries, averaging 7.6 yards per attempt. Dylan Riley ran for a career-high 206 yards en route to Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors while Sire Gaines added 93 yards and a touchdown.

Boise State will attempt to do the same thing on Saturday against a South Dakota defensive front that is limiting opponents to 123.7 rushing yards per game.

3. Crank up the pass rush

The Broncos recorded just one sack in their Week 1 loss to the Ducks and generated two last weekend.

Fourth-year senior defensive end Max Stege was a standout against Memphis, recording a career-high five quarterback pressures with two total tackles and a sack. Linebackers Logan Brantley and Boen Phelps and edge rusher Jayden Virgin-Morgan all had two tackles for loss.

In three games this season, South Dakota redshirt freshman quarterback Austyn Modrzewski has been sacked just once. He is 46 of 66 passing (70 percent) for 727 yards with 11 touchdowns and one interception.

Boise State can’t allow Modrzewski to operate from a clean pocket on Saturday.

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