By Chadd Cripe
ccripe@idahostatesman.com

The Boise State football team’s offensive struggles in the second half of Saturday’s win against Bowling Green can’t be blamed on any one thing, coach Chris Petersen said — and that makes the problem even harder to fix.

The Broncos were shut out in the second half at home for the first time in 19 years in the 20-7 victory. The problems varied from missed assignments to penalties to a fumble.

What made the drought more perplexing was the Broncos’ own ruthless efficiency in the first half, assembling three long touchdown drives on their first three possessions.

The Broncos (2-0) will need more consistency for Saturday’s showdown at No. 17 Oregon (3-0). The schools’ first football meeting kicks off at 1:37 p.m. MDT (KTVB).

“A trend makes you feel better because you know exactly what to go after and what to fix,” Petersen said. “Sometimes when it’s this guy, that guy, different things, those are harder problems to fix. The way we do that is we just keep practicing hard. … We’ll get back on track.”

That won’t be easy against Oregon.

The Ducks have tremendous team speed and their secondary is considered one of the best — if not the best — in the nation.
They also can get after the quarterback. Defensive ends Nick Reed and Will Tukuafu have combined for seven of the Ducks’ 12 sacks this season.

“This will be as good a team as I’ve seen in a long time,” Petersen said. “Everybody’s trying to get a team that’s as fast as Oregon’s.”

The Ducks are expected to play two quarterbacks in place of injured starter Justin Roper. Sophomore Jeremiah Masoli (16-of-28 for 193 yards and two TDs), a junior-college transfer, is listed as the starter with true freshman Chris Harper (20 carries, 102 yards, two TDs; 4-for-6 passing) behind him. Darron Thomas, another true freshman expected to redshirt, is the third-stringer.

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Sophomore middle linebacker Derrell Acrey sustained an ankle injury Saturday. He tried to return to the game but couldn’t move well enough.

Acrey is “50-50” for this week’s game, Petersen said. Senior Dallas Dobbs is listed as the co-starter with Acrey on the depth chart.

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Redshirt freshman left tackle Nate Potter unexpectedly started against Bowling Green when sophomore right tackle Kevin Sapien was too ill to play.

Potter, who had knee surgery during fall camp, likely will be a fixture at left tackle now. Sapien and sophomore Matt Slater, who has started one game at each tackle spot this season, likely will compete on the right side.

“(Potter) played well,” Petersen said. “We were hoping to ease him in a little more, but sometimes it’s best to just throw you into the fire. He goes hard. He’s a physical player.”