No. 3: Boise State Broncos

The One Great Season College Football Countdown continues Wednesday. We'll be counting down the preseason Top 25 teams in 2010. Today's No. 3 is Boise State.

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

With a beefed-up non-conference schedule, Boise State hopes wins against Virginia Tech and Oregon State will carry enough weight to keep the Broncos in the hunt to play for the national championship in January.

Only problem is, the Broncos will close out their WAC affiliation with another close-but-no-cigar type of season. I think Boise can sweep through its schedule unmolested, but two other teams will do the same thing, relegating the Broncos to yet another Fiesta Bowl appearance.

For nearly eight months now, the offseason talk has been about Boise's 21 starters who return from last year's 13-0 squad that edged previously unbeaten TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.

First and foremost among the notable returnees is quarterback Kellen Moore, who in his first two seasons has thrown for seven thousand yards and 64 touchdowns. And he's only halfway through his college career. If the Broncos continue with their funny habit of winning, expect his Heisman candidacy to take him all the way to a front-row seat in New York in December.

In addition to four junior starters returning on the line, plenty of skill is back in Boise to complement Moore. Running backs Jeremy Avery (1,151 yards, 6 TDs in 2009) and Doug Martin (765, 15) offer a nice speed-and-power combo, and wideouts Austin Pettis and Titus Young -- who combined for 142 catches, 1,900 yards and 29 TDs last year -- simply make it unfair for opposing defenses.

Also making things unfair is that as prolific as the offense figures to be in 2010, the defense will dominate teams just as easily.

Ryan Winterswyk and Billy Winn lead one of the nation's finer defensive lines. Winterswyk totaled 17 tackles for loss last year, and he and Winn combined for 15 sacks.

Winston Venable is the best of a steady unit of linebackers, but the real danger for opposing offenses will be Boise's secondary. Its big-play ability was largely responsible for the team's +21 turnover differential a year ago. Seniors Jeron Johnson and Brandyn Thompson, who had two interceptions in last year's Fiesta Bowl, lead this talented crew.

Boise hasn't lost a conference game since George W. Bush still had a year left in his presidency. But with late-season tests at Idaho and Nevada, and a home date with Nevada also in November, could their last year in the WAC be the year of the upset bug for the Broncos?

Who's back? QB Kellen Moore, RB Doug Martin, RB Jeremy Avery, WR Austin Pettis, WR Titus Young, OG Nate Potter, DE Ryan Winterswyk, DT Billy Winn, LB Winston Venable, S Jeron Johnson

Who's gone? CB Kyle Wilson

Why they'll win: There is star talent and experience everywhere on the field.

Why they'll lose: It's listed as a neutral-site game, but the opener against Virginia Tech is pretty much a road test, and Boise hasn't faced many challenges like this one.

Get your tickets: vs. Virginia Tech (Sept. 6, at Landover, Md.), vs. Oregon State (Sept. 25), at Idaho (Nov. 12)

Prediction: 12-0 (8-0 WAC champs)