Boise State has experienced a bumpy three-game run that includes a loss and two closer-than-expected victories.
But some of the criticism of the No. 21 Broncos doesn’t sit right with coach Bryan Harsin.
“We’re an 8-1 football team making a run toward the end of the season. Let’s not forget that,” Harsin said during Monday’s news conference. “Let’s keep everything in perspective a little bit in what opportunities we have.”
Boise State (8-1, 5-0 Mountain West) will attempt to reduce the number of dismayed fans when it hosts New Mexico, losers of six straight games, in Saturday night’s conference contest in Boise, Idaho.
The Broncos opened the three-game stretch by losing 28-25 at BYU and followed up by allowing 42 points to San Jose State while prevailing by 10. Then came last Saturday’s contest against a Wyoming squad that controlled most of the game before Boise State squeaked out a 20-17 overtime victory on the blue turf.
On Monday, Harsin was just getting warmed up and went on a rant against social media, raising eyebrows when he said the opinions of boosters matter but not those of fans who may or may not have attended the game. He referred to fans who make comments on social media as “Twitiots.”
“Any idiot can say anything they want and they usually do and they’re negative,” Harsin said. “When people want to make comments on other things, it’s pretty pathetic at the end of the day … that’s society.
“That’s a group you don’t want to be a part of. … I’m not going to listen to opinions unless they matter.”
The amount of criticism has a strong chance of being reduced as Boise State faces the Lobos (2-7, 0-5), who haven’t won since Sept. 21 and are 1-9 all-time against Boise State.
New Mexico will be playing for the first time since the death of 21-year-old defensive end Nahje Flowers on Nov. 5. The team’s Nov. 9 game against Air Force was pushed back two weeks in the wake of the tragedy.
The cause of Flowers’ death hasn’t been revealed. His loss has deeply affected the players.
“Football is so much a part of our lives, you get to a point where you need it,” senior defensive end Trent Sellers told New Mexico reporters earlier this week. “When something like that happens, to take time away and reflect is good but to get back into the routine a little bit makes you feel a little normal in a situation that no one could imagine.
“There’s no right way or wrong way. It gives you some type of normal feeling when you come out here and practice.”
Lobos coach Bob Davie said Flowers “was a strong personality (who) resonated with everybody.”
“We all know there should be many, many more chapters to Nahje’s story,” Davie said. “But with that said, you see young men deal with adversity, deal with tragedy and become men. It’s sad, but it’s what life is and how you respond to things and how you respond to adversity is part of the growing experience. But there’s no question it’s an absolute, absolute tragedy.”
On the field, New Mexico’s football fortunes haven’t been good during the Mountain West portion of the schedule. The Lobos have lost all five conference games by double digits and now face a Boise State club that is averaging 35.4 points.
It wasn’t known early in the week if true freshman quarterback Hank Bachmeier will start for the Broncos. He has missed two of the past three games — the loss to BYU with a hip injury and the victory over Wyoming, apparently due to a hard hit he took on his throwing shoulder during the win over San Jose State.
Sophomore Chase Cord may not be fully healthy, either. Trainers examined his throwing hand late in regulation against Wyoming. Cord completed 19 of 30 passes for 190 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Junior pass rusher Curtis Weaver had two sacks to raise his season total to 12.5. He moved into second place in Boise State history with 33 career sacks, passing Chris Wing (32 from 1994-96).
New Mexico is led by senior running back Ahmari Davis, who has rushed for 823 yards and seven touchdowns. Davis rushed for a career-high 200 yards on just 16 carries against Hawaii on Oct. 26.
