Bronco Nation News is taking a look at 20 key questions and storylines facing the Boise State football team entering the 2023 season. Next up in our series is question No. 12: Who will lead the Broncos in sacks in 2023, and why have recent sack numbers declined?
Boise State’s sack numbers have declined in each of the past four years, and 2022 was the Broncos’ lowest sack average in more than a decade. Can it be fixed in 2023?
The Broncos averaged 2.07 sacks per game in 2022, which is their lowest since averaging 1.85 sacks in 2011. The two years under coach Andy Avalos have produced the teams worst two-year sack drought in more than 20 years. It’s becoming a problem, and there’s no obvious sack master on the team to help change things.
Demitri Washington returns after tying for the team lead with just 4.5 sacks last season. Andrew Simpson is the second leading returner with 3.0 sacks. But Zeke Noa (4.5 sacks), George Tarlas (4 sacks), Devine Obichere (3 sacks) and Scott Matlock (2.5 sacks) are all gone.
A team that wasn’t that good at getting sacks last season loses most of its sack production. The official Boise State stats say the Broncos had 30 sacks last season – and player that accounted for 18 of those are gone. That’s not exactly a strong stat.
Boise State was 10th in the country at 3.0 sacks per game in 2018. That number has declined every year since: 2.86 (20th) in 2019, 2.57 (41st) in 2020, 2.33 (56th) in 2021 and down to 2.07 (79th) last year.
So why the reason for the drop off? Obviously it starts with the players and talent on the roster, but some of the blame also could go to the coaching staff and the scheme. The coaches recruit the roster, and the coaches work to develop and improve the talent. Scheme (and the lack of blitzing last season) also could be a factor.
The Broncos addressed the EDGE position in the transfer portal, and we’ll see if any of the newcomers can make an immediate impact. Hopefully so, because the Broncos badly need to find a way to get more sacks.
Mike Prater and B.J. Rains spent 30 minutes discussing the topic on Thursday’s Bronco Nation News LIVE. Watch the full discussion here:
