The Final: The Perfect Team

Boise State plays on a blue rug in front of a biker-dude gov and has the nation's longest winning streak. Sounds like the perfect story to us

By John Walters

The Broncos laid the blue carpet in 1986 to attract attention. Now they're getting it. Peter Read Miller/SI

Boise (pronounced boy-see), Idaho, is both a state capital and great advice. However, since Boise is 340 miles from the nearest metropolis -- unless you consider Pocatello a metropolis -- few outsiders ever do. See Idaho, that is.

Boise, Idaho. See the governor who travels around the state on his Harley-Davidson '03 Road King Classic. Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, who celebrated his 53rd birthday last Friday, says his wife, Patsy, doesn't mind his touring the Gem State on his Hog. After all, he says, "She rides, too."

Boy, see noisy Bronco Stadium, the only field in the country with blue turf. "That was my idea," admits athletic director Gene Bleymaier, who introduced the "Smurf Turf" in 1986. "We had to spend $750,000 to replace our turf. I figured, If we're going to spend that kind of cash, I'd like somebody to notice."

Boy, see the Broncos, a true-blue gang of studs in the land of spuds. The Broncos are 8-0 and own the nation's longest winning streak (19 games). They have a fullback named Michael Lose who suits up for a team that never does. "I tell our guys, 'I want you to be abnormal,'" fourth-year coach Dan Hawkins says.

Abnormal? Hawkins subs in not-ready-for-prime-time players more frequently than Lorne Michaels. Nine Broncos ran the ball in last Friday night's 69-3 potato-sacking of Hawaii. "We use about 40 personnel groups on offense per game," Hawkins says. "I want every player on this team to feel valued and loved. If they don't, how are they going to be motivated?"

Makes perfect sense. The boys in -- and on -- blue led the nation in scoring in 2002 (45.6 points per game) and '03 (43.0). This season, after having lost eight starters on offense (including Ryan Dinwiddie, the NCAA career pass-efficiency-rating leader), they are still No. 1 (47.2).

"I don't put limiting thoughts on anybody," says Hawkins, who earlier this season ordered his players not to give him a Gatorade shower after they beat Oregon State by 19 points ... an order he gave the night before the game. "I tell our players, 'Why does the game have to be close?'"

Or routine? Last Thursday night Hawkins and his wife, Misti, were watching their older son, Cody, play quarterback for Boise's Bishop Kelly High, which, like Boise State, is undefeated. While watching a 50-0 Bishop Kelly rout, Hawkins confided to Misti, "You gotta see what we cooked up for tomorrow night. We call it the Houdini play."

On his first offensive series against Hawaii, facing fourth-and-one near midfield, Broncos quarterback Jared Zabransky took the snap and pretended to fumble the ball. Half the Broncos offense yelled "Fumble!" while Zabransky zipped a pass to wide-open tight end Sherm Blaser, who, alas, had the ball skitter off his fingertips.

It was a rare mishap on an otherwise perfect night. The boys from Boise committed no turnovers. Zabransky was neither sacked nor intercepted. The defense did not allow a touchdown against a quarterback, Timmy Chang, who by this time next week will be known as the NCAA's alltime passing-yardage leader.

Boy, see the Broncos if you can. Idaho is reputedly home to scores of members of the Witness Protection Program. Attending a Boise State contest admits you to an equally exclusive, less reclusive club: the Witness Perfection Program.

Issue date: November 4, 2004