There usually can be a ray of sunshine spoken about any statistic for the Boise State football team. But one from last season brought out truly honest responses, and in turn inspired improvement this year:
Fourth downs.
In 2017, the Broncos were dead last in the nation converting them, at 17.6 percent (3 of 17).
“It was embarrassing last year,” junior running back Alexander Mattison said.
But this year, Boise State is converting 66.7 percent (8 of 12), which ranks tied for 25th in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
The improvement is obvious in the numbers, but the why is something a little less measurable.