Johnson returns for Boise State with San Jose State coming to town
Boise State is getting its best offensive weapon back.
Too bad for San Jose State. Even without Ian Johnson, the Spartans would've had a tough time beating the 21st-ranked Broncos.
Ian Johnson, Boise State's leading rusher, missed the last two games nursing a bruised kidney. His absence was hardly noticed as freshmen Jeremy Avery and D.J. Harper filled in well behind a veteran offensive line.
"They have tremendous experience on the offensive line and tremendous confidence that they are going to win, no matter what happens," San Jose State coach Dick Tomey said of the Broncos' front five.
"Their belief in themselves and what they are doing is awfully powerful. So, our belief system has to be stronger than theirs in order for us to be successful."
The Spartans (3-5, 2-2 WAC) will be looking to snap a two-game slide and get their first victory ever against No. 21 Boise State (7-1, 4-0).
For that to happen, the Spartans must figure out a way to jump-start an offense that hasn't scored since losing in overtime to Hawaii on Oct. 12. The Spartans were held scoreless two weeks ago by Fresno State. Spartans kickers have missed nine consecutive field-goal attempts.
After shuffling kickers in October, Tomey said he has settled on Jared Strubeck, who was second team all-conference a year ago but is 2-for-9 this season.
"Jared has been an outstanding kicker. He's not going to become a bad kicker overnight," Tomey said. "People in that position go through periods where they miss a kick, or they don't feel right. But I think he has worked through that and is ready to go."
So is Ian Johnson.
Banged up against Nevada last month, Ian Johnson worked this week in practice to get back into game shape. Despite missing victories over Louisiana Tech and Fresno State, he still leads the conference in rushing with 693 yards and nine TDs.
Ian Johnson endured some good-natured ribbing from teammates this week, who joked he'd have to earn his job back after Avery and Harper combined for 409 yards rushing and five touchdowns in the last two games.
Ian Johnson may be the team's top tailback and emotional leader, but the Broncos have looked all season for opportunities to involve Avery and Harper. Coach Chris Petersen says there is no reason to shift from a platoon system that's helped the Broncos churn out an average of 215 yards rushing, second best in the WAC.
"We'll continue to mix it up just because (Ian Johnson) has been out so long," Petersen said.
Yet the game's most intriguing matchup is Boise State's receivers against the Spartans' talented cornerback tandem of Dwight Lowery and Chris Owens.
They have picked off 20 passes since the start of the 2006 season, including seven this season. Their skills and ability to shutdown opposing wideouts force teams to find other places to throw the ball and allows the rest of the defense to pressure the quarterback or devote more bodies to stopping the run.
San Jose State ranks fourth in the conference against the pass, allowing an average of 224 yards, and lead the league in turnover margin at plus six.
"They're very athletic, they're fast, they play tight on guys," Petersen said of the Spartans' cornerbacks. "They don't give you a lot of room for error. When you have two of them, that really just changes things. The two corners are as good as anything we've seen."
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