Many teams would be happy to end a season with nine wins and a bowl game victory, but Boise State's success on the field means they aren't as easily satisfied as other teams and are looking to get back to their winning ways.
"Just the potential our offense could be and our whole team," said Broncos wide receiver Thomas Sperbeck. "We got a lot of guys returning and a lot of explosive players, it will be fun to see where we end up."
Included in those four losses were the defeat in Provo at the hands of BYU and Eagle High graduate Tanner Mangum and the seven-turnover debacle in the loss at Utah State. Aggies Coach Matt Wells says despite Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien's struggles in that game, he knows that's not who the QB really is.
"I've seen enough tape on him to know that that's not a reflective sample to me of the evidence of him as a quarterback. He's a legit quarterback in the Mountain West Conference, as well as all Division I college football. He's got a lot of moxie, he's got confidence, the sky is the limit for that young man. He's a really good quarterback," Wells said.
While the first two losses of the season came on the road, Boise State had its own problems at home as well. New Mexico and Air Force walked into Albertsons Stadium and left with wins in back-to-back weeks, the first time in almost a decade the Broncos lost consecutive home games.
Lobos Head Coach Bob Davie says games like that win over Boise State show growth for his program.
"We're trying to continue the momentum and try to go win some games in 2016 because we won a lot of close games last year, Boise being an example one of them, and we gotta be able to do that again to get any kind of credibility and continue to do that kind of platform that we have put together," Davie said.
Air Force is looking for a rare hat trick against Boise State this year. A Falcon win would mark the third year in a row they've beaten the Broncos. Boise State hasn't lost three consecutive games against a conference opponent since dropping three straight to Nevada in the 90's.
It's an accomplishment Air Force knows won't be easy with the talent Boise State has on its roster.
"You know, superstar quarterback, a tailback on the very first play of the game against us didn't take them too long to score on that first play and certainly some great receivers that return too," said Air Force Head Coach Troy Calhoun.
Even with those losses there were plenty of bright spots for the Broncos in 2015. Boise State beat two teams from Power 5 conferences, including Chris Petersen's Washington Huskies, and Rypien hit the ground running after being inserted into the starting lineup. The Broncos will look to build on those positives and continue to develop across the board and are preparing now so they're ready when kickoff comes.
"When the season hits it gets hectic with school, football everything, you gotta have a little bit of an upbeat look on some of the games so it's not all brand new when it comes down to it," said Boise State linebacker Ben Weaver.
