The key to Boise State's recent success has been to establish a solid, disciplined program and then recruit speed from states like California Texas and Florida. They put the Idaho farm boys in the trenches, and get fast out of state guys at the skill positions.

Tonight, we got to witness this firsthand: 400 out of 410 passing yards went to receivers from CA or TX. Most all of the rushing yards went to players from TX, with a few to guys from CA. Even the QB is from OR. In fact, only about 16 guys on the team are from ID. We didn't get beat tonight by many guys from Burley Nampa, Meridian, and Blackfoot. The demographics of our regional rivals have changed significantly.

TCU has mastered this, and UofU has significantly increased out of state speed recruiting as well. USU beat us with guys at WR from FL, TX, and CA.

Obviously, speed alone won't do it. You need good coaching, depth at all positions, and a culture of winning, among other things. But speed on the edges is huge, and it doesn't appear that we have much this year, outside of Taysom and Jamaal.

Of course, the honor code presents unique recruiting challenges, but that is who we are. If we can't upgrade our speed depth at skill positions, I don't see how we can be a dominant team, given that we no longer have a strategic advantage in the passing game like we did in the 70s-early 90s. Position mastery, being assignment sound, and execution can only take you so far. All things being equal, speed wins.

We've got to change how we do things or change expectations.