Football
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Courtesy: Boise State Sports Information Release: 08/29/2006 |
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The awards and accolades keep accumulating for Boise State head football coach Chris Petersen. After guiding the 2009 Broncos to a perfect 14-0, the school’s seventh Western Athletic Conference Championship and its’ second Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Championship in four years, Petersen was named Paul “Bear” Bryant National Coach of the Year, and WAC Coach of the Year for the second time in his four-year head coaching career. Petersen led the Broncos to their highest national ranking in school history in 2009, as Boise State was No. 4 in the final USA Today Coaches’ poll, No. 4 in the final Associated Press media poll. Boise State was also ranked fourth in the first BCS poll of the season (Oct. 18) and never fell lower than No. 7 in the BCS. Boise State spent the final five weeks of the regular season ranked sixth. Most impressively, Boise State managed to do so with one of its’ youngest teams ever, which boasts just four seniors. Petersen earned his first Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year award following his first year as an intercollegaite head coach in 2006. Boise State also went undefeated that year ending the season with another win at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (43-42 over Oklahoma). Petersen is the only person to win the Bear Bryant award twice. He was also a finalist in 2008. He won his first WAC Coach of the Year Award after guiding the 2008 Broncos to a 12-1 overall record, a league championship and an appearance in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. In addition to the Bryant Award, Petersen was also named a finalist for the Liberty Mutual and Eddie Robinson awards in 2008. Petersen, who has a career record of 49-4 for a .925 winning percentage, guided this year’s Boise State team to its fourth undefeated regular season in six years, its seventh WAC championship in eight seasons, and finished the season with a No. 4 ranking by the Associated Press. In his four seasons at Boise State, “Coach Pete” has clearly established himself as one of the top young football coaches in the country, leading the Broncos to two BCS bowl games and a consistent presence in the national rankings each of those years. Under Petersen, Boise State has compiled an impressive 31-1 record in the WAC with a league championship in 2006, 2008 and 2009, and a runner-up finish in ’07. Considered one of the most innovative offensive minds in the college coaching ranks, Petersen and his staff has guided an offense that continues to be among the nation’s best. At the end of the 2009 season, the Broncos led the nation in scoring offense (42.21 ppg) and sacks allowed (5). Boise State also tied for first in the least interceptions thrown with three. As the ninth head coach in the 40-year history of Boise State’s football participation at the four-year level, Petersen led the ’06 Broncos to their first undefeated season since 1958 (when the school was still a junior college), their first-ever BCS bowl berth, and their fifth straight WAC title. Honors and national rankings are nothing new to Petersen. In the history of college football, only one coach since 1900 won 13 games in his first season at the helm of an FBS team. That coach was Petersen in 2006. In addition to winning the Bryant award that year, Petersen was a finalist for the ’06 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award, a semifinalist for the George Munger Coach of the Year award, and was named the Region 4 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association. As Boise State’s offensive coordinator from 2001-2005, he was twice (2002 and 2004) a finalist for the Broyles Award, which honors the nation’s top assistant football coach. Prior to taking over the top coaching position at Boise State in 2006, Petersen’s stint as offensive coordinator for the Broncos (2001-05 featured one of the most potent attacks in the country, averaging 41.3 points per game while also finishing as the nation’s top scoring team twice (2002 and 2003). The Broncos also finished second (2004), eighth (2005) and 18th (2001) in the nation in scoring while Petersen was running the Broncos’ offense. During Petersen’s five seasons as offensive coordinator, Boise State finished in the top 15 in total offense four times, including three top10 finishes – first in 2002, fourth in 2004, and seventh in 2003. The Broncos also had four top 20 finishes in passing during that time, including a high ranking of fifth in 2003. Boise State also ranked in the top 25 in the country in rushing in three of the last four seasons that Petersen coached the offense, including 14th in 2004 and 15th in 2005. Several players have excelled individually under Petersen in his four years as head coach; the most recent example is sophomore quarterback Kellen Moore. Moore, who was named 2009 WAC Offensive Player of the Year, finished the regular season with the nation’s top passing efficiency rating (167.35). He has also thrown the second most touchdown passes of any FBS quarterback (39) and has tossed the fewest interceptions (3) of any QB that has played in at least 10 games this year. As a freshman Moore was named 2008 WAC Freshman of the Year. He finished the 2008 season ranked 12th in the nation in passing efficiency and 24th in total offense. In Petersen’s four years as head coach, 24 of his players were named first-team All-WAC and 19 others were selected second-team all-conference. In 2009 the Broncos placed Moore, wide receivers Austin Pettis and Titus Young, and offensive lineman Nate Potter on WAC first-team offense. Young was also named first-team All-WAC as a kickoff specialist. On defense, cornerback Kyle Wilson and defensive end Ryan Winterswyk were also named first-team all-conference. Players who earned second-team recognition were running back Jeremy Avery, defensive lineman Billy Winn, linebacker Winston Venable and defensive back Jeron Johnson. In 2009 Boise State led the WAC in both scoring offense (42.2 ppg) and scoring defense (17.1 ppg). The Broncos also ranked first in total defense (300.2 ypg). Their success was powered behind a defense that led the conference in pass defense (179.9 ypg), pass efficiency defense (103.4), pass efficiency (159.5) and turnover margin (+1.50). The Broncos also dominated on special teams, leading the WAC in kickoff returns (26.6 ypr) and finishing second in net punting (38.3 ypp). In total, the Broncos led the conference in 15 statistical categories. Given Petersen’s ability to develop quarterbacks, the future bodes well for Moore. As Boise State’s offensive coordinator and then as its head coach, Petersen was instrumental in the development of quarterbacks Ryan Dinwiddie and Jared Zabransky, who are among the most successful collegiate signal callers in recent years. Dinwiddie, who guided the Bronco offense from 2001-03, finished as the NCAA career passing efficiency leader with a rating of 168.19. With Petersen as his quarterback coach, as well as the team’s offensive coordinator, Dinwiddie led the Broncos to a 28-6 record as a starter. After Dinwiddie left, Petersen helped groom Zabransky into one of the nation’s most successful quarterbacks from 2004-06. Zabransky led Boise State to three straight league titles, two undefeated regular seasons, and a 32-5 record in his three years as a starter, including a 23-1 record in WAC games. Offensive tackle Ryan Clady also excelled under Petersen. A consensus All-American in 2007, Clady decided to skip his senior year of college and make himself eligible for the 2008 NFL draft. In April he became the first Bronco ever selected in the first round, going to Denver as the 12th overall selection. In 2006, Petersen’s first season as head coach, Clady earned second-team All-America recognition from SI.com while Ian Johnson (first-team SI.com and CBS Sportline; second-team Sporting News; and third-team Associated Press) and linebacker Korey Hall (second-team Sporting News) also earned All-America honors that year. This past season two of Petersen’s players earned All-American honors. Sophomore quarterback Kellen Moore was named first team All-American by ESPN.com, SI.com and CBSSports.com. Senior cornerback Kyle Wilson earned second team All-American honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Associated Press. In his five seasons as offensive coordinator, Petersen had two players earn All-America honors – running back Brock Forsey in 2002 and offensive tackle Daryn Colledge in 2004. He also helped 12 Broncos earn first-team All-WAC honors, while two (Dinwiddie in 2003 and Forsey in 2002) were named WAC Offensive Player of the Year. Petersen came to Boise State as former head coach Dan Hawkins’ offensive coordinator following the 2000 season from the University of Oregon, where he was the wide receivers coach. He joined the Oregon staff in 1995 and immediately helped contribute to a passing attack that ranked among the nation’s elite each of the six seasons he was an assistant. Twice during Petersen’s tenure at Oregon, the Duck offense broke the school record for single-season passing yards, and three times in the same time period the team broke the single-season school record for most touchdowns. Prior to working at Oregon, Petersen served as the quarterbacks coach at Portland State from 1993-1994, helping the Vikings advance to the NCAA Division II playoffs both seasons. In 1992 Petersen was the quarterbacks coach at the University of Pittsburgh. That season the Panthers established a school record for passing yards and ranked eighth nationally in total offense and passing. In addition, he contributed to the development of first-team All-Big East Conference quarterback Alex Van Pelt, who eclipsed the school’s passing yardage totals previously held by Dan Marino. Petersen’s success as a coach can be linked to his record-setting career as a quarterback at the University of California, Davis. As a senior with the Aggies, he was named the Northern California Athletic Conference Player of the Year and was the top-rated Division II quarterback in the nation. Petersen received second-team Kodak Division II All-America honors and still holds the Division II record for career pass completions at 69.6 percent. Petersen was inducted into the UC Davis Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in psychology from UC Davis in 1988, Petersen started his coaching career at his alma mater, serving as UC Davis’ head freshman coach in 1987-88 and the receivers coach from 1989-91. Petersen holds a master’s degree in educational psychology from UC Davis. He and his wife, Barbara, are the parents of two sons, Jack (13) and Sam (10). |
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Courtesy: Boise State
09/01/2010
08/25/2010
