What A Big Difference A Win Streak Can Make

Boise State’s Bart Hendricks has been booed by the home crowd at Bronco Stadium, and coach Dirk Koetter has directed copious amounts of criticism at his quarterback.

Hendricks has been ripped on sports radio. He’s been pelted in print.

“He’s a good athlete and one tough guy, but he’s a decent quarterback at best… . The Broncos are quietly building a good football team, but they will never reach their full potential as long as No. 17 is the starting quarterback… . By the time the 1999 season is over, (B.J.) Rhode will be the Broncos’ most important quarterback.”

Those excerpts are from an Idaho Statesman column last spring.

Fast forward to the present. Rhode has attempted just 12 passes this season. The booing and media bashing of Hendricks stopped in September. Koetter is plugging Hendricks as the Big West Conference offensive player of the year. And the Statesman has checked in with several flattering articles.

Funny how 2,484 passing yards, 19 touchdown passes, seven TD runs and an 8-3 record can change perceptions.

“At the beginning of the season, a lot of people expected a lot and I expected a lot of myself,” said Hendricks, who leads BSU into Saturday’s showdown with Idaho in Pullman to determine the Big West Conference champion. “I wasn’t producing like I expected to, but I just got more and more confidence.

“I remember after the spring game one of the guys down here wrote that we wouldn’t win anything if I was starting. That stung a little bit. I just look at it, they’re not playing, I’m playing. I can change.”

After wobbling through the first three games of ‘99, Hendricks has slipped into that magical athletic arena known as “The Zone” - where anything is possible and everything he touches turns to gold.

He is an unlikely visitor to “The Zone.” He split time the last two seasons, putting up decent stats. However, he has always been a pill for the Vandals, passing for 646 yards and five TDs the last two meetings.

“Anytime you change offensive schemes, it takes a while to get comfortable,” Idaho coach Chris Tormey said. “He’s making a lot of big plays and the receivers are making a lot of plays for him. He’s throwing the ball deep, and they’ve got some big guys at tight end and receiver who can go get it.”

Add in a big, experienced line, and Hendricks is directing the Big West’s best statistical offense. His efficiency rating is an impressive 146.0 over the last eight games, seven of which rest in BSU’s win column.

“It’s a sense when things are clicking and you just know the linemen are going to make the block and the receiver is going to make the catch, no matter where you throw it,” the junior from Reno said. “Last year, I was kind of out there doing things I knew how to do, but this year it’s second nature. I just know situations and play calling.”

The turning point, ironically, came during a loss. The Broncos stumbled in their Big West opener against hapless North Texas, 17-10, a month ago.

“Since then, we just said we couldn’t sit back and wait for the defense to win games,” Koetter said. “We had to be more aggressive on offense and more of an attacking team. Bart could either get in or get out, and he’s gotten in in a big way.

“For the five weeks of the conference season, if he’s not the offensive player of the year, I don’t know who would be.”

To take that award, Hendricks and BSU probably would have to defeat the Vandals. His resume might need a conference title to challenge Nevada receiver Trevor Insley and his handful of NCAA records.

Regardless, Hendricks would have a firm grasp on the comeback player of the year, if the conference presented one.

“I knew we could play well and I could do the things that are going on right now,” he said.

And now, so does everybody else.

Boise State at Idaho Saturday, 2:07 p.m. at Martin Stadium