UGA alum Bob Behler is calling Boise State over the Bulldogs
Because the voice of the Boise State Broncos happens to be a UGA graduate, people assume Bob Behler must be torn about how he wants Saturday’s Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome to turn out.
Think again.
Behler
“There’s no question about it, I want Boise State to win,” Behler said Sunday. “That’s my team; it’s where I live; I know those kids. I don’t know Mark Richt. He seems like a nice guy. But I’m friends with Chris Petersen. I’m wearing blue and orange to the stadium and I think Boise State is going to win the game.”
So let’s just go ahead and get that out of the way.
While extremely proud of his broadcast journalism degree from UGA’s Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and very grateful for his two productive years in Athens, Behler has put in a lot of miles at a lot of places since 1985. Most recently that has been Boise, Idaho, where he came to succeed Paul J. Schneider as the play-by-play voice in 2008.
You could say Behler’s timing is pretty good. He happened to catch the Broncos during the takeoff of what has continued to be a pretty awesome flight above the college football landscape.
“Thirty-eight and two since I’ve been here,” Behler spouts proudly. “Of course, [quarterback] Kellen Moore is 38-2 during that time, too, so that might have something to do with it.”
Behler didn’t know exactly what he was going to be in for when he accepted the Broncos’ gig. He’d spent 22 years calling I-AA games at Bucknell and UMass and, frankly, was just looking to call some Division I football.
In fact, he actually didn’t set out seeking Boise State. He applied for the play-by-play job at Virginia and the search firm handling that opening also happened to be involved with the Broncos. They asked Behler if he’d consider them, too.
“I said ’sure, why not,’” Behler recalled with a laugh. “You know which job I didn’t get.”
He got the better job. At this particular point Boise State is one of the hottest college football properties in the country and Behler has been along for every minute of the ride.
“I knew I was getting a team that had won a Fiesta Bowl [in 2007],” Behler said. “But did I think we’d be a Top 10 team every year? Probably not.”
So Behler was there when the Broncos won a second Fiesta Bowl in 2010 to cap off a 14-0 2009 season. He was behind the mic when they knocked off Oregon in 2008 and ‘09. And he was there last year in Washington, D.C., when everybody and their brother was assuring us that Boise couldn’t get it done against a Virginia Tech team which was clearly too big and physical and had more tradition and whose fans were going to make up 80-plus percent of spectators in a pro football venue.
Sound familiar?
“I think this will be a great game, just like that one was,” Behler said, referring to Boise’s 33-30 win over the Hokies at FedEx Field. “I give us the edge with Kellen Moore at quarterback and our defense is very, very good. Led the nation in sacks last year. I also think our situation at running back is better. I think Georgia gets a big edge in the kicking game. Not sure about the lines.”
I asked Bob how the Bulldogs were being viewed out in Idaho.
“People think Georgia is a very talented and they know it’s going to be tough to play somebody from the SEC,” he said. “They’re concerned with their size and athleticism. All the same things they were concerned about with Virginia Tech.”
Behler was thrilled when he first learned his two favorite schools were hooking up. While his roots aren’t deep in the Georgia red clay of Athens, he credits the school for getting him where he is today.
A native of Stockton, Calif., Behler enrolled at UGA in 1983 because he wanted to “go someplace different” and because his high school journalism teacher new somebody on the UGA journalism faculty. Behler had called his high school’s games on radio and stayed behind the mic for two years of junior college.
At Georgia he was introduced to sports information director Claude Felton, who said he could work for him and call women’s basketball and baseball.
“Claude always impressed me in that he let his students do things that were important,” Behler said. “He was always around to help but he gave you real responsibility and let you get in there and do it.”
From Athens, Behler got a job broadcasting games for the Chattanooga Lookouts. Then he went north and worked for Bucknell for 13 years, then nine at UMass. Just about the time he felt like true Easterner, he was whisked back west.
“It’s different,” he said. “The town reminds me a little of Northern California. We’re in a valley and it’s not as rural as you might think. It’s a city of 500,000 people. But it gets pretty sparse a few miles out of town. You can’t just get in your car and drive to a lot of places.”
No need to leave. The Broncos are the biggest thing around. Behler is looking forward to watching Moore get the eight wins he needs to become the winningest college quarterback ever. And he’ll like it even more if the first victory comes against the old alma mater.
“Sometimes you get lucky and I certainly did,” he said being a Bronco.
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397 comments Add your comment
Golden Knight
August 29th, 2011
10:39 am
UCF 10 – UGA 6 says it all!
BP-85
August 29th, 2011
10:40 am
Bosie has a great record over the past few years, but it’s due mostly to it’s scheduling than what they bring to the table. We all know that, whether we’re all willing to admit that, is the question.
If they beat UGA on Saturday, which I seriously doubt, I’ll be more of a believer. I’m sure they can win the game, but no team deserves the hype and praise that they’re given for posting a good record and playing one or two tough games per year.
I think we’ll hear echoes from 2005 of “OVER-RATED” to the departing Boise crowd on Saturday night.
per year.
Dogs Smell
August 29th, 2011
10:41 am
You in “Homer” Nation are delirious ! Georgia has No idea what king of defense they have. BSU knows their defense is Stout ! I will be schocked if georgia sores 10 points. BSU will run through georgia’s “D” with ease ! This game will not be close and I hate to see the SEC lose to anyone .
Mr. Peterson vs Bozo
August 29th, 2011
10:45 am
Richt is a hopin and a wishin while Peterson is a doin and a makin believers out of people.
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 29th, 2011
10:48 am
If Georgia does win, I don’t think we will be reading these blogs on Sunday and Monday about how UGA somehow overcame a top 10 defensive line to get a victory over the 5th best team in the nation.
——————————————————-
Its not that Boise’s D-Line is unstopable. More like they won’t be a pushover.
Ga’s D-line vs Boise’s O-line is a different story. Ga will control that matchup.
mark louis
August 29th, 2011
10:51 am
Why is this news? The play-by-play guy thinks his team will win? That never happens! You guys didn’t have a clue that Tech was under investigation, but you made up for it with this groundbreaking story!
Randall "Pink" Floyd
August 29th, 2011
10:51 am
Yeah, Wes Durham picks the Jackets to win every year, too. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
TampaDawg
August 29th, 2011
10:51 am
Dogs S – “BSU will run through georgia’s “D” with ease ! This game will not be close and I hate to see the SEC lose to anyone .”
———————————————————-
Size mismatch here. There will be no “ease” to it for BSU. BSU knows that their D can whip UNLV pretty good but they have no idea what they have against a MUCH bigger O-Line with multiple NFL prospects.
mike
August 29th, 2011
10:51 am
4 and 5 star athletes don’t make a difference. How well you coach your athletes makes all the difference. BSU looks for a certain type of athlete. They must fit in the system and be team players. Look at the starting tailback. Since he was a fresman, all his teamates say he is one of the strongest and best athletes on the team. He is an absolute beast. Up until last year he was plaing linebacker, because he was too valuble to not have on the field. how many 5 star athletes in big programs would transfer if some coach tried to do that to them. That’s why coach Pete is able to get more from the collective team than most coaches would get from individual players. 5 star players don’t win championships. Teams win championships.
Says it all huh?
August 29th, 2011
10:53 am
Golden Knight
Act like you have been there before, oops you haven’t. I’m glad it means so much to you to beat a low Georgia team that did not want to be there.
Clean yourself up with Kleenex as it’s a bit disturbing that you’re still getting off about that win.
Dr. Morpheus
August 29th, 2011
10:56 am
Has Boise State ever defeated any SEC team? I don’t think so. What would you expect this guy to say, anyway…
I-DOG
August 29th, 2011
10:58 am
NCBF:
A top 10 line is unstoppable, it means that there are only 9 defensive lines that are better in all of college football. It means that a team like Georgia that has all these problems on the offensive line, no AJ, a former linebacker and an overated freshman at RB and a midget QB shouldn’t be able to cross the 50 yard line.
All the prognosticators are picking Boise to win the game. I haven’t heard a single talking head that has picked the Dawgs.
Bama Mike
August 29th, 2011
10:59 am
Boise 34-21. Difference in game will be Boise defensive line. Not big but very athletic and agile and much quicker than given credit for. Dogs defense while appearing better on paper picked the wrong offensive style to open with. Broncos crossing patterns and underneath curls will wear down an improved Georgia defense. Dawgs could lose and yet be better from it when the dust clears by season end.
TampaDawg
August 29th, 2011
11:01 am
Mike – “how many 5 star athletes in big programs would transfer if some coach tried to do that to them. ”
—————–
Georgia TB, Richard Samual .. next question??
Again, great coaches can draw up a great game plan but it comes down to player execution. If small O-line can’t hold their blocks, if no holes for RB, if non-scrambling QB has to, well, scramble .. what do you do then?
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 29th, 2011
11:02 am
A top 10 line is unstoppable
—————————————–
From the SEC, not the WAC or whatever conference Boise is in.
They’ll be good, not great.
Sick and Tired
August 29th, 2011
11:04 am
“A top 10 line is unstoppable, it means that there are only 9 defensive lines that are better in all of college football.” Stats that come from playing high school teams don’t count. Sorry.
mike
August 29th, 2011
11:05 am
I don’t know who will win this Saturday, but I believe it will be closer than most people think…I think the main difference from this BSU team and the one in 05 is that the Coaching is much better, BSU has much more depth than in 05 and the Defensive front 7 is probably the best front 7 in college football…and there is depth at ever position, so we won’t get as tired as the team in 05. That is one of the biggest changes over the past 7 or 8 years. In 2005 if we lost a starter, there was a big drop off, now with the exception of a few positions (QB, Safety ETC.
most of the backups could be starting too.
BoiseBronco
August 29th, 2011
11:05 am
For all the UGA fans that are sure that Boise St has no chance against UGA because they have a lower ranking on Scout, UGA is currently the underdog for this game. The money line is around 110 right now. If you are so sure of yourself then go put up a substantial sum of money and become rich. The gamblers in Vegas must not know about the talent difference. Go take advantage of that.
TampaDawg
August 29th, 2011
11:05 am
I-Dog – Murray isn’t exactly 5′8″, the former linebacker turned RB is actually a former RB, turned linebacker, turned RB and you have NO idea if Isaiah is overrated or not. By all the “talking heads” he is not, so what’s your point?
I-DOG
August 29th, 2011
11:07 am
Mike,
I don’t think there is any question that serious college football fans respect what coach Pete has done with 2 and 3 star recruits. He gets them to play and they are a pleasure to watch. To flat out say that 4 and 5 star players “they don’t make a difference” is something I disagree with.
If you look at the last 10 national champions, they were ALL won with 4 and 5 star athletes. I think it helps a little to start with great players. It isn’t enough to have good recruiting classes, but it is the reason that 50 year old coaches that make millions are begging the top 100 high school players in the country to come play for them.
I understand that Boise recruits a certain kind of player, but if Keith Marshall made an official visit to Boise State… I think Coach Pete would drop everything and pick the kid up at the airport. I don’t think he would say, we are looking for a running back that fits our system and I’m not sure you are it.
how2fish
August 29th, 2011
11:09 am
/
1eyedJack
August 29th, 2011
11:10 am
Boise is watching last year’s film and thinking what a pushover UGA will be. They won’t know what hit ‘em.
I-DOG
August 29th, 2011
11:14 am
Tamp Dawg:
I’m a Georgia fan. I’m, talking about what the Georgia Haters on these boards have been saying for months about our players including Nothing Could Be Finer, Tide Roll, Beast from the East, SSI gator and others.
I’m not really saying that I think IC is overated. We won’t know if he is or isn’t until he starts playing. I like what I am hearing about him from the players and coaches.
Gay Dawg
August 29th, 2011
11:15 am
Behler can suck it!
Dawg Gone
August 29th, 2011
11:16 am
@BoiseBronco already placed my bets..and just for the record your bunch is no # 5 in the nation finished in the what top 10 last year? You have a Heisman finalist at QB a 1000 yrd rusher and a top 10 rated DL. Your opponent ended up 6-7 last year no where near the top 25, and your only 3 point favorites…and you really think that is a good thing??
TOO TOUGH44
August 29th, 2011
11:21 am
Mark my words! Dawgs will crush BS….and as for Behler….BS will go into a tailspin…
Lharding Dawg
August 29th, 2011
11:21 am
I would like to beat them like we did Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl. What scares me is the Vegas line giving 3 to Bosie.
Gay Dawg
August 29th, 2011
11:22 am
Behler can lick my balls…in a bad way!
Pete
August 29th, 2011
11:22 am
This game will be like every other OOC game Boise has played.
Boise State will win and the loser fans will complain whine and make up excuses.
Ga fans are as sure about winning this game as they were about the 7 losses from last year.
These Ga homers keep saying stupid things like superior athletes and 4-5 star recruits but can’ win against UCF or Colorado or the other 5 games they lost! LOL! Get over your stupid ratings! It didn’t help you last year, it won’t this year!
I feel sorry for you ignorant homers that believe you can contend with a top 5 team when you couldn’t beat a top 70 team.
UGA should join CUSA so you have a chance to win, after all, you only lost by a few points to UCF.
David Greene
August 29th, 2011
11:23 am
Who cares about Behler! I cannot beleive David is cheating on me with jesse Palmer!
Dogs Smell
August 29th, 2011
11:23 am
Dawg gone,
The game will not be close. On MOnday these blogs will be full of excuses from CMR to fire Bobo.
TampaDawg
August 29th, 2011
11:25 am
Point taken I-Dog .. love what is coming out of camp about Isaiah. If he was sucking it up with a bad attitude, you better believe we would hear about it loud and clear. Nothing Could Be Finer is actually one of the more civil non-Dawgs on here. There are certainly a few others too but we still have to deal with those who are playing the likes of Western Carolina to open the season.
TampaDawg
August 29th, 2011
11:25 am
and my apologies too BTW I-Dog
BoiseBronco
August 29th, 2011
11:27 am
@Dawg Gone, I actually don’t think we are a top 5 team this year. I think Boise St and UGA were overrated a good bit to build hype for the opening game. However, after losing two NFL receivers and an NFL DB, i’m pretty happy to be favored against a supposed top 20 team in what is basically a home game for them.
I-DOG
August 29th, 2011
11:27 am
NCBF:
What does top 10 in the country have to do with what conference you play in? Either Boise has a dominant defensive line that is top 10 in the country or they don’t.
Sounds like you are hedging so that if Georgia wins and our O-line looks really good, you can come back next week and say “well, that was a WAC team, Georgia was supposed to take it to ‘em.” Which one is it?
Spike 80DF
August 29th, 2011
11:28 am
Wow, look at all the missed tackles by VT. Dawgs roll in the GA Dome. Things get out of hand in the 4th Qtr….
Dean Tate
August 29th, 2011
11:28 am
Bob, Do your wife and kids know your loyalty can be purchased?
Kiss th
August 29th, 2011
11:29 am
Enter your comments here
TampaDawg
August 29th, 2011
11:30 am
Yeah, Pete, this will be like every other BSU OOC game .. except that one in 05 against UGA, oh and TCU in 08, and 3 other SEC losses .. nevermind, your argument doesn’t really work.
Gay Dawg
August 29th, 2011
11:33 am
I hope out tightends are split wide and Murray splits the seams!
I-DOG
August 29th, 2011
11:36 am
Vegas lines are not set based on the prediction of which team will win the game. The sportsbook department does not care which team wins. They care about 50% of the money being bet on both sides of the line and they hope not to move the line too much so that they don’t get “middled”. The line is set so that the maximum amount of money will be bet with 50% being bet on Georgia and 50% being bet on Boise State so that the casino can make their 10% vig with no risk.
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 29th, 2011
11:36 am
2005 (10-3) Georgia 48-13 (9-4) Boise St.
2002 (9-4) Arkansas 41-14 (12-1) Boise St.
2001 (9-3) South Carolina 32-13 (8-4) Boise St.
2000 (6-6) Arkansas 38-31 (10-2) Boise St.
Buck Belue
August 29th, 2011
11:37 am
UGA is going to win em all this year. Every starter gone is replaced by a future pro bowler.
TampaDawg
August 29th, 2011
11:38 am
Hey I-Dog, if you see GT Joe on here, you think you could recite that little gambling lesson for him. He has no clue why one team is favored with a certain amount of points for.
Dawg Gone
August 29th, 2011
11:39 am
@Dogs Smell so how much you have riding on Boise….or are you like the rest of the trolls you’ll run the Dogs down but don’t dare bet against them?? Well troll ?
BG
August 29th, 2011
11:39 am
UGA 38 Boise 24
BoiseBronco
August 29th, 2011
11:41 am
That’s true I-DOG, which means that just as many people are betting on Boise St to cover a 3-3.5 point spread as there are people betting on UGA to cover as an underdog. In other words, most betters in Vegas right now think Boise St will win the game. If not then the spread would be lower or in UGA’s favor. If the odds were set on the AJC blogs then UGA would be like a 45 point favorite.
Lharding Dawg
August 29th, 2011
11:42 am
If our larger offensive line just knocks the small Boise line off the ball every play. We’ll get 4 yards per play and win with no problem. There is no reason to get fancy, just play old fashion SEC football. If Boise can’t get the ball because Georgia is controlling the line of scrimage, they can’t score. Simple southern football.
Dawg Gone
August 29th, 2011
11:43 am
@BoiseBronco fair enough , I see a close game I hope we beat you guys. No way would I predict a score like 05 either way. But we have a lot to prove and to your credit your bunch is giving us a golden opportunity Sat. Good luck starting Sept 4th.
dwayne
August 29th, 2011
11:43 am
Raise your hand if you were worried about the Hawaii game. Yes, me too. How about Boise St. Hands still up? Me too. What happened to Hawaii? Oh yea, I remember.