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With the initial Bowl Championship Series standings set to be released Sunday, Boise State coach Chris Petersen wants to shy away from talk about polls, strength of schedule and computer rankings even more than usual this week.
He's willing to make an exception when it comes to talking about the schedule San Jose State has played heading into Saturday night's matchup with the third-ranked Broncos.
The Spartans (1-5, 0-1 WAC) have already played four teams ranked in the top 20 of the AP poll, losing at No. 8 Alabama, No. 11 Utah, No. 18 Wisconsin and No. 19 Nevada going into their showdown with Boise State (5-0, 1-0).
''San Jose State's schedule is ridiculous,'' Petersen said. ''You don't wish that on anybody. I think sometimes a record can be a little bit deceiving.''
It's games like this week's against the undermanned Spartans that could eventually cost the Broncos a spot in the BCS championship game when the regular season comes to an end.
While ESPN has projected that the Broncos would be No. 1 in the BCS standings if they had already come out this week, upcoming games against lesser teams like the Spartans, Louisiana Tech and Utah State could hurt Boise State's place in the computer rankings, which make up one-third of the BCS standings, as well as the two polls that go into the formula.
''We just don't get hung up in those types of things,'' Petersen said. ''We just really worry about the things that we can control. The rest will take care of itself. Those aren't just words. That's what we believe. That's what we've always felt around here. If we take care of our business, it seems to have always worked out for us.''
The Broncos have done just fine no matter who they've played this year, whether it's been heralded teams from major conferences like Virginia Tech or Oregon State, or some lesser lights like New Mexico State, Wyoming or Toledo.
Their 19-game winning streak is the longest in the nation following Alabama's loss last week at South Carolina.
In the three games against unranked teams so far this season, Boise State has outscored the opposition 167-20, as the players have managed to keep their focus on the field and not any of the other topics they can't control.
''It's definitely a trap you don't want to fall into,'' linebacker Aaron Tevis said. ''We try to stay focused on each team and not listen to all the hype about us and what everybody's saying about our ranking. Any week, any team can take you down so we're trying to stay focused.''
The grueling early season schedule has provided a rude welcome to first-year Spartans coach Mike MacIntyre, who has dealt with a litany injuries that have only made the task harder.
MacIntyre calls games like Saturday's a ''history-making'' opportunity for a program that has lost 17 straight games against ranked opponents since beating LaDainian Tomlinson and No. 9 TCU 27-24 in 2000.
The Spartans haven't come close in their four tries this year, losing by an average of 33 points per game, with the closest contest being a 27-14 loss at Wisconsin. They haven't fared a whole lot better against lesser foes, splitting a pair of tight games against FCS opponents Southern Utah and UC Davis.
''It does get a little tough sometimes but it's also exciting,'' MacIntyre said. ''You wish maybe you don't have to play them back to back to back to back. I'd like to see them spread out some.''
Boise State's games against ranked teams are spread out. After the September wins against Virginia Tech and Oregon State, the Broncos likely won't play another ranked team until the second-to-last regular season game against No. 19 Nevada.
That provides plenty of opportunities for the type of letdown that the Broncos have avoided so far this season.
''They've been pretty good so far,'' Petersen said. ''Only time will tell and it is hard. Each week has a new set of challenges and different motivations for both teams. These are college kids that we're dealing with. They've been good. They take the approach that we only get so many opportunities to play and we need to make each one of them count.''
