BOISE - The Boise State Broncos go into their fourth game of the season with a bunch of new expectations.

Before No. 17 BSU (3-0, 0-0 Western Athletic Conference) beat Oregon last week, few sports prognosticators expected them to cause much of stir in the college football rankings. They had a freshman quarterback, an untested, young offensive line and no one really knew if they could bring it all together.

As it turns out, Kellen Moore is a pretty good quarterback. The offensive line has given up few sacks and it all seems to be coming together.

But tonight at Bronco Stadium, a fresh test of ability comes in the form of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (2-1, 0-0 WAC). The Broncos lead the series 6-3, and have won six in a row.

They are unbeaten and they'd like to stay that way. With ESPN's national audience in tow, BSU surely won't be looking past this team.

"La Tech is a team we've always paid very good attention to because of the athletes they have," BSU head coach Chris Petersen said. "Coach (Derek) Dooley is doing a great job with those guys now and they're obviously playing better as a team. It should be a good game."

Dooley, a former LSU and Miami Dolphins assistant for now-Alabama head man Nick Saban, is pulling double duty this season, taking over as athletic director as well as head football coach. His team is getting better, but it has some holes.

If Moore continues to excel, this is the game to do it. The Bulldogs' pass defense gives up almost 350 yards per game. That ranks them 119th - dead last - in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The rush defense is capable, at No. 25 nationally.

"There's not a lot of mistakes out there," Petersen said. "They know what they're doing. They're going to stack the box, load it up and make it more difficult."

That focus on stopping the run has left the Bulldog secondary vulnerable. Jeremy Childs said last week he was surprised that the team gave up that many yards in the passing game, a facet of the BSU offense that will only get better as it matures. Childs remarked how physical the La Tech corners were last season.

If the Bulldogs stack the box, look for BSU to spread them out and throw the ball all over the field. Ian Johnson and the other tailbacks will get their carries, no question. Although the yardage gained against Oregon was lopsided, the play-calling was not. The Broncos ran 35 times and threw 37 times.

"Sometimes it's not about stats, not about the score of the game, it's just getting out of there the best way you think you can with a W," Petersen said. "I think we're aggressive overall, that's always going to be our mentality. If we think we need to take a shot to win it, we'll do that."

Those shots can be fired at any of the BSU receiving corps. Childs, Titus Young and Vinny Perretta are perhaps the most deadly, although all the others have unique cards at the table. The nice thing about this half-bye week and a Wednesday game is the extra time the players had to get healthy. None of them are 100 percent, but 90 isn't bad.

The La Tech offense is pretty balanced too, just not as proficient. Both the run game and pass game gain about 163 yards per game.

Patrick Jackson should get the bulk of the Bulldogs carries. He was in the running for the WAC rushing title last season even with a toe injury, but is only averaging 43 yards per game on the ground.

The big addition to the La Tech team this season was Taylor Bennett, a transfer from Georgia Tech. His season hasn't gone great, but he has the potential to lead this team to a possible bowl game.

"He's shown great team leadership, very composed, very mature," Jackson said. "He's going to be an easy guy to rally behind. Coming from an ACC school, he's proven that he's capable of withstanding the tough blows in the trenches."

Despite the possibility of a mismatch, the Broncos are not buying into the hype. They moved up two spots in both national polls without even playing last weekend. To keep moving up, they just must win.

"We've been here before," BSU corner Kyle Wilson said. "That's why we're not looking past it. We've got a good group of experienced guys who've been there in previous years. We're trying to savor every moment."

Wilson was a freshman on the Fiesta Bowl team. He knows how this works. Old cliches dominate weeks like this. One game at a time.