FORT COLLINS — What every offensive coach wants is balance.

The ability to run and throw, to take what a defense is willing to allow and make them pay for it. No. 15 Boise State not only has it, but has taken it to the next level, where the Broncos are able to be explosive in both areas.

And doesn’t Colorado State know it heading into Saturday’s game (8:21 p.m.; ESPN2) after Boise State tagged the Rams for 597 yards of total offense and three scoring plays of 50 yards or longer in last year’s win.

BSU coach Brian Harsin explained they go into a game with a plan, and they may very well be thinking running back Jeremy McNichols will have a big game. But there’s always the what-if plan, he said, which they turned to last week against New Mexico. The Lobos stacked the box. The Broncos stacked the scoreboard through the air, as Brett Rypien found Thomas Sperbeck and Cedrick Wilson to the tune of 42 first-half points.

“I think every offense would want to be explosive,” Harsin said. “There’s nothing better than being on the offensive side and you’re just getting chunk after chunk. It’s momentum. It’s all about momentum, and if you’re a no-huddle team, it creates more tempo, it creates a rhythm. It builds confidence in the drive. So much of it comes down to that.”

Colorado State will have to pick its poison in some regards, but the one truth that rings loudest is they have to know where Sperbeck is at all times. He caught five passes for 178 yards against the Rams in 2015, producing touchdown catches of 85 and 53 yards.

“We’re always going to have an eye on him,” CSU cornerback Kevin Nutt Jr. said. “Wherever they move him to, that’s where they want to go to. We’re expecting him to move around in different places, and we’re just going to eye where he’s at, because that’s most likely where the quarterback wants to go to.”

Sperbeck will line up outside and in the slot, and no matter where it is, he creates mismatches, leading to 33 catches for 629 yards and five scores this campaign.

He is sixth on the BSU list for career catches with 177, but even more impressive, his 2,958 yards leave him just 105 short of the program all-time record. In his career, he’s been a big play waiting to happen.

Everyone who watches him play knows he’s good, but Harsin gets to see him every day, and his assessment is Sperbeck “gets it,” be it in the weight room, on the practice field, in the training room or meetings.

“The guy is very mission focused, let me say that, each and every day,” Harsin said. “This is not a game thing. He’s not just a gamer. He makes one-handed catches in practice, he runs full speed, he reps the game every practice, and when he goes out there and plays, that’s why I think … some guys play with supreme confidence because their practice habits are so much like a game that it doesn’t change. I think some guys practice to practice and love playing games, and then it doesn’t quite reign that supreme when they get out there and get hit right in the mouth and they’re not prepared for it.”

With Cedrick Wilson (23 catches, 442 yards, 5 TDs) and Chaz Anderson (13-156) developing, it’s that much harder for teams to assign extra attention to Sperbeck.

The Rams played better in coverage in the second half of last week’s win over Utah State, making it a point to be more aggressive and play tighter. It’s a lesson that has to translate over to this week if CSU expects to have success.

“They’re going to do the same thing. If they’re going to push, we’ve got to pull it back,” Nutt said. “It’s all about staying sticky to them, and we’ve just got to come out and compete. If they push, we have to pull.”

The Rams simply can’t pinpoint one thing; they have to prepare for everything. As CSU head coach Mike Bobo started going down the list, he explained the Broncos have the best quarterback in the league, arguably the best back (though Donnel Pumphrey has a major argument at SDSU) and the best receiver — maybe receivers.

It’s a laundry list, and checking one off doesn’t mean a whole lot.

“For me to sit here and say we’d have to try and stop the run, they’re going to throw the ball on us pretty well,” CSU defensive coordinator Marty English said. “If we said we’re going to try and take away the pass, they have the ability to run the ball on you pretty well. They’re just very, very balanced and they’re a good team.

“We’re going to have to strain. It’s going to take a lot of work out of us this week to understand the level of competition of this game.”

Mike Brohard: 970-635-3633, mbrohard@reporter-herald.com and twitter.com/mbrohard