Boise State may have climbed to its highest ranking in program history last week, but it isn't something that the Broncos are focused on. Head coaches Neil Resnick and Tina Bird have instilled a mentality that is progress-driven rather than outcome-driven.

The Broncos have built their scores each week with steady improvement, eclipsing the 197 mark on Feb. 3 with a 197.025 against Southern Utah and increasing that score by 0.05 on Feb. 11 against Denver.

"We try and look at the season as a 13-week season," Resnick said. "We feel that it's very important to be building each week and the training schedules [and] the way we're doing things in the gym progresses according to the time of the year. We're happy to see things are working. We see steady improvement in practice routines. When you get those practice routines, they're going to show up in the meets."

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The performance against Denver helped solidify a program-record No. 7 ranking. The Broncos are currently No. 12 in the country after the rankings changed over to regional qualifying scores. But the team wasn't celebrating either accomplishment for long.

Boise State faces another tough test on Friday night when the Broncos head to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to take on fourth-ranked Alabama.

"We don't really look at our ranking; we just kind of celebrate and move on," Bird said. "We try to make every meet the same, just like a practice. We try to put more pressure on in practice, so when they get to the meet they're more relaxed. Taking away some of the hype of 'Oh, we could be this' or 'We could score that,' takes that out of their hands and they don't get worked up."

When BSU traveled to Utah State last Friday, it was business as usual. In their fifth road meet of the season, the Broncos came away with a 196.700-196.300 win. Boise State has often scored better on the road than at home in part because there are not many judges in Idaho. The bump that some teams in the country see from "home scoring" isn't one that really affects the Broncos much.

Boise State has shown few weaknesses this season and is especially adept on bars, on which the Broncos are ranked sixth after seven weeks of competition.

One of the keys to having such a strong team has been the preparation that went in well before the season started.

"Beam is such a key to a team," Bird said. "If you've got a good beam score, it's easier to have a good team score obviously. These guys did a lot of beam this summer. I think it's the most beam I've ever had a team do in the summertime. I think that really is instrumental in putting us in the position we're in now."

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The Broncos have not had to count a fall on balance beam all season.

The real strength for BSU has been the uneven bars. Senior Diana Mejia has been a key piece for the Broncos on the event, contributing a 9.900 or better four times this season. Boise State has scored at least a 49.300 on uneven bars in its last four meets.

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Mejia points to the team's depth as one of the biggest reasons for its success.

"Compared to other seasons, we have so much more depth," she said. "I think also because we have so much depth, we've been pushing each other for those last couple spots [in the lineup]. A lot of us are interchangeable, and I think what also helps us is that we've had a lot of people step up."

Before this week's rankings change, the Broncos were also the only team in the top 10 that did not come from a Power 5 school and are currently the top-ranked program that does not represent a Power 5 conference. That ranking was not only worthy of celebration, but it also served to boost the team's confidence.

"I think each week we're just getting more confident and [we're] trying to enjoy ourselves and enjoy this moment," Mejia said. "It's definitely awesome to be in the top 10 and to see all our hard work has finally paid off."