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BOISE STATE: The final real non-conference test came and went for the Broncos
on Saturday night as they defeated 24th-ranked Oregon State at home on the
blue turf, 37-24. Kellen Moore was spectacular for the Broncos in the pocket,
converting 19-of-27 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns, while Titus
Young tallied five catches for 136 yards and a score. Austin Pettis not only
caught four balls for 62 yards and a TD, he also completed a six-yard TD pass
to Tommy Gallarda in the first quarter to kick off the game's scoring. Doug
Martin paced the rushing attack with 138 yards on 19 attempts, The Broncos,
who hold steady at number three on the most recent version of the AP poll,
finally break into their Western Athletic Conference schedule this coming
weekend as they travel to New Mexico to face the NMSU Aggies. Boise State is
perfect all-time versus the Aggies, winning all 10 previous engagements. Last
year, BSU again crushed NMSU by a score of 42-7 at home. In the last three
games, New Mexico State has been outscored by a combined 149-7.
FRESNO STATE: Getting off to a slow start on the road on Saturday, the
Bulldogs dug themselves a hole that even 28 points in the second half could
not help, as the team bowed to Ole Miss, 55-38. Ryan Colburn converted 32-
of-42 passes for 390 yards and four touchdowns, but he was also sacked five
times and that left the Bulldogs with a mere 30 net yards rushing on 33
attempts. Defensively, FSU had no answer for Brandon Bolden who gained 228
yards and scored twice on the ground for an Ole Miss team that generated a
staggering 425 yards rushing and four scores in all. Fresno State receiver
Jamel Hamler and Matt Lindsey tried to offset the Rebels ground game by
combining for 14 receptions and 232 yards, but it still wasn't enough. The
Bulldogs step out from their schedule against members of the Football Bowl
Subdivision this weekend and find themselves matched up against the Cal Poly
Mustangs at home on Saturday night. Fresno has a 30-10-2 record in the series
with the Mustangs, stretching back to 1922 when it captured a 20-0 win at
home. The most recent meeting took place in 1985 with the Bulldogs putting up
a hefty 59-10 decision, their fifth straight win over Cal Poly.
HAWAII: Back in 2007, the Warriors crushed Charleston Southern at home by a
score of 66-10 and this past weekend it was more of the same as Hawaii again
took care of the visitors by a count of 66-7 in Honolulu. Bryant Moniz had a
game for the ages for the Warriors as he connected on 19-of-27 passes for a
career-high 395 yards and six touchdowns, not to mention coming up with a
touchdown run as well to account for a healthy chunk of the team's scoring in
the blowout. With all six TD passes coming in the first half, Moniz tied a
school record set by current coach Nick Rolovich. Greg Salas caught seven
balls for a game-high 131 yards and a pair of TDs, while Kealoha Pilares also
scored twice for the group in the onslaught. The Warriors are again on the
island this weekend when they open Western Athletic Conference play against
Louisiana Tech. Last year, LaTech won a total of just four games and one of
those was a 27-6 victory over Hawaii at home in Ruston. Nevertheless, the
Warriors still own a 6-2 edge in the all-time series.
IDAHO: The Vandals fell victim to a 35-yard field goal by Colorado State
kicker Ben DeLine on Saturday, the last-second effort sending Idaho to the
loss column in a 34-32 final on the road. Nathan Enderle converted 25-of-30
passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns for the visitors, but he was also
sacked three times and that took the team's overall rushing effort down to 112
yards on 33 attempts. The Idaho defense fought hard to take down CSU starting
quarterback Pete Thomas for five sacks on the day, but it still was not enough
as DeLine knocked through three field goals on four chances for the home team.
The Vandals play the second of three straight road games this weekend as they
contend against the Western Michigan Broncos in non-conference action. Idaho
has lost both previous games against WMU and that includes a 51-28 setback at
home in 2008.
LOUISIANA TECH: The Bulldogs recorded just three points through the first
three quarters against Southern Miss on Saturday at home, which is why a nine-
point effort in the fourth frame was still not enough to keep LaTech from
suffering the disappointing 13-12 loss in Ruston. Tarik Hakmi made good on 22-
of-35 throws for 262 yards and a touchdown, but he also tossed two
interceptions and backup signal-caller Colby Cameron completed more passes to
the opposition (one) than he did his own team on four chances. The running
game for the Bulldogs was nowhere to be found as the team logged a mere 47
yards on 25 carries. The Bulldogs kick off the WAC portion of their schedule
this weekend when they travel to Honolulu to match up against the Hawaii
Warriors at Aloha Stadium. Hawaii owns a 6-2 edge in the all-time series, but
it was LaTech that captured a 27-6 win at home in Ruston last season to break
a three-game slide versus the Warriors.
NEVADA: Colin Kaepernick was pretty much held under control by the BYU defense
on Saturday, yet the Wolf Pack still emerged with the 27-13 win at LaVell
Edwards Stadium in Provo. One of the most productive players in college
football, Kaepernick converted 16-of-25 passes for 196 yards, one touchdown
and one interception and also carried the ball 17 times for another 82 yards
and a score in the road victory. Vai Taua accounted for a game-high 133 yards
a and TD as he carried the ball 29 times for a squad that generated 239 yards
on the ground in the contest. The battle for the Fremont Cannon rages on this
weekend as the Wolf Pack, now ranked 25th in the most recent AP poll, visits
UNLV in Sin City. Nevada owns a 20-15 advantage over its in-state rival and
has taken five straight meetings, including a 63-28 romp in Reno a year ago.
NEW MEXICO STATE: The losing streak for the Aggies reached 10 in a row this
past weekend when the team was tripped up by Kansas, 42-16, on the road. For
the third time in as many games this season, NMSU gave up at least 41 points
to the competition and is now 114th in the country in scoring itself with a
mere 15.7 ppg. Matt Christian completed 12-of-20 passes for 147 yards and a
touchdown for the visitors, but the Aggies defense surrendered just over 500
yards to the Jayhawks. The Aggies set up for one of their toughest WAC games
of the season this weekend as they host the Boise State Broncos. New Mexico
State is still waiting for its first-ever win versus the Broncos, losing all
10 previous encounters. Last year BSU posted an easy 42-7 win at home.
SAN JOSE STATE: The Spartans trailed by a score of only 7-3 after one period
at 14th-ranked Utah on Saturday, but then the Utes exploded and SJSU was left
in the dust of a 56-3 decision in Salt Lake City. A 20-yard field goal by
Harrison Waid accounted for all of SJSU's points as the squad managed a mere
seven first downs and 172 yards of total offense. Jordan La Secla converted 8-
of-12 passes for 67 yards in the disappointing effort. The Spartans face off
against the last of their non-conference opponents this coming weekend as they
host UC Davis. SJSU owns a 5-3-2 edge in a series that dates back to 1922 when
the Aggies thumped San Jose State in a 58-0 final. Most recently the teams
clashed two seasons ago, with the Spartans grabbing a narrow 17-13 win. SJSU
has won two in a row and five of the last six decisions, the last setback for
the Spartans versus UCD coming in 1931 (13-3).
UTAH STATE: Derrvin Speight scored on a seven-yard run early in the third
quarter for the Aggies on Saturday, but his visit to the end zone was the only
good news in the team's 41-7 setback to San Diego State on the road. USU ran
71 plays and generated a mere 245 yards, compared to SDSU which snapped the
ball 62 times and logged 504 yards in the easy victory. Utah State quarterback
Diondre Borel hit on only 14-of-31 passes for 130 yards, was picked off once
and taken down for four sacks, the latter number dropping the squad's net
rushing down to only 115 yards on 40 attempts. The Aggies get an early call
back to the gridiron this week, hosting BYU in a non-conference matchup on
Friday night. The in-state rivalry shows the Cougars with a 43-33-3 advantage
over USU dating back to the first meeting in 1922. The Aggies have fallen in
10 straight and 20 of the last 21 meetings with the Cougars. Last year, BYU
posted a 35-17 win in Provo.