College Pop Tarts Coming
WAC Pop Tarts Have Been Discontinued
Forget Wheaties boxes. That was so 1990s. Pop Tarts have taken over cereal boxes in the cool athletics collectables category. Five universities have partnered with Kellogg’s on limited edition Pop Tarts.
The flavors are as follows: Michigan’s Pop Tart flavor is Go Blue Strawberry; Georgia is Bulldog Berry; Arkansas is Razorback Red; Florida is Florida Gators Strawberry; and North Carolina is Tar Heel Blue.
University Of Nevada Football Player Brandon Wimberly Shot
Dreams Dashed
University of Nevada Wolf Pack junior receiver Brandon Wimberly was shot in the abdomen early Saturday morning isn’t expected to play football again. Wolf Pack coach Chris Ault said that Wimberly underwent surgery to repair damage to his intestines and colon and that the gunshot wound nearly proved fatal. Wimberly, the WAC’s Freshman of the Year in 2009, ranked second on the team in catches last season with 41.
The shooting happened around 2:30 a.m. near a minor league baseball stadium in Reno. Police said that several Wolf Pack players fought another group of men before the other group got into a car. Wimberly approached the car and someone inside shot him.
Ault said in a statement the other players with Wimberly would cooperate with any police investigation into the case. Police have made no arrests in the shooting. There is a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and identification of the shooter.
Primetime College Football: Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
TALENT
This game goes down on the ESPN network and it features University of Nevada Wolf Pack taking on Boston College Eagles in the 9th annual Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, formerly the Emerald Bowl at AT&T Parkin San Francisco, California.
Nevada, 12-1, 7-1 WAC, Wolf Pack would be perfect on the season if they hadn’t stumbled in mid season to Hawaii. Head coach Chris Ault has only held one head coaching position in his 26 years but they have come at three different times at Nevada and just signed on for two more years after capturing a share of the Western Athletic Conference title.
Nevada offense is spearheaded by the WAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year Colin Kaepernick, who for the third year in a row threw for at least 2,000 yards and ran for 1,000 yards, making him the first player in NCAA history to achieve the feat. The Wolf Pack offense operates out of the “Pistol Offense” which was designed by Ault, which has allowed Kaepernick to be the first quarterback in NCAA history to throw for at least 9,000 yards and gain another 4,000 on the ground.
Running back Vai Taua is equal threat in this offense as he is rushing for 127 ypg and in the wide receiver area 9 players have recorded a touchdown this year.
Boston College, 7-5, 4-4 ACC, Eagles started off the season 2-0 then spun out of control losing the next five straight. Head coach Frank Spaziani collected his team and they turned things around by winning the five straight to become bowl eligible and get a contract extension for two more years.
The Eagles offense averages just 18 ppg and entering this game with a little confusion at quarterback as the last two games saw four different passes. Chances are it will be Chase Rettig under center since he has completed 53.4 percent of his throws for 1,100 yards and 6 touchdowns. The reason though the quarterback position is still up for grabs entering the bowl game is that they turn the ball over far to much and as a group have 17 interceptions on the season.
Fortunately the Eagles have more stability at the running back position where Montel Harris leads the team with his 113 ypg that has gone for 1,243 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Defensively the Eagles have an impact player in sophomore linebacker Luke Kuechly who led the nation in tackles per game with 14. He became a finalist for both the Butkus Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
This will be the first meeting between these programs.
PICK: University of Nevada Wolf Pack
Dennis Franchione Hired As Texas State Head Football Coach
Who Could Forget
Former Alabama and Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione has accepted the head coaching position at Texas State in which Tim Brewster and Rocky Long were candidates. Franchione was a coach at Texas State back in 1990, when the school was known as Southwest Texas State, where he coached for just two seasons and accumulated a record of 13-9.
Franchione, 59, was removed from his position at A&M after the 2007 season in which it was reveled he was sending out a an exclusive newsletter sent to boosters who paid handsomely for information about their Aggie football team. He takes over for Brad Wright who was fired after a 4-7 season as Texas State prepares itself for to join the WAC in 2012.
Franchione has a 187-101-2 record over 25 years but without a doubt his most crowning achievement as a coach was when he was the head man on the sidelines for the Aggies and he lead them into a beatdown by Oklahoma 77-0.
Primetime College Football: MAACO Las Vegas Bowl
TALENT
This game goes down on the ESPN network and it features University of Utah Utes taking on Boise State University Broncos in the 19th annual Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Boise State, 11-1, 7-1 WAC, ran through the regular season with 11 consecutive wins and was among the top five in both the AP poll and the BCS rankings as it possessed both one of the most aggressive offenses in the country, and a defense that few opponents could penetrate. But it all came crashing down for the Broncos on November 26th in Reno when missed field goals near the end of regulation and in overtime left the team with a 34-31 loss to nationally-ranked Nevada. The most anticipated game on the Western Athletic Conference schedule and it came down to kicker Kyle Brotzman and two make-able field goals that went astray. Not only did the miscues bring threats of harm and far-reaching resentment for Brotzman, it also gave the BCS the out they were looking for as BSU head coach Chris Petersen made it clear that there were a number of plays that could have decided the outcome in favor of his squad.
Boise State’s offense might not run exclusively, but being ranked 24th in the nation and second in the WAC with 200.1 ypg means that the Broncos can certainly do damage in that mode and the Utes will have to prepare for such an attack. The newest in a line of tough-nosed running backs for BSU, Doug Martin ran for 1,113 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging six yards per attempt. In Addition, Jeremy Avery also reprised his role as one of the most elusive runners around as he turned in 440 yards and added 11 touchdowns runs as well.
But make no mistake, this Boise State offense rests in the capable hands of junior signal-caller Kellen Moore who was not only named the WAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year, he was also invited to New York to take part in the Heisman Trophy festivities (he finished fourth in the voting). Moore was second in the nation in passing efficiency with a 185.04 rating as he threw for 3,506 yards and 33 touchdowns with just five interceptions. As a starter, Moore is now 37-2 in three seasons and for his efforts he’s been named the WAC’s Freshman of the Year in 2008, and was the WAC Offensive Player of the Year last season.
But with so much attention being given to Moore and an offense that ranks second in the nation in scoring with 46 ppg, it is easy to forget that Boise State also has one of the stingiest defenses in all of college football, limiting foes to just 13 points and 259.3 total yards per game, both of which rank the team fourth in the nation. Ryan Winterswyk earned most of the attention heading into and during the season as he logged seven tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, but because he was on the scouting report for every opponent, that opened the door for teammates like Tyrone Crawford who tallied a team-high 13 TFLs and accounted for 6.5 sacks, and Shea McClellin who made the most of his 26 overall stops by recording a team-best 8.5 sacks. Wrap it all up and Boise State was first in the nation with 3.75 sacks per game and second in TFLs with 8.3 per outing.
As for the Utes, 10-2, 7-1 MWC, they too were one of the hottest teams in the nation early on in the campaign with eight straight wins out of the box however, showed more than just a few cracks in the armor on November 6th when the team hosted TCU and was run out of the building in a 47-7 final. The devastating setback certainly raised more than a few eyebrows as people began to wonder what the true identity of this top-10 team really was.
A week later a trip to South Bend made it even more clear that Utah had been the beneficiary of some weak competition on the early part of the schedule as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish beat the Utes soundly in a 28-3 final. Seven days later the Utes were again on trial, this time at San Diego State, and again the program nearly rolled over and died before slipping by with a 38-34 victory. Add a narrow 17-16 win over a resurgent BYU group and Utah is making its eighth straight bowl appearance.
During much of the 2010 season the Utah offense was unrivaled, scoring at will against defenseless opponents who couldn’t get out of the way fast enough. However, in crunch time the Utes experienced a power outage as they scored a combined 27 points in three games against TCU, Notre Dame and BYU during the final month of the regular season. Quarterback Jordan Wynn had some rough outings for the group, yet he still finished the campaign by completing better than 62 percent of his pass attempts for 233.4 ypg and 17 touchdowns, against 10 interceptions on 299 attempts.
Jereme Brooks and DeVonte Christopher were the big outlets for Wynn as they combined to make 89 catches for 1,288 yards and 10 touchdowns, but it was really the efforts of Eddie Wide and Matt Asiata coming out of the backfield that dictated what the passing attack was able to accomplish. Wide finished with 11 touchdowns and close to five yards per carry as he split time with Asiata who returned with 673 yards and 8 touchdowns of his own.
At 6-4 the Broncos don’t have that much of a bowl pedigree, but when you consider that record dates back to just 1999 one has to be impressed with the program’s consistency in making it to the postseason in the first place. Last season the team was pitted against another non-BCS squad in TCU and captured a hard-fought 17-10 battle in the Fiesta Bowl. The Utes, have a record of 12-4 in bowl games dating back to a 26-0 beating of New Mexico in the 1939 Sun Bowl, have won nine consecutive postseason dates and that’s the longest active streak in the nation and tied for the second-longest of all-time. Last year, the team defeated California in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego by a score of 37-27 under head coach Kyle Whittingham. Boise State has won four of the previous six encounters.
PICK: Boise State University Broncos
Primetime College Football: uDrove Humanitarian Bowl
TALENT
This game goes down on the ESPN network and it features Northern Illinois University Huskies taking on Fresno State Bulldogs in the 14th annual uDrove Humanitarian Bowl at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho.
Northern Illinois, 10-3, 8-0 MAC, of the Mid American Conference is making its third consecutive bowl appearance for the first time in school history and is 2-3 all-time in bowl games. Though the Huskies lost a heart breaker in the MAC title game, they still have a chance to go for a school-record 11 wins.
Northern Illinois is now a program that is in transition as earlier this month their head coach Jerry Kill accepted an offer to become the next head coach at Minnesota. So for the time being assistant coach Tom Matukewicz will handle play calling duties before they are given over full time to Dave Doeren, who will become head coach after his Wisconsin Badgers finish up their season in the Rose Bowl.
The Huskies went undefeated in the MAC and in fact won 9 straight games to close out the regular season, with the streak beginning with a 34-23 win at Minnesota. However, even being the top scoring offense in the league at 37 ppg couldn’t help the team when it came to the MAC Championship game against Miami-Ohio. A week after putting up an incredible 71-3 win over Eastern Michigan, the Huskies found themselves with a disappointing 26-21 defeat at the hands of a RedHawks team that converted a late 4th-and-20 play to stay alive.
The Huskies offense is lead by junior quarterback Chandler Harnish, who guides a balanced offense that ranks 13th in nation averaging 37 points. The junior broke a 46-year-old school record by amassing 2,991 total yards on the season. Chad Spann, the MAC player of the year, leads a running game with 264.8 ypg and ranked 7th in country as he gained 1,293 yards for his second straight 1,000-yard season. Willie Clark was often Harnish’s favorite target when he went downfield as he led the team with 38 catches for 514 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Fresno State, 8-4, 5-3 WAC, guided by head coach Pat Hill, is playing in this particular bowl game for the third time in the last seven years and already has wins over Virginia (37-34 OT) and Georgia Tech (40-28) in 2004 and 2007. Coach Hill had trouble guiding the team to wins over the second-tier programs in the WAC this year but almost pulled off an upset of nationally ranked Nevada before losing 35-34 at home. The Bulldogs are currently riding a two game win streak thanks in part to running back Robbie Rouse, who is averaging 109.7 rushing ypg and ranks 13th in the nation on an offense that averages 30 points.
The rest of the Bulldogs offense is managed by Ryan Colburn who has converted almost 62 percent of his pass attempts for more than 2,500 yards and 21 touchdowns against 9 interceptions. Colburn’s often looks downfield to Jamel Hamler who earned all-conference honors as he turned his 47 catches into 725 yards and 5 touchdowns.
A Fresno State squad under coach Hill is known for it’s defense and that hasn’t changed as the team was 6th in the nation in sacks with an average of 3 per game. Senior defensive end Chris Carter is a huge force to reckon with as he had 11 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles on the season to earn the Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year award.
The schools split their previous four meetings, with the Bulldogs winning 55-7 in the most recent game in 1991. NIU is making its third consecutive bowl appearance but its first appearance in the Humanitarian Bowl and is 2-3 all-time in bowl games. Fresno State is making its fourth straight bowl game and is in the Humanitarian for the first time since 2007 but is 2-0 in the event. The Bulldogs are 12-11 in postseason play after last seasons 35-28 double overtime loss to Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl.
PICK: Fresno State Bulldogs
Primetime College Football: New Mexico Bowl
Primetime College Football Regular Season Record 76-31
The 2010-2011 bowl season kicks off today and that means the return of the Primetime College Football segments. Usually the Primetime College Football posts are slated for any national televised football game that starts at or after the 6 p.m. CST spot where I finished 76-31 on the season. However, Bowl Games are the true essence of Primetime College Football, with that being said no matter what the start time is, a PCF post will be provided and to kick it off is the fifth annual New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque playing host to Brigham Young University Cougars and the University of Texas at El Paso Miners.
This game takes place on ESPN in Albuquerque, New Mexico and features two former WAC rivals that are playing for the first time since 1998 however come kick off the 2010 bowl season as a couple of .500 programs.
BYU, 6-6, 5-3 MWC, is a program that has been one of the elite in the Mountain West Conference for several years, but fell on hard times in 2010 as this is their first season since 2005 that the Cougars are not going to post a 10-win season. Following a 23-17 win against Washington in the opener, the Cougars dropped four in a row and head coach Bronco Mendenhall refused to give up and thus began the great reclamation project.
The Cougars are operating with a freshman quarterback in Jake Heaps for much of the season after junior Riley Nelson was lost for the season. Heaps finished the season strong having four straight passing efforts of at least 225 yards and tossing 9 touchdowns with just a single interception. Making the second half of the season a bit easier on Heaps was J.J. Di Luigi, who not only led the team in rushing with 819 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground, he also reeled in a team-high 42 receptions for another 422 yards and a touchdown.
While the offense was slowly building momentum for the Cougars in the second half of the season, so was a defense that allowed a combined 61 points in the final five games. Prior to that run, opponents of BYU had tallied no less than 17 points in any one contest so it was both facets of the team that began to turn the corner when it meant the most. The pass defense for the Cougars was one of the best in the MWC this season, ranking third in the league and 21st nationally with just 187.8 ypg allowed and because of that opponents struggled to generate more than 21.4 ppg on the season overall.
The Cougars defense has also stepped up of late, surrendering 10 points over the previous four games after allowing 27.0 in the first eight. Their pass defense ranked 21st nationally with just 187.8 ypg allowed.
As for UTEP, 6-6, 3-5 C-USA, they built themselves up with early success by posting five wins in the first six games, unfortunately from the middle of the season on the wins became more and more scarce for head coach Mike Price. In fact UTEP has won just once in the last six outings, a 28-14 triumph over SMU during Conference USA play. The Miners who represent Conference USA are the first non-MWC or WAC team to make an appearance in the New Mexico Bowl.
The Miners have been handled by quarterback Trevor Vittatoe for years now and has thrown for more than 12,000 yards in his career and 94 touchdowns. Vittatoe has hit a wall of late as he is only averaging 155.6 yards and has thrown 8 interceptions in his last six games. Unfortunately for Vittatoe, the rushing attack barely made a dent against the competition on most weekends, averaging just 149.5 ypg to place seventh in Conference USA and 69th in the country, Wideout Chris Adams had strong numbers down the field for the Miners with his 44 receptions for 917 yards and 11 touchdowns.
On defense for coach Price he has a playmaker in defensive back Travaun Nixon who leads the team with 3 interceptions and has 69 total tackles.
BYU leads the all-time series with UTEP 28-7-1 and has taken 25 of the previous 27 meetings. The Cougars have won three of their previous four bowl games, including 44-20 over Oregon State in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl last December. Meanwhile, UTEP is back in the postseason for the first time since the 2005 GMAC Bowl when the group suffered a 45-13 loss to Toledo. The Miners will be looking for its first bowl victory since defeating Mississippi 14-7 in the Sun Bowl in 1967.
PICK: University of Texas at El Paso Miners
Mama Margie’s Major Meltdown: Kyle Brotzman
Kyle Brotzman
Every Thursday Sports Grind Entertainment will present you with the Mama Margie’s Major Meltdown. The recipient of this honor goes to the Boise State kicker Kyle Brotzman who missed a field goal as time expired to keep his teams 24 game unbeaten streak alive. Brotzman had a second opportunity to keep the Broncos hopes of playing in the BCS National Championship game but missed another field goal try from within 30 yards.
Brotzman miss field goals cost Boise State approximately $10 million dollars from the payout of the bowl game they would have been invited to.
Boise State Fans Start Facebook In Support Of Mama Margie’s Meltdown Player Kyle Brotzman
Scott Norwood Is Impressed
This weeks Mama Margie’s Meltdown Player of the Week will be an easy one especially when you miss two field goals from 26 and 29 yards to keep your schools 24 game winning streak alive and their hopes of playing in a BCS National Championship game and not to mention the $10 million dollars it comes from playing in a BCS game. However it seems fans and alumni of Boise State are rallying behind kicker Kyle Brotzman, as they have started a Facebook group to show their support for Mr. Miss.
The Facebook group which over 9,000 people have joined in little over a day is called “The Bronco Nation Loves Kyle Brotzman.” Here’s the description for the group:
“Boise State’s Kyle Brotzman is the all-time leading scorer for Bronco Football. A walk-on in 2006 and a local Idaho boy from Meridian High School, Kyle has been a key part of the Broncos’ success during an incredible four-year run. In the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, Kyle was at the center of the most memorable play, “The Riddler,” in which he took a snap on a fake punt on 4th down and threw a pass to Kyle Efaw, setting up the touchdown that would win the game for the Broncos.
The page has been filled with positive comments from fans who all want Brotzman to feel their support. That’s nice and all but he will still be our Mama Margies Meltdown Player of the Week.
Primetime College Football: Broncos vs Vandals
TALENT
This game goes down on the ESPN2 network and it features Boise State University Broncos taking on the University of Idaho Vandals at Kibbie Dome.
Winners of 22 consecutive games, the nation’s longest streak right now, head coach Chris Petersen has his Broncos battling opponents on the gridiron on a weekly basis, but also they’ve been fighting the misconception that being from the WAC means that they can’t compete against teams from the power conferences. As hard as they try, the Broncos can’t break free of the stigma of being from a non-BCS conference and it continues to hurt their chances of challenging for the national title.
The Boise State offense, as powerful as ever, added a new wrinkle to its attack last week when it went almost exclusively with a no-huddle format in the first half against the Hawaii. The approach went over very well as the team produced a 21-0 lead at the break and went on to win by five touchdowns, 42-7 loss. Kellen Moore, who is now the school’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns, converted 30-of-37 passes for a career-high 507 yards and three TDs. On the ground, it was Jeremy Avery with 92 yards and three TDs on 10 carries as the offense set a new school record with 737 yards in a single game.
Moore has thrown for multiple TDs in every game this season and has an efficiency rating off the charts at 192.38. He ranks third in the conference and 17th in the nation in total offense with just 293.5 ypg, but that’s because he rarely plays a full 60 minutes.
Defensively the Broncos stomped all over Hawaii, taking down the nation’s leading passer Bryant Moniz seven times behind the line of scrimmage. Boise State is the only team in the country that ranks in the top-five in both total offense and total defense.
As for the Vandals, a team that made it to a bowl game and won last year, the window for head coach Robb Akey squad making it to the postseason again is beginning to close rather quickly. With four games remaining on a 13-game schedule, Idaho has just four wins to show for its efforts and is trying to shake off a two-game slide entering this week. Last Saturday the team hosted nationally-ranked Nevada and was taken apart by the Wolf Pack in a 63-17 final. The 63 points allowed were the most since the Broncos put up the same number last year, just weeks after Nevada delivered a crushing 70-45 decision in Reno in 2009.
Idaho’s quarterback Nathan Enderle converted 15-of-34 passes for 224 yards and one touchdown, adding a rushing score as well, but all alone he was no match for the fury of the Nevada offense. Under the gun the entire game, the Vandals never really had a chance to get their rushing attack in gear and it finished with a mere 68 yards.
Enderle has tried to give his team a fighting chance, helping the passing attack to generate 330.8 ypg to rank second in the conference and fourth in the nation at the moment, but without a reliable running back or two to do some additional damage opponents know just how to hit the Vandals. Idaho’s offensive line has put Enderle and his backup in quite a number of awkward positions as the squad gives up 3.5 sacks per game to rank 117th in the country.
In addition to permitting a whopping 453 yards rushing, the Idaho defense was taken apart by an aerial attack that added another 391 yards and six TDs. The Vandals failed to log a single sack and came up with just five tackles for loss, one of those tallied by Tre’Shawn Robinson who posted a game-high 16 stops.
The squad is giving up a hefty 197.8 ypg on the ground and another 239.0 ypg through the air.
BSU has won every meeting since 1999 and is now ahead of the Vandals by a count of 21-17.
PICK: Boise State University Broncos
Primetime College Football: Bulldogs vs Broncos
TALENT
This game goes down on the ESPN2 network and it features Louisiana Tech University Bulldogs taking on Boise State University Broncos at Bronco Stadium.
Head coach Sonny Dykes is in his first year of head coaching and enters tonight’s matchup with a 3-4 overall record and 2-1 in Western Athletic Conference after spending two years as offensive coordinator under Mike Stoops. The Bulldogs last weekend beat Idaho 48-35 at home to build a two game winning streak and look to take that momentum on the road.
The Bulldogs are lead by senior quarterback Ross Jenkins, 885 yards 6 touchdowns 2 INTs, who missed three of the teams four losses due to an injury. The Bulldogs though are glad to have Jenkins back at full strength since he is completing 70.5 percent of his throws.
Coach Dykes likes to put the ball in the air and that rings benefits for junior wide receiver Taulib Ikharo, 309 yards 1 touchdown, and sophomore Richie Casey, 308 yards 2 touchdowns, as they both have over 25 receptions. The rushing attack is handled by Tennessee transfer junior Lennon Creer, 568 yards 4 touchdowns, who is averaging 6.0 yards per carry.
Head coach Chris Petersen has his Broncos once again perfect on the season and trying to get voters to give them a shot at the BCS National Championship game. The Broncos are 6-0 overall with a 2-0 record in the WAC and are playing in the schools first ever Tuesday night game. The offensive duties are handled by junior quarterback Kellen Moore, 1567 yards 16 touchdowns 1 INT, who has been only sack twice on the year allowing him to stay upright and complete 69.5 percent of his throws. He leads team that is 4th in nation in scoring and 13th in passing yards per game.
When Moore looks down field he often looks in the direction of senior wide receiver Titus Young, 581 yards 4 touchdowns, and senior Austin Pettis, 387 yards 4 touchdowns, to move the chains. The rushing attack turned into a two running back system ever since D.J. Harper was lost for the season. The majority of the rushing carries are given to junior Doug Martin, 544 yards 4 touchdowns, who is averaging 7.4 yards per carry but the short yardage situations are handled by senior Jeremy Avery, 192 yards 5 touchdowns.
Defensively the Broncos are only allowing 12 points per game which is good for 2nd best in the nation.
Louisiana Tech has dropped eight in a row to the Broncos, including a 45-35 defeat last season.
PICK: Boise State University Broncos
Primetime College Football: Falcons vs Aztecs
TALENT
This game goes down on the CBS Sports network and it features the Air Force Falcons taking on San Diego State University Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium.
Head coach Troy Calhoun has his Falcons at 5-1 overall and already 3-0 in the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons last weekend beat up on Colorado State 49-27 but 27 points is the most the team has given up all season and that includes there loss in Norman to the Sooners. Air Force is off to its best start since 2003 and is trying for its best start in conference in 13 years when it started 4-0 as a WAC member in 1997.
The Falcons is the nations number one ranked rushing team as they run a triple option style offense to overcome the fact they don’t get the top recruits. They are lead by junior quarterback Tim Jefferson, 663 yards 5 touchdowns 3 INTs, who has rushed for 376 yards and 7 touchdowns on the season at an average of 6.1 yards per carry. Air Force being a rushing team averages 352.7 yards per game and there more than one guy than can and is expected to run the ball beside Jefferson.
Junior running back Asher Clark, 548 yards 2 touchdowns, is one of those guys and picks up 6.4 ypc, while senior running mate Jared Tew, 524 yards 3 touchdowns, is gaining 5 ypc.
Defensively Air Force is 7th in nation in pass defense allowing only 149.3 ypg and the star on that unit is senior defensive back Reggie Rembert.
Head coach Brady Hoke has his Aztecs at 3-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play after coming off a controversial 24-21 loss to BYU. San Diego State is managed by junior quarterback Ryan Lindley, 1394 yards 9 touchdowns 3 INTs, is someone who can do some damage even though he has only completed 55.3 percent of his throws.
The Aztecs have shown they can pass the ball and run it and for that they rely on freshman running back Ronnie Hillman, 594 yards 8 touchdowns, and his 6.3 ypc. The offensive line that has created big enough holes for Hillman also does an outstanding job keeping Lindley from getting touched as they rank 5th in the nation with just 0.40 sacks allowed per outing.
Air Force leads the all-time series 19-9 and won last years meeting between the two schools 26-14. Last year the Falcons picked up the victory but did not score a single offensive touchdown.
PICK: Air Force Falcons
Primetime College Football: Cougars vs Aggies
TALENT
This game goes down on the ESPN network and it features Brigham Young University Cougars taking on the Utah State University Aggies in Romney Stadium.
Brigham Young’s head coach Bronco Mendenhall brings his Cougars into Logan with only one win on the season and zero victories in the Mountain West Conference (1-3 0-1). The Cougars offense is in a flux since starting quarterback Riley Nelson went down with a season-ending injury and now the reins have been turned over to freshman Jake Heaps, 489 yards one touchdown 1 INT. Heaps has so much to learn and defenses will key in on his inexperience however he has junior running back J.J. Di Luigi, 332 yards 2 touchdowns, to lean on as he is also the team leader in catches with 18 for another 200 yards and one touchdown.
The Cougars defense is giving up 263.5 ypg against the run but they have played to run heavy teams in Air Force and Nevada. The teams defense is lead by senior defensive back Andrew Rich, 47 tackles 2 tackles for loss, and junior linebacker Jord Pendleton, 31 tackles 3 tackles for loss and 3 sacks.
Utah State head coach Gary Andersen also with a 1-3 record and no victories in the WAC. The Aggies offense is lead by senior quarterback Diondre Borel, 832 4 touchdowns 4 INTs, but was sacked four times last week. The rushing attack is now handled by senior Derrvin Speight, 221 yards 2 touchdowns, after Robert Turbin didn’t return for this season. Speight is averaging just 4.1 ypc on an offense that is averaging just 229.3 yards of total offense.
The Aggies defense is one that can be thrown on allowing 32 ppg to rank 101st in the nation. The Aggies have strong leadership in junior linebacker Bobby Wagner, who leads the team with 47 tackles and 3 tackles for loss.
The in-state rivalry goes all the way back to 1922 and the Cougars have a 43-33-3 advantage. The Aggies have fallen in 10 straight and 20 of the last 21 meetings with the Cougars that included last years win 35-17.
PICK: Utah State University Aggies
Primetime College Football: Beavers vs Broncos
TALENT
This game goes down on the ABC network and it features the Oregon State University Beavers taking on Boise State University Broncos in Idaho.
Boise State hasn’t lost a regular-season game at home in more than nine years and have the second longest winning streak at 16, only Alabama. The Broncos have won 56 consecutive home games in the regular season since a 41-20 loss to Washington State on Sept. 8, 2001. Head coach Chris Petersen brings his Broncos back home 2-0 after thrashing Wyoming 51-6. The Broncos are lead by the junior left-handed quarterback Kellen Moore who is 28-1 with 69 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions in his collegiate career.
The Broncos are more than just Moore though as they have talented wide receivers junior Titus Young, 174 yards one touchdown, and junior Austin Pettis, 161 yards 3 touchdowns, which have led to the success of the Broncos over the years.
Boise State now possesses the second-best run defense in the country behind only Texas giving up only 53.5 ypg.
Oregon State head coach Mike Riley brings his team to the blue field in Idaho 1-1 but has watched sophomore quarterback Ryan Katz, 301 yards 4 touchdowns, become comfortable as the Beavers starting quarterback. Luckily for the Beavers it’s not all up to Katz as he has the luxury of having the truth in junior running back Jacquizz Rodgers, 207 yards 3 touchdowns, and his brother senior James Rodgers, 102 yards one touchdown, at wide receiver.
As much attention should be devoted to Jacquizz Rodgers it still brings up the question as to why the Beavers rank 90th in the nation with an average of only 125 ypg.
The run defense for the Beavers has been beaten up in just two games, allowing 221.5 ypg and the pass defense is giving up 231.5 ypg while only recording two sacks.
The Beavers hold a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series with Boise State but it was the Broncos who recorded the last win 42-14 in 2006.
PICK: Boise State University Broncos
Primetime College Football: Broncos vs Cowboys
TALENT
This game goes down on the CBS Sports Channel network and it features the Boise State University Broncos take on the University of Wyoming Cowboys at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie.
Boise State get back to action on the field since having an open week after coming off their huge 33-30 road win in Washington DC over Virgina Tech. The Broncos will put their 15 game winning streak on the line and it’s lead by junior quarterback Kellen Moore, 23-38 for 215 yards 3 touchdowns.
Moore has a talented team surrounding him with standout senior wide receivers Titus Young, 80 yards, and Austin Pettis, 73 yards 2 touchdowns, as well as productive backfield of junior Doug Martin, 83 yards, junior D.J. Harper, 80 yards one touchdown, and senior Jeremy Avery, 26 yards in part of one of the nations top scoring offenses.
Head coach Chris Petersen has an aggressive and smart defense that gets often overlooked but still ranked 14th in 300.2 ypg allowed and 17 ppg.
Wyoming head coach Dave Christensen rallied his team in the wake of freshman linebacker Ruben Narcisse death, who died in a car accident, to play Texas before losing 34-7 in Austin just days after.
The Cowboys sophomore quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels,16-24 for 160 yards and 12 rushes for 25 one touchdown, showed pose on a big stage out on the road as he provided the teams only score. Senior wide receiver Zach Bolger,39 yards, was the top man in that department.
The Cowboys defense did hold the Longhorns to just 389 yards of total offense.
The Broncos are a perfect 4-0 over the years against Wyoming with the Broncos most recent win coming in 2007 and a score of 24-14.
PICK: Boise State University Broncos
Primetime College Football: Bears vs Wolf Pack
TALENT
This game goes down on the ESPN2 network and it features the California Golden Bears taking on the University of Nevada Wolf Pack at Mackay Stadium in Reno.
California has put on two dominating performances to start the season with a 52-3 win over UC Davis and a 52-7 victory over Colorado. Head coach Jeff Tedford’s offense so far has been the bright shinning star of the Golden Bears having scored 52 points in each of their first two games, and possessing a very balanced attack.
Senior quarterback Kevin Riley, 15-24 197 yards and 4 touchdowns, has responded from his disastrous performance against Utah, 37-27, in the Poinsettia Bowl to yet throwing a single interception this season. Riley has completed 65.9 percent of his throws and 7 touchdowns so far. The senior quarterback had the luxury of freshman Keenan Allen, 177 yards 2 touchdowns, and junior Marvin Jones, 167 yards 2 touchdowns, to throw to.
The Golden Bears offense’s bread and butter is still the ground game, which possesses one of the most dangerous running backs in country in junior Shane Vereen, 126 rushing yards 3 touchdowns and 46 receiving yards 2 touchdowns, but hasn’t seen a ton of carries because of the lopsided score in both games.
The defense stuffed the Buffaloes to just 75 yards rushing on 1.8 yards per attempt. The Golden Bears collected 5 turnovers and 6 sacks in that win. Two of those takeaways went for scores as senior linebacker Mike Mohamed returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown and senior defensive back Darian Hagan returned a fumble 82 yards for a touchdown.
The Wolf Pack start the season off 2-0 for the first time since since 1995 as Nevada has picked up a 49-24 victory over Eastern Washington and 51-6 over Colorado State. The Wolf Pack can tribute their success to senior quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has passed 2 touchdowns and rushed for 2 touchdowns. Head coach Chris Ault not only gets production on the ground from Kaepernick but senior running back Vai Taua, 169 yards 3 touchdowns.
After allowing 24 points to Eastern Washington the Wolf Pack defense held Colorado State to just 6 points. Aults defense held the Rams to just 78 yards on 2.5 yards per attempt and ravished through their line for 5 sacks.
The Golden Bears have won 22 of the 24 meetings against Nevada, with one one loss and the other resulting in a tie.
PICK: California Golden Bears
Primetime College Football: Rams vs Wolf Pack
TALENT
This game goes down on the ESPNU network and it features the Colorado State University Rams taking on the University of Nevada Wolf Pack in Mackay Stadium in Reno.
The Colorado State Rams bring into this game with one of the longest losing streaks in the nation entering which after last weeks loss to in-state rival Colorado, 24-3, it has now reached 10 in a row. Coincidentally the last victory for the Rams came against this same Nevada program early in the 2009 schedule.
The offense failed to show up for the Rams in the opener, with kicker Ben Deline accounting for the only scoring. The Rams have no real running game to speak off and running back while resting the passing game on freshman quarterback Pete Thomas, 24-33 for 196 yards 3 INTs, who was also sacked 3 times. The Rams ranked 7th in the Mountain West Conference last season and 97th in the nation in scoring with 21 ppg.
The Rams defense did limit the Buffaloes to just 115 yards on the ground for an average of 3.3 yards per attempt. Head coach Steve Fairchild watched as senior linebacker Ricky Brewer showed a solid effort with 10 tackles and freshman linebacker Mike Orakpo who recorded a sack.
Nevada’s head coach Chris Ault’s pistol offense is not only what the Wolf Pack offense is all about but now can be spotted throughout the country on Saturdays. Senior quarterback Colin Kaepernick operates the pistol offense to perfection and did so in win over Eastern Washington. Kaepernick, one of three players on the team to record at least 1,000 yards rushing last season, tallied a team-best 60 yards and scored 2 touchdowns on the ground, while also going 26-37 for 306 yards 2 touchdowns. Kaepernick needs just 34 yards of rushing to become the eighth player in NCAA history with at least 3,000 yards both running and passing.
The Rams offense got production out of senior running back Vai Taua who rushed for 51 yards and 2 touchdowns and senior tight end Virgil Green, 7 catches 144 yards 2 touchdowns.
Last season the pass defense for the Wolf Pack was a mess, giving up 297.8 ypg through the air to rank last in the Western Athletic Conference and 119th in the country. Not much changed in the opener as Nevada allowed a total of 270 yards. Junior linebacker Brandon Marshall recorded a sack and a fumble recovery.
Colorado State leads the series against Nevada 9-1.
PICK: University of Nevada Wolf Pack
Primetime College Football: Broncos vs Hokies
TALENT
This game goes down on the ESPN network and it features Boise State University Broncos taking on the Virginia Tech Hokies at FedEx Field for the first-ever meeting between these two schools.
Broncos head coach Chris Petersen has built a winning program at Boise State amassing a 49-4 record in his four seasons, including leading the Broncos to 26 wins in their last 27 games. Last year Boise State finished first in the WAC and 14-0 overall to become just the second team in NCAA history to record a 14-0 season. They capped off last season with 17-10 win over TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.
Boise State returns all but one starter but the prize of the Broncos is star junior quarterback Kellen Moore, 3,536 yards 39 touchdowns 3 INTS, who ranked second in the nation last year in pass efficiency at 161.65 percent. Even more impressive is the fact that Moore attempted 431 passes a year ago and had just three interceptions, setting a new NCAA record for the lowest percentage of passes (0.69) picked off.
Moore will once again be connecting with wide receives Austin Pettis, 63 receptions 855 yards and 14 touchdowns, Titus Young, 79 receptions 1,041 yards and 10 touchdowns. Senior Jeremy Avery, 1,151 yards 6 touchdowns, will again be the primary ball carrier, but a healthy D.J. Harper will only further enhance a strong ground game that netted 186.1 yards per game in 2009.
Boise State is not just an offensive team but are sound defensively too when they lead the WAC and 14th in the nation in holding opponents to an average of 17 points. Leading the way on the defensive line is defensive end Ryan Winterswyk, 17 tackles for loss, 9 sacks. Winterswyk is joined on the line by Billy Winn, 12.5 tackles for loss and 6 sacks.
Virginia Tech finished last season 10-3 and 6-2 in the ACC. It was capped of by a 37-14 win over Tennessee in the Chik-fil-A Bowl. Frank Beamer’s Hokies though have lost seven starters from that squad that finished second in the ACC. The Hokies have a dynamic offense centered around senior quarterback Tyrod Taylor, 2,311 yards 13 touchdowns 5 INTS and rushed for 370 yards 5 touchdowns in his first full season as starter.
Virginia Tech’s offensive will also bring back running backs Ryan Williams, 1,655 yards and 21 touchdowns, Darren Evans the 2008 ACC Freshman of the Year is ready to return after being lost to a knee injury last year before the season even started. Williams captalized on his opportunity and brok the ACC freshman yardage record Evans set in 2008.
The Hokies don’t throw the ball much and barely nothing compared to Boise State. However Taylor has his top three targets back in Jarrett Boykin, 835 yards 5 touchdowns, Danny Coale, 614 yards 2 touchdowns, and Dyrell Roberts, 390 yards.
Bud Fosters defense limited opponents to 15 ppg, on just 295.5 yards of total offense but returns only five starters from that unit this season. The defense is lead by junior linebacker Barquell Rivers, 96 tackles 6.5 tackles for loss and defensive back Rashad Carmichael, 6 INTS, who is one of the best cover corners in all of the nation.
PICK: Boise State University Broncos
Primetime College Football: Bearcats vs Bulldogs
TALENT
This game goes down on the ESPN2 network and it features the University of Cincinnati Bearcats taking on the Fresno State Bulldogs at Bulldog Stadium.
Under the direction of coach Pat Hill, who incidentally took a pay cut during recent negotiations on his contract, the Bulldogs are a perfect 6-0 when opening a season at home and have won five straight season openers overall. Last season the Bulldogs finished 8-5 and 6-2 in WAC but lost, 35-28, to Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl.
The Bulldogs will have to answer the question on how will the offense replace running back Ryan Mathews, the NCAA’s leading rusher? Early indications is that Fresno State will run a running back by committee till someone separates themselves from the rest of the pact. The Bulldogs can hang their hat on the fact that they return senior quarterback Ryan Colburn, 2,459 yards 19 touchdowns 11 INTS, but if things get shaky for Colburn coach Hill could turn to Derek Carr, the younger brother of former Fresno State standout David Carr.
Fresno State defense brings back five of it’s top tacklers from last season which includes linebacker Ben Jacobs, who is just two tackles short from 300 for his career. Jacobs led the defense with 106 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 3 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles and 3 blocked kicks. Defensive end Chris Carter was responsible for 5 sacks on a defense that was 119th in the nation in that category.
Cincinnati ushers in a new ear with new head coach Butch Jones, who came from Brian Kelly’s old school Central Michigan after he left for Notre Dame. The Bearcats keep the new era going at quarterback Zach Collaros, 1,434 yards 10 touchdowns 2 INTS, who takes over full time duty after Tony Pike went onto the NFL. The Bearcats went 12-0 and where the Big East Champions but where demolished by Florida, 51-24, in the Sugar Bowl. Playing a big role in Collaros success was wideout Armon Binns who collected 61 catches for 1,191 yards and 11 touchdowns as he started every game. Running back Isaiah Pead lead the conference with 6.7 ypg and it acumalted into 9 touchdowns.
While the Cincinnati offense brings back as many as 11 starters, the defense is barely half as experienced with just 6 players who has started at least one game. Their pass defense watched as opponents threw for 230.2 ypg, ranking them 78th nationally. Some of that could have been because those opponents were constantly trying to play catch-up and had no choice but to put the ball in the air. However they also allowed 143.8 ypg on the ground.
The Bearcats won the first and only meeting between these two teams just last year, coming up with a 28-20 victory at home.
PICK: Fresno State Bulldogs
Emerald Bowl Gets New Name
BYE
The Emerald Bowl is no more.
Going forward the game in San Francisco’s AT&T Park will be called the “Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl,” the San Francisco Bowl Game Association announced that Kraft Foods will be coming aboard as the new title sponsor for the next three years. The bowl game features the sixth place team from the Pac-10 and the WAC’s first place finisher.
The press release said the game “will be part of a broader hunger relief program Kraft Foods plans to kick off in September in collaboration with Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger-relief organization.”
The game is just 265 days away and will be broadcast on ESPN Sunday, January 9, 2011.
Louisiana Tech University Hires Arizona Coordinator Sonny Dykes
2006 Mike Campbell Top Assistant Award Winner
Louisiana Tech hired Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes as head coach to replace Derek Dooley who left for the University of Tennessee head coaching position. At age 40, Dykes becomes one of the nation’s youngest coaches in the country joining coach Dooley and Temple coach Al Golden as the youngest.
Dykes has coached in college for 15 years and has been with Arizona since 2007, serving as both offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He has never been a college head coach.
He won the 2006 Mike Campbell Top Assistant Award, presented by the All-American Football Foundation, and was a nominee for the 2009 Broyles Award, which goes to the nation’s top assistant coach.
Dykes is the son of former longtime Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes. He played baseball for the Red Raiders in college and later returned to Lubbock to become an assistant football coach on Mike Leach’s staff. Dykes runs a spread offense that helped revive Arizona’s offense, which had struggled under coach Mike Stoops.
The Wildcats set numerous school passing records under Dykes and finished 10th in the country in passing in 2007. This season, Arizona won eight games and averaged 384.5 yards and 27.4 points per game.
He coached at Texas Tech for seven seasons under Leach, rising to co-offensive coordinator in 2005.
Louisiana Tech was 4-8 last season, finishing tied for fifth in the Western Athletic Conference at 3-5.
Primetime College Football: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
TALENT
The 40th annual Fiesta Bowl with see two undefeated teams face off as the Mountain West Conference will be represented by the 12-0 TCU Horned Frogs and representing the Western Athletic Conference is the 13-0 Boise State Broncos in Glendale, Arizona. The two teams faced each other in the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl, with TCU prevailing in a 17-16 final.
The Broncos are making their second appearance in a BCS game, the first considered one of the greatest college football games ever played when they outlasted Oklahoma in a triple-overtime thriller in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, 43-42. Boise State, which is 5-4 all-time in bowl games, is coached by Chris Petersen, and he owns an incredible 48-4 record in four years at the helm.
Led by star quarterback Kellen Moore, Boise State has one of the most potent offenses in all of college football, averaging a national-best 44 ppg behind 460.5 total ypg. Moore is just a sophomore has thrown for 3,325 yards with 39 touchdowns against only 3 interceptions. His 39 scoring strikes are a school record, and his 167.35 passer rating had him ranked No. 1 in the nation at the end of the regular season. Receivers Titus Young and Austin Pettis have been the primary targets hauling in 71 and 62 passes and combining for 1,819 yards and 24 TDs. The BSU run game has done a nice job in keeping opposing defenses honest as Jeremy Avery finished the regular season with 1,131 yards and 6 scores and Doug Martin had 723 yards with 14 scores. The Broncos have outscored the opposition by a whopping 334-92 margin in the first half.
Defensively, Boise State has gotten it done yielding 17 ppg and only 299.6 total ypg. The effort against the pass has been particularly impressive with opponents coming up with just 172.8 ypg. Jeron Johnson has four picks to match Brandon Thompson and he leads the team in tackles with 88. Ryan Winterswyk is the club’s top sack man with 8.5, coming in just ahead of Billy Winn who has 6.
TCU is 12-0 for the first time in school history, and own a 11-13-1 record in 25 previous bowl games. Gary Patterson is 85-27 in charge of the TCU football program and TCU owns the nation’s second-longest winning streak 14 games behind only Texas 17 games, is fourth in the country in scoring 40 ppg.
The Horned Frogs utilize a formidable rushing attack that generates 256.5 ypg which is fifth nationally and has accounted for 35 touchdowns. The aerial assault generates 212.6 ypg and has resulted in 23 scores. The Frogs had four guys rush for more than 500 yards this season, with Joseph Turner heading the group with 732 yards and 11 touchdowns. Andy Dalton is TCU’s quarterback and has thrown for 2,484 yards with 22 touchdowns against only 5 interceptions and rushing for 522 yards and 3 scores. Jeremy Kerley led the team with 38 grabs for 467 yards and 2 scores and Antoine Hicks had only had 19 catches but 6 touchdowns.
From a defensive standpoint, few teams in the nation can match the Horned Frogs intensity or ability to shut down the opposition. TCU is giving up just 12 ppg, and foes have found it nearly impossible to run the football, averaging a mere 80.5 ppg, and the Frogs have permitted just 7 rushing scores all year. TCU has also done a tremendous job defending the pass, permitting a mere 152.8 ypg through the air with only 10 touchdowns. The opposition is averaging just 2.6 yards per carry and only 5.1 yards per pass attempt. Linebacker Daryl Washington is the team’s leading tackler with 99 stops, and he is tied for the club lead in interceptions with Tejay Johnson at three apiece. Jerry Hughes is a force along the TCU defensive line, logging 11.5 sacks.
The all-time series between these two teams in knotted at 1-1, with both meetings taking place in bowl games. In addition to last year’s Poinsettia Bowl, the first encounter took place in the 2003 Fort Worth Bowl, TCU’s home turf. Despite playing in enemy territory, the Broncos rode off with a 34-31 win. Again these two teams faced each other in the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl, with TCU prevailing in a 17-16 final.
PICK: Boise State University Broncos
Primetime College Football: Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
TALENT
In the eighth annual Hawaii Bowl it will see a homecoming of former University of Hawaii coach June Jones as his SMU Mustangs take on the Nevada Wolf Pack at Aloha Stadium.
June Jones, the coach of the year on the ALL-SGE-NCAA Football Team, has managed to get the Mustangs back to a postseason bowl game for the first time since 1984. In his second season, Jones has managed to keep the squad competitive in nearly every game in 2009 as they produced a 7-5 record overall and a mark of 6-2 versus the rest of Conference USA. Twice SMU lost by a field goal in overtime, another by just three points in regulation, while the other two losses came at the against nationally ranked opponents in TCU and Houston.
The last time SMU took part in the postseason it also occurred out on the islands in the 1984 Aloha Bowl where the group defeated Notre Dame, 27-20. With that victory, the Mustangs moved to 4-6-1 in the postseason. Before hiring Jones, the Mustangs had gone 58-153-3 under four coaches and posted one winning record, 6-5 in 1997.
Posting just one win in 12 attempts a season ago, the Mustangs stormed back with a vengeance in 2009 behind the efforts of both running back Shawnbrey McNeal and quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. McNeal accounted for the bulk of SMU’s rushing attack, generating 1,125 yards and 9 touchdowns, while Zach Line used his 45 carries to land in the end zone 6 times in 12 games. Mitchell only completed 56 percent of his passes, resulting in a total of 12 touchdowns, but he was also picked off 10 times. Freshman Kyle Padron stepped in to throw for 1,462 yards and 8 touchdowns in six games while Mitchell was hurt. Emmanuel Sanders was clearly the big-play man down the field for the squad with his 1,215 yards and 6 touchdowns.
The SMU defense ranked 92nd in the country with 404 ypg allowed, resulting in 29 ppg which was 90th in the nation. One bright spot was Chase Kennemer who had 126 tackles an average of 10.5 stops per outing ranking him 13th in the nation.
As for the Wolf Pack they went 8-4 and 7-1 in Western Athletic Conference, they put together a huge comeback under the direction of head coach Chris Ault. The offense was one of the most exciting in the nation, even though the Pack lost three straight games out of the gate. From there the Pistol Offense began making things happen, most notably, producing three players with at least 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in college football history. Nevada, which put together a lengthy eight-game win streak, had a chance to win the Western Athletic Conference title, but a wild shootout versus sixth-ranked Boise State in the regular-season finale resulted in a 44-33 setback.
Coach Ault, back on the sidelines for the Wolf Pack for his third different stint, has his team in the postseason for the fifth straight season. The last three appearances have all resulted in losses, the most recent of those being a 42-35 loss to Maryland during last year’s Humanitarian Bowl in Idaho. Nevada is currently just 3-6 in bowl decisions.
The Nevada offense was the best in the business when it came to running the ball this season, averaging a whopping 362.3 ypg, one of only two teams in the country to average better than 275 ypg on the ground. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick spearheaded the attack for Nevada, becoming just the 10th signal-caller in NCAA history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Passing the ball only when necessary, Kaepernick still made good on close to 60 percent of his attempts for 19 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions. Kaepernick was second on the team with his 1,160 yards rushing, resulting in a team-best 16 TDs, while Vai Taua had 1,345 yards, and 10 touchdowns and Luke Lippincott had 1,034 yards with 9 touchdowns.
Due to the high power scoring it allowed opponents to get the ball back frequently and most of the time putting it through the air. That help cause Nevada’s defense to rank next to last in the nation with 284.3 ypg allowed. Not all was lost for the defense as there were a number of bright spots for the group, specifically Dontay Moch and Kevin Basped. Moch had 19.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks and Basped accounted for 10.5 tackles for loss and team best 7.5 sacks
The Wolf Pack leads the all-time series between these two teams by a count of 3-2, although it was SMU that captured a 38-20 win in the most recent encounter back in 2004.
PICK: Southern Methodist University Mustangs
San Jose State University Hires Duke’s Mike MacIntyre
2009 College Assistant Coach Of The Year
San Jose State University hired Duke University assistant Mike MacIntyre after he showed up for the interview with a 178 repair manual, hoping to repair the Spartans after a 2-10 season.
MacIntyre put together the manual after coaching stops at the tiny Tennessee-Martin and the colossus Dallas Cowboys, the private Duke and the public Mississippi. Recently he was named the 2009 major-college assistant coach of the year for his work as Duke’s defensive coordinator.
His work in 1997-1998 with Temple, an urban school with a limited fan base, small budget and little tradition, will resemble his task at hand with the San Jose State program.
MacIntyre’s wants to bring a renewed focus on in-state recruiting, a revamped offense and a game plan for the daunting 2010 season opener at Alabama. He plans to install the attacking defense he learned under Parcells and the balanced offense he learned at Duke and Mississippi under David Cutcliffe, the highly respected coach who tutored Peyton and Eli Manning.
