Week 12 in the WAC

Week 12 WAC Preview:

The WAC is not a conference that we can talk about having a lot of “marquee” games, but the Fresno St. and Nevada game certainly lived up to that billing.  QB Colin Kaepernick rushed for 153 yards and passed for 171 and a touchdown as the Wolfpack downed the Bulldogs to keep them in the top 25 and poised for the big matchup with Boise St. for the conference Championship.

The Broncos took care of business against their in state rivals, the Idaho Vandals.  Also, LA Tech and Utah St. kept their bowl eligibility hopes alive with wins over New Mexico St. and San Jose St. respectively.  That being said, the conference will more than likely only be represented by 4 teams in the post season:  Boise St., Nevada, Fresno St. and Hawaii.

Friday night’s matchup between Boise St. and Fresno St. is the “marquee” matchup for week 12 and it marks the 2^nd week in a row that Boise St. will play in a primetime Friday night game.  At least they are getting the TV spotlight that they used to crave.

Weekly Tid Bit:

I would argue that Boise St. was the most impressive of the undefeated teams remaining in the FBS.  I know, I know…they only played Idaho, but hear me out.  They are the only team that “did what they were supposed to do”.  Auburn was pushed at home by a very mediocre Georgia team.  TCU, only a week removed from crushing Utah, struggled against San Diego St, and Oregon escaped Cal w/ their most lackluster offensive performance of the year….and spare me the “Cal plays tough at home comments”.  They’re 5-5.

Conference Standings:

Team                           Conference                 Overall

Boise St.                             5-0                                       9-0

Hawaii                                 5-1                                       7-3

Nevada                               4-1                                       9-1

Fresno St.                           4-2                                       6-3

Louisiana Tech                 4-3                                       4-6

Utah St.                               2-4                                       4-6

Idaho                                   1-4                                       4-6

New Mexico St.               1-5                                       2-8

San Jose St.                      0-5                                       1-9

Written by Rusty Pettit. Follow on Twitter @isbnrustypettit

Week 9 in the WAC

Week 9 Wac Preview:

Wouldn’t it be ironic if a loss to Colorado was what kept Boise St. out of the “Big Game”?  Not saying it will, but Hawaii’s Week 3 loss to the Buffaloes are all that is keeping them out of the top 25 right now.  There only other loss is the opening game to the Trojans, and that was no blowout.  Either way, Hawaii has to take care of the Vandals of Idaho before they meet the Broncos next week.

Boise St. already took care of business with a 49-20 drubbing of LA Tech on Tuesday night.  Tech kept it interesting early with an onside kick and they also handed Kellen Moore his 2^nd Int. of the season.  That wasn’t enough to keep up with Coach Peterson’s crew though as they found plenty of ways to score including finding Moore on a TD reception to add to his 2 passing TD’s.

Nevada should continue to move forward against Utah St. and I’ll let you pick the winner of the San Jose St. and New Mexico St. matchup…if you want…you don’t have to.

Weekly Tid Bit:

Doug Martin’s 150 yards on Tuesday night was a career high.  The Broncos also seemed determined to run the ball more, especially early in the game against LA Tech.  Was this a sign of things to come or just a matter of taking advantage of matchups?  Either way, developing a strong running game is going to be essential to Boise St. as they’ll want to keep teams like Hawaii’s offense off the field as much as possible and control the clock.

Conference Standings:

Team                           Conference                 Overall

Hawaii                                 4-0                                       6-2

Boise St.                             2-0                                       6-0

Fresno St.                           3-1                                       5-2

Louisiana Tech                  2-2                                       3-5

Nevada                               1-1                                       6-1

Idaho                                   1-1                                       4-3

Utah St.                                0-3                                       2-5

New Mexico St.                 0-3                                       1-6

San Jose St.                        0-3                                       1-7

Written by Rusty Pettit.  Follow him on Twitter @isbnrustypettit.