2008 WAC Roundup

Click on each team for game recaps, thoughts, schedules and more and scroll down for the games, results, players of the week and the conference roundup.

Conference Roundups
- ACC | Big East | Big 12 | Big Ten | C-USA | Ind.
- MAC | M-West | Pac 10 | SEC | Sun Belt | WAC

Boise State | Fresno State | Hawaii | Idaho | Louisiana Tech
Nevada | New Mexico St | San Jose State | Utah State
- Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5

WAC Game of the Week

Hawaii 32 … Fresno State 29 OT
Dan Kelly had a kick blocked in the remaining minutes of regulation, but he nailed a 33-yard field goal in overtime to give Hawaii the win. Meanwhile, Fresno State’s Kevin Goessling got his 36-yard kick blocked as time ran out in regulation and then missed wide left in overtime, got another shot after a running into the kicker penalty, and missed wide right. Fresno State turned the ball over six times to offset 522 yards of total offense, including 318 rushing yards. Hawaii took advantage of the mistakes to get up 19-3 in the first half, helped by a Ryan Mouton kickoff return for a score and a 28-yard touchdown catch from Malcolm Lane, and was up 26-9 before Lonyae Miller ran for an 80-yard score to spark the comeback to force overtime. Hawaii committed ten penalties; Fresno State didn’t commit any.

WAC Player of the Week
Boise State QB Kellen Moore completed 20-of-28 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns with an interception in the win over Louisiana Tech.

	Conference			Overall
	W-L	PF	PA	W-L	PF	PA	STK
Boise State	1-0	38	3	4-0	144	49	W4
San Jose St	1-0	20	17	3-2	90	95	W1
Nevada	1-0	49	14	3-2	183	158	W2
Utah State	1-0	42	17	1-4	107	202	L1
Hawaii	1-1	49	49	2-3	102	167	W1
N Mexico St	0-0	0	0	2-2	110	116	W1
Fresno State	0-1	29	32	3-2	154	137	L1
La Tech	0-1	3	38	2-2	66	107	L1
Idaho	0-2	31	91	1-5	118	284	L4

Wednesday, October 1
8:00	at Boise State 38 ... Louisiana Tech 3 CFN Prediction: BSU 38-20  BSU -22

Friday, October 3
8:00	BYU 34 ... at Utah State 14 CFN Prediction: BYU 52-7  BYU -30

Saturday, October 4
1:30	at New Mexico State 45 ... Alcorn St 10 CFN Prediction: NMSU 58-20
5:00	Nevada 49 ... at Idaho 14 CFN Prediction: Nevada 49-17  Nev -24.5
10:00	Hawaii 32 ... at Fresno State 29 OT CFN Prediction: FSU 41-17  FSU -22

Games of the Week
Aug. 30 - SJSU 13 - UC Davis 10
Sep 6 - TT 35 ... Nev 19
Sep 13 - Wis 13 - FSU 10
Sep 20 - Fresno 55 - Toledo 54 2OT
Sep 27 - FSU 36 - UCLA 31
Oct 4 - UH 32 - FSU 29 OT

Players of the Week
Aug. 30 - Ryan Matthews, RB Fresno State
Sep 6 - Tyler Graunke, Hawaii
Sep 13 - Yonus Davis, SJSU
Sep 20 - Kellen Moore, BSU
Sep 27 - Colin Kaepernick, Nev
Oct 4 - Kellen Moore, BSU

Conference
Roundup

Boise State … The Bronco running game continues to have a few problems powering the ball, but Kellen Moore and the passing game kept things moving and never let Louisiana Tech get into the game. While this might not be the explosive BSU offense of the pass, it's steady, doesn't make mistakes, and keeps on pounding, even if the rushing yards aren't there. Things are fine around the goal line, but Ian Johnson still needs to get more room to run. The coaching staff did a good job of getting the ball to No. 41 on the move. Johnson caught three passes for 106 yards.
Fresno State … Fresno State hasn’t gone into the tank, it has imploded. It took overtime to beat an awful Toledo team, came back to beat UCLA, and now, after yet another lousy performance, the Bulldogs lost to a miserable Hawaii team that had no business being within two touchdowns of a win, much less come up with a win. The running game is devastating, but three fumbles and an awful day from Tom Brandstater killed the Bulldogs. Now it’s time to regroup. FSU should be able to show up and beat Idaho and Utah State, and now there’s no margin for error in WAC play.
Hawaii … It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t typical Hawaii football, but it was a win on the road over a ranked team. Fresno State helped the cause by turning it over six times, but the Warriors had a lot to do with that. The defense got steamrolled over and was generally lousy, but a win is a win. For the first time all year, the turnover margin fell on Hawaii’s side, and it turned out to be the difference. Inoke Funaki wasn’t Colt Brennan, but he ran well and he came up with the win. Is this the game that’ll propel the team to a big season? No, but the momentum needs to carry over to the Louisiana Tech game next week.
Idaho … Eddie Williams is having a whale of a season. The senior wide receiver caught 10 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns against Nevada, and he’s the only thing that’s working on either side of the ball. The defense didn’t have a prayer of slowing down the Wolf Pack offense, while the offense, outside of Williams, couldn’t keep up. Worse yet, miscues on special teams led to points. Idaho has to be perfect to beat the better WAC teams, and it’ll have to find something special to stay with Fresno State next week.
Louisiana Tech … The Bulldogs moved the ball on Boise State but couldn't close once they got in scoring range. Taylor Bennett struggled with his accuracy, but Ross Jenkins wasn't any better in relief, misfiring on all three of his attempts with an interception. The defense couldn't handle the short to midrange Bronco passing game, and while Hawaii might not be the Hawaii of last year, the Tech pass defense has to be a bit of a concern going into the road trip in ten days. Trying to get sharp should be a problem with just one game, this loss to Boise State, in the span of 20 days.
Nevada … Nevada came up with a workmanlike effort to blow past a bad Idaho team. Colin Kaepernick continued to shine, while Vai Taua provided a nice second rushing option with 21 carries. Kaepernick was nearly flawless throwing the ball, while the defense stuffed the Idaho running game and never let the game get close. With winnable home games against New Mexico State and Utah State up next there’s no reason to not be 5-2 going into the trip to Hawaii.
New Mexico State … The win over Alcorn State was supposed to be a blowout, and it was a plus that the offense was moving without a problem, but the real positive was the defense that didn’t allow a third down conversion, generated six sacks, and held ASU to -13 rushing yards. The more Marquell Colston can run the ball, the better. He added some flash to the ground game with 127 yards and two touchdowns that put the game away in the first half.
San Jose State … Didn’t Play This Week
Utah State… BYU is blowing away everyone, so there can't be too much of a concern that the Aggies weren't in the game after the first quarter, but the team kept fighting. It could've given up and been obliterated by 50, but the offense kept fighting and the defense mixed things up to cross up the Cougars. Four turnovers and eight penalties were a problem, and against San Jose State, everything has to be perfect.