Offensive Player of the Midseason
Colt Brennan, QB Hawaii
Defensive Player of the Midseason
Dwight Lowery, CB San Jose State
Ten
best WAC players in the first half of the season
1.
Colt Brennan, QB Hawaii
2. Ian Johnson, RB Boise State
3. Dwight Lowery, CB San Jose State
4. Korey Hall, LB Boise State
5. Davone Bess, WR Hawaii
6. Jared Zabransky, QB Boise State
7. Chase Holbrook, QB New Mexico State
8. David Vobora, LB Idaho
9. Nate Ilaoa, RB Hawaii
10. James Jones, WR San Jose State
Biggest Surprise – San Jose State
San Jose State and bowl invite haven’t been uttered in the same
sentence since 1990, but get used to hearing it because that’s
where the program is headed. The same school that won just
three games a year ago has already matched that number in 2006,
highlighted by an upset of Stanford and a three-touchdown Az-kicking
of San Diego State. Fueled by a defense that’s got 13 takeaways
in four games, San Jose State will be trading places with Fresno
State this December.
Biggest Disappointment
– Fresno State
We’ve all grown used to the Bulldogs shocking the nation in the
first-half of the season, but not for losing four straight
games, including a hard-to-believe 13-12 loss to Utah State last
Saturday. It’s not even Halloween, yet a Fresno team with
plenty of individual talent may have already played themselves
out of the postseason for the first time since 1998.
The
WAC Champion will be
... Boise State
Boise
State has been the WAC daddy since the opening kickoff, but
winning the title became a slam dunk when Hawaii went in the win
column and Fresno State and Nevada proved to be overrated. The
mystery surrounding the Broncos is not whether they’ll win the
WAC in 2006, but whether a perfect season will be good enough to
earn an invite to the Fiesta Bowl.
Best Game of the First Half
Hawaii 41 ... Nevada 34, Oct. 7
In a wild game that had a little bit of
everything, including 1.051 yards of total offense, it took a
goal line stand by Hawaii to seal the win. The Wolf Pack
recovered a Colt Brennan fumble on the Hawaii three with just
over a minute to play. After a run was stuffed on first down,
three straight Travis Moore passes fell incomplete and the
Warriors held on. Hawaii got out to a 31-14 first half lead on
four Brennan touchdown passes with two to Ian Sample, but Nevada
stayed alive with a three-yard Brandon Fragger touchdown run and
a three-yard Mike McCoy scoring grab. After a six-yard Brennan
touchdown run put the Warriors up by 20, Nevada put in Travis
Moore, who led the offense to two scoring drives with two
touchdown passes to Anthony Pudewell before the final chances.
Second Best Game
– Oregon 31 ... Fresno State 28, Sept. 9
Third Best Game
– Boise State 41 ... Hawaii 34, Sept. 23
Worst Game of the First Half
Boise State 45 ... Sacramento State 0, Aug. 31
The Chris Petersen era got rolling at Boise State with the
Broncos cranking out 427 yards of total offense. Sacramento
State only managed 82 yards of total offense and got killed on
turnovers with two interceptions setting up two Bronco scores.
Ian Johnson ran for two short first quarter scores and Jared
Zabrasnky ran for a touchdown and threw for two others
highlighted by a 52-yard play to Drisan James. Sacramento State
only converted one of 12 third down conversions and came up with
three first downs.
Coach of the Midseason – Dick Tomey, San Jose State
Chris Peterson has done a terrific job of keeping Boise State on
the winning path, however, Tomey is coaching up a Spartan
program that’s playing its best football in six years. San Jose
State takes a three-game winning streak into the conference
opener, having beaten Stanford and Cal-Poly and routing
similarly talented San Diego State. If the Spartans maintain
this pace, Tomey’s going to get some fringe support for National
Coach of the Year honors.
Player who'll step up in the second half – Jeff Rowe, QB Nevada
Rowe was okay in the first half of the season, but he’s about to
go on a salary run. The 6-5 senior with the mid-rounds draft
grade will face four defenses during the stretch run that are
ranked 100th or lower in pass defense. Rowe’s begun
developing a rapport with his young receivers, particularly
sophomore Mike McCoy, which will translate into gaudy statistics
for the quarterback.
Best performance so far
– Boise State RB Ian Johnson ran 22 times for 240 yards and five
touchdowns in a 42-14 win over Oregon State on a nationally
televised ESPN Thursday night game..
Top
Freshman
– Nevada RB Brandon Fragger
Just a true freshman, Fragger has elevated to No. 2 on the depth
chart, emerging as quite an understudy to senior starter Robert
Hubbard. When Hubbard was shelved with a bum knee two weeks
ago, Fragger ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries
to help crush rival UNLV. Despite playing sparingly or not at
all in three games, Fragger has 223 yards rushing and four
touchdowns.
Coach who needs to have a big second half – Louisiana
Tech head coach Jack Bicknell
Forget about Fresno’s Pat Hill, who’s an institution in the
Valley. From Dennis Erickson at Idaho to Hal Mumme at New
Mexico State, the WAC is seeing some good coaching jobs in 2006,
so no one is in trouble. Bicknell raised expectations after
winning six games last year, and after taking their lumps from a
brutal September schedule, the Bulldogs need to regroup and play
competitive football now that conference play has begun.
Players who need to have a big second half – Fresno State QB Tom Brandstater
The
Bulldogs are 1-4 for a variety of reasons, but the play under
center is near the top of the list. Fresno State has been
uncharacteristically feeble in the passing game, averaging just
154 yards and a touchdown per game. If for nothing else,
Brandstater better get his act together immediately, or else
he’ll spend the rest of 2006 watching Sean Norton do his best
impersonation of Doug Flutie.
Best remaining conference game
– Boise State at San Jose State, Nov. 11
If there’s going to be a single game in the second-half of the
season that decides the WAC champion, this might be it. The
upstart Spartans with their scrappy, ball-hawking defense will
get a swipe at high-powered, heavily-favored Boise State, while
gauging just how far along they’ve come in Dick Tomey’s second
season in San Jose.
Team Mid-Season MVPs & Predictions
Boise State – LB Korey Hall
predicted wins:
at New Mexico State, at Idaho, Fresno State, at San Jose State,
Utah State, at Nevada
predicted losses:
none
predicted record:
12-0
Fresno State – RB Dwayne Wright
predicted wins:
New Mexico State, Idaho, at Louisiana Tech
predicted losses:
Hawaii, at LSU, at Boise State, at San Jose State
predicted record:
4-8
Hawaii – QB Colt Brennan
predicted wins:
at Fresno State, at New Mexico State, Idaho, at Utah State,
Louisiana Tech, San Jose State, Oregon State
predicted losses:
Purdue
predicted record: 10-3
Idaho – LB David Vobora
predicted wins:
at Louisiana Tech
predicted losses:
Boise State, at Hawaii, Nevada, at Fresno State, San Jose State
predicted record:
4-8
Louisiana Tech - LB Quin Harris
predicted wins:
Utah State, at North Texas,
predicted losses:
Idaho, at San Jose State, at Hawaii, Nevada, Fresno State, at
New Mexico State
predicted record:
3-10
Nevada – QB Jeff Rowe
predicted wins:
San Jose State, New Mexico State, at Idaho, Utah State, at
Louisiana Tech
predicted losses:
Boise State
predicted record:
8-4
New Mexico State – QB Chase
Holbrook
predicted wins:
at Utah State, Louisiana Tech
predicted losses:
Boise State, Hawaii, at Nevada, San Jose State, at Fresno State
predicted record:
4-8
San Jose State – CB Dwight Lowery
predicted wins:
Utah State, Louisiana Tech, at New Mexico State, at Idaho,
Fresno State
predicted losses:
at Nevada, Boise State, at Hawaii
predicted record:
8-4
Utah State – RB Marcus Cross
predicted wins:
none
predicted losses:
at San Jose State, at Louisiana Tech, Hawaii, at Nevada, at
Boise State, New Mexico State
predicted record:
1-11
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