WAC Fearless Predictions, Sept. 22

Previews and Predictions for the Week 4 WAC Games.

WAC  
Boise State | Fresno State | Hawaii | Idaho | Louisiana Tech
Nevada | New Mexico St | San Jose State | Utah State

WAC Fearless Predictions Sept. 1 | Sept. 8 | Sept. 15 | Sept. 29 
 Oct. 6 | Oct. 13 | Oct. 20 | Oct. 27 | Nov. 3 | Nov. 10 | Nov. 17 | Nov. 24 | Dec. 1   

How are the picks so far? SU: 25-1 ... ATS: 12-6-1

WAC Game of the Week

New Mexico State (2-1) at Auburn (1-2)   7:00 PM GamePlan
Why to Watch: Oh this will be interesting. Auburn has been awful so far, needing a late rally to get by Kansas State before losing to South Florida and Mississippi State. At least, it's been awful offensively. Meanwhile, New Mexico State, coached by former Kentucky head man Hal Mumme, has one of the nation's most prolific offenses, averaging 523 yards and 33 points per game. Yeah, the Aggies have lit up SE Louisiana, New Mexico and UTEP, but it's a team built to throw, throw and throw some more to keep the pressure on. Auburn will have to come up with a win to close out this four-game homestand, or things might get really ugly with a trip to Florida to follow.
Why New Mexico State Might Win: Auburn's offense decided to take the first three games off. Kansas State, South Florida and Mississippi State all have good defenses, but this is Auburn; it's supposed to have offensive playmakers, and it doesn't. New Mexico State's defense is far, far worse than anything the Tigers have had to face so far, but it's vastly improved since last year and is doing a good job of getting into the backfield. The last thing the Auburn quarterbacks need is to be under pressure, but they'll be hit. If the Tiger running game isn't pounding the ball, there could be major problems. 
Why Auburn Might Win: The Tigers have been all too happy to give it away so far this year with 12 turnovers, but there won't be much concern about making mistakes this week against an Aggie defense that's not great at forcing errors. No, Auburn hasn't faced anyone who can throw the forward pass with any consistency, but it's done a fine job of generating pressure in the backfield, and has done an excellent job of slowing down the short to midrange passes. Get to QB Chase Holbrook, and the timing will be off.
Who to Watch: New Mexico's diminutive junior WR Chris Williams has caught fire again. The nation's leading receiver in 2006, with 92 catches for 1,415 yards and 12 touchdowns, started off the season slowly against SE Louisiana with just four catches, but two went for touchdowns. Over the last two weeks, he's been all but uncoverable with 19 catches for 331 yards and five scores, and the numbers could've been far better if he didn't have a few drops. He has to be the number one focus of the Auburn defense, while the Tigers offense will be centered around the quarterback situation. Veteran Brandon Cox has struggled, forcing the coaching staff to fast-forward the future by playing Kodi Burns against Mississippi State. Burns adds a scary rushing element to the mix, but he still needs time. This is still Cox's team, but if he throws a few early interceptions, that will change.
What Will Happen: The game will be taken out of the hands of the Auburn quarterbacks as much as possible with the running game trying to pound away with underused running backs Ben Tate and Mario Fannin, who've been underused so far. Expect close to 300 rushing yards, five sacks from the AU defense, and a little bit of sweat during an Aggie scoring run late in the first half.
CFN Prediction: Auburn 38 ... New Mexico State 20 ... Line: Auburn -16.5
Must See Rating: (5 Curb Your Enthusiasm - 1 Kid Nation) ... 3

WAC Saturday, Sept. 22

Northern Illinois (0-3) at Idaho (1-2)    5:00 PM GamePlan
Why to Watch: Perhaps you’re thirsting to find out whether the road team can finally win one in this series, which has been played four times. Or, you want to see if Northern Illinois, which has been a perennial Mid-American Conference power, can get its first win of the season. That might happen, provided the Huskies can stay healthy, which is hardly a given since the team has lost five of its top eight D-linemen already this year. As for Idaho, the Vandals continue their one-on, one-of schedule, following up a loss to Washington State with a more manageable opponent, just as Cal Poly was more reasonable than USC.
Why Northern Illinois Might Win: It would appear as if the Huskies’ offense is awakening, or at least getting a little more potent. QB Dan Nicholson has completed 74.5% of his throws the past two weeks, giving NIU a solid attack through the air. On the ground, the Huskies will rely on Justin Anderson, who has rushed for 249 yards so far. It would be good if NIU could cut back on the turnovers (nine) and shut down the Idaho passing attack better than it has stopped other opponents (199.0 yards/game). That could happen, since Vandals’ QB Nathan Enderle has completed just 44% of his throws.
Why Idaho Might Win: The Vandals aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut, but they do have quite a weapon in Deonte Jackson, who has rushed for 426 yards (5.3 average) and a score. But again, if Enderle is completing fewer than half of his throws and matching his touchdowns (four) with the same amount of interceptions, Idaho is in trouble. The Vandals are relatively sound on defense, and even though Anderson has been efficient lately, he’ll have to look out for safety Shiloh Keo, who has two interceptions, two broken-up passes, two fumble recoveries and 21 tackles.
Who to Watch: It wouldn’t be stretching it to call Anderson the Huskies’ MVP, at least through three games. He leads the team in rushing (249 yards), receiving (19 catches) and scoring (four TDs). Against Eastern Michigan, he rushed for 168 yards and caught six passes. His eight receptions against Southern Illinois were the most by a back since the school began keeping such records 25 years ago.
What Will Happen: Despite the banged-up defensive line, NIU should hold down the Vandal attack and help the struggling offense get some breathing room, but it won’t be enough. Idaho plays tough under new head coach Robb Akey and will find a way late to squeeze out the win. CFN Prediction: Idaho 24 … Northern Illinois 21 ... Line: Idaho -2
Must See Rating: (5 Curb Your Enthusiasm - 1 Kid Nation) ... 2

San Jose State (0-3) at Utah State (0-3)   8:00 PM GamePlan
Why to Watch: Both teams begin WAC play looking for their first victories after tremendously disappointing starts. The Spartans have had it particularly rough, with four road games in a row, losing their first three to BCS conference foes, including a last week’s 37-0 defeat at Stanford. The losses aren’t the problem’ it’s that they haven’t really been competitive. Utah State, meanwhile, hasn’t exactly had it that easy, as losing 54-3 to Oklahoma last week. A win to start off the conference season would do wonders.
Why San Jose State Might Win: The Spartans are facing a defense that has been extremely generous this year, which is just what their struggling O needs. Look for dual-threat QB Adam Tafralis, who leads the team in rushing and passing, to get a little more comfortable, but don’t expect to see him all game. The Spartans have used at least three QBs in each of their games and sent four onto the field once. The SJSU run defense, which has surrendered 226.3 yards per game will try to get healthy against the Aggie ground attack, which is managing just 98.7 yards per game.
Why Utah State Might Win: The Aggies will rely heavily on their pitch-and-catch combination of QB Leon Jackson and wideout Kevin Robinson. The two have already hooked up 13 times this year and should be active Saturday against a Spartan defense that has allowed 257.3 yards through the air per game. The Aggies will try to load up against the Spartan ground game, which has managed just 48.3 yards each time out.
Who to Watch: Two years ago, Jackson passed for 200 yards and a pair of scores against the Spartans and looks for more success this year, especially since he didn’t get a chance to throw last year against SJSU. He did, however, punt several times in the game and has a robust 44.0 average this season. Jackson needs just six yards to reach the 3,000 mark for his career at USU and has thrown for 349 this year, while completing 67.2% of his passes.
What Will Happen: Neither of these defenses has been that good this year, so expect some fireworks. In the end, the Spartans have a little more gunpowder.
CFN Prediction: San Jose State 24 ... Utah State 20 ... Line: Utah State -3.5
Must See Rating: (5 Curb Your Enthusiasm - 1 Kid Nation) ... 1.5

Charleston Southern (1-2) at Hawai‘i (3-0)    12:05 AM
Why to Watch: Ever see a team score 80 points? How about 100? Well, that’s not going to happen, but it could if Hawaii wanted to keep its foot on the gas for a full sixty minutes. The Warriors aren’t going to play all the starters long enough for Colt Brennan and the boys to put up all-timer numbers, but for a half, this will be one of the weekend’s best shows.
Why Charleston Southern Might Win: Food poisoning. Forfeit. That about covers it. The Buccaneers are 1-2 this year, are allowing 35.7 points per game, and are playing against one of the most ruthless offensive systems on the planet. Their only chance is to control the ball, and it’s a good thing the ground game awoke last week in the win over Johnson C. Smith.  Michael Jefferson (104 yards rushing, 3 TDs) and DeMarcus Moon (74 yards, 1 TD) must be extremely productive, and the Buc defense has to be able to tackle well after the throw to keep this one from being decided early.
Why Hawaii Might Win: The Rainbow Warriors are scoring 52.3 points per game let by Brennan, who already has 1,262 yards passing and 12 scores through the air. After rushing for two scores last week against UNLV, he has four touchdowns on the ground, too. It doesn’t matter that the Hawaii defense allows 21.3 points per game; the Warriors will score, and score, and score some more. This should be over after about three drives.
Who to Watch: Hawaii receiver Ryan Grice-Mullins was a quarterback, running back and defensive back in high school, but he has become one of the nation’s most productive wideouts in college. The junior has caught 22 passes, averaged 15.1 yards per reception and scored four times so far. He had 1,228 yards receiving and 12 scores as a sophomore and four 100-yard receiving games as a sophomore, but what’s most amazing is that he’s the third option behind Davone Bess and Jason Rivers. You could get out there and catch five balls in this offense.
What Will Happen: The Rainbow Warriors score early and often and waltz to an easy home victory.
CFN Prediction: Hawaii 65 ...Charleston Southern 13 ... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Curb Your Enthusiasm - 1 Kid Nation) ... 1