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.
Boise State
| Fresno
State | Hawaii
| Idaho
| Louisiana Tech
Nevada
| New
Mexico St |
San Jose
State | Utah State
WAC Game of
the Week
UNLV 23 ...
Utah State 16
Frank Summer ran for an 11-yard score
with just over a minute to play to get
the Rebels by Utah State. Any hope for
an Aggie miracle was fumbled away on the
ensuing kickoff. Utah State was up 10-3
at halftime thanks to a two-yard Aaron
Lesue touchdown run and a 38-yard Peter
Caldwell field goal, but UNLV was able
to get back in it with two of Sergio
Aguayo's three field goals and a 16-yard
Travis Dixon scoring run. Leon Jackson
tied it with a one-yard touchdown, but
the Aggies only managed 89 yards in the
second half and never threatened again.
WAC
Player of
the Week
Hawaii QB Colt Brennan completed 34 of
40 passes for 416 yards and six
touchdowns and led the Warriors with 23
yards on three carries in the 63-6 win
over Northern Colorado.
Conference Roundup
Boise State
… Forgetting that it was a ridiculously
overmatched Weber State team Boise State
got to play around with, there were some
great signs in the season opener. Taylor
Tharp was impressive in his first game
as the main man under center, and Jeremy
Avery was a bolt of lightning in relieve
of Ian Johnson. The machine just keeps
on rolling, but now comes the big test
against Washington on the road. Tharp
has to remain poised, and the offensive
line has to continue to dominate and
give Johnson and Avery just a sliver of
daylight.
Fresno State …
The defense
never let Sacramento State breathe,
while the offense stretched its running
legs and was relatively solid in the
passing game. Tom Brandstater threw for
199 yards, but he wasn't always on
target. He needs to be even sharper than
16 of 27 for the Bulldogs to have a shot
at Texas A&M next week. However, if the
offense can convert 12 of 20 third down
chances again, things will be fine.
Hawaii … And it could've been a
lot worse. Had Hawaii wanted to, it
could've hung 100 on Northern Colorado
but pulled back even though it abandoned
any attempt at running the ball. The
offense worked exclusively on the
passing game getting Tyler Graunke and
Inoke Funaki meaningful time. Now the
ground game has to emerge and a running
back has to add some sort of an option
to Brennan's bombing.
Idaho … Idaho wasn't going to
beat USC, but at least it came up with a
good sixty minute effort and kept
fighting late. The defense prevented it
from being a blowout once the Trojan
offense mentally checked out, and the
always upbeat coaching staff will use
the late touchdown as an indication that
the team has a good heart. Interestingly
enough, Jayson Bird wasn't used much in
the ground game. This was Deonte
Jackson's game, but that could quickly
change against Cal Poly next week.
Louisiana Tech …
On paper,
the 28-7 win over Central Arkansas might
seem like a walk-in-the-park win over a
FCS team, but there were issues. The
offense got a nice game out of RB
Patrick Jackson, but the passing attack
was woeful. However, the idea was to not
turn the ball over and to force big
plays from the defense, and the Bulldogs
did that with six takeaway. To have a
shot against Hawaii and Cal over the
next few weeks, QB Zac Champion has to
do far better than complete 12 of 23
passes for 71 yards.
Nevada … The Wolf Pack had an
awful game in all phases against
Nebraska. The run defense was
non-existent, despite having a strong
linebacking corps, but the D didn't get
any help from an inept offense that held
on to the ball for 19:22, went one of 13
on third downs, gained nine first downs
and amassed just 185 yards of total
offense. On the flip side, the O can
blame the D for allowing 625 yards of
total offense. Nick Graziano wasn't
under intense pressure, yet he still had
a hard time finding his receivers. The
12 penalties didn't help matters.
New Mexico State … While the
passing game didn't explode against SE
Louisiana like Aggie fans might have
liked, and Chase Holbrook was mediocre
with three interceptions and only 280
yards, but there was a lot to get
excited about and it was mostly on the
defensive side. While it wasn't a big
game against a good offense, the defense
still appeared to be light years ahead
of where it was last season and should
be far, far tougher. Now the offense has
to limit its mistakes and be the New
Mexico State offense again.
San Jose State … This wasn't the
way San Jose State envisioned the season
starting after such a great 2006. All
the strides made last year go out the
window as the offense came up with a
mere seven first downs and the defense
did absolutely nothing to slow down the
Sun Devil attack. First, Adam Tafralis
has to become a consistent passer again.
Next, someone has to run the ball
effectively. Considering how well the
Kansas State defense played against
Auburn, next week might not be that much
fun either.
Utah State… Utah State has to be
able to close when it has a chance. The
offense went into the tank in the second
half against UNLV, but the Aggies were
still in good shape and needed just one
big play on either side of the ball to
possibly pull off the win, but it never
came. Leon Jackson was efficient
throwing the ball, but he wasn't
spectacular. The coaching staff has to
find more ways to get the ball in the
hands of Kevin Robinson. With four road
games in the next five, things might be
getting a lot worse before they get
better.
| |
Conference |
Overall |
Home |
Away |
|
Team |
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
STR |
W |
L |
W |
L |
|
Hawaii |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
63 |
6 |
W1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Boise State |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
56 |
7 |
W1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
New
Mexico State |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
35 |
14 |
W1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Louisiana Tech |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
28 |
7 |
W1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Fresno State |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
24 |
3 |
W1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Utah
State |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
16 |
23 |
L1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Idaho |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
38 |
L1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Nevada |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
52 |
L1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
San
Jose State |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
45 |
L1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Thursday, August 30 |
|
8:00 PM |
New Mexico State 35 ...
SE Louisiana 14
CFN
Prediction: NMSU 52-20 |
|
8:05
PM |
UNLV
23 ... at Utah State
16
CFN
Prediction: UNLV 31-16 UNLV
-7.5 |
|
9:00 PM |
at Boise State 56 ...
Weber State 7
CFN
Prediction: Boise State 38-10 |
|
Saturday, September 1 |
|
3:30
PM |
at
Nebraska 52 ... Nevada
10
CFN Prediction: Neb. 38-14
Neb. -19.5 |
|
7:00 PM |
at Louisiana Tech 28 ...
Central Arkansas 7
CFN
Prediction: LT 28-20 |
|
10:00 PM |
at
Arizona State 45 ... San
Jose State 3
CFN Prediction:
ASU 31-17 ASU -14.5 |
|
10:00 PM |
at Fresno State 24 ...
Sacramento State 3
CFN
Prediction: Fresno 45-10 |
|
10:15 PM |
at
USC 38 ... Idaho 10
CFN Prediction:
USC 52-9 USC -45 |
|
12:05 AM |
at Hawaii 63 ... Northern
Colorado 6
CFN
Prediction: Hawaii 68-20 |
Past WAC
Games of the
Week
Sept. 1 -
UNLV 23 ...
Utah State 16
Past WAC Players of the Week
Sept. 1 - Hawaii QB Colt Brennan