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WAC Conference Roundup - Week 5

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Oct 1, 2007

WAC conference roundup, standings, player and game of the week

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
Nevada 27 ... UNLV 20
Nevada got a 43-yard touchdown pass from Nick Graziano to Kyle Sammons with just 27 seconds left to play to finally put away the Rebels. Travis Dixon tied it at 20 with just over a minute to play on a 30-yard scoring pass to Ryan Wolfe, but the Pack was able to go 65 yards in just 35 seconds to get in range for the game-winning pass. In the first quarter, Graziano connected with Mike McCoy for a 9-yard touchdown, and hit Adam Bishop for a 15-yard score in the fourth. Nevada only outgained Vegas by four yards, 458 to 454.


WAC Player of the Week
Fresno State DE Tyler Clutts made nine tackles and four sacks in the 17-6 win over Louisiana Tech

Conference Roundup

Boise State … When the national spotlight is on, Boise State is always tremendous. Against Southern Miss, the Bronco offensive line dominated throughout, while Ian Johnson made things happen as a receiver and a runner, slipping through Eagles for a big game that'll put him back on the Heisman map. While Johnson's performance helped pad Taylor Tharp's stats, this was still a strong day for the passing game. As long as the O line plays like it did, ripping through the WAC won't be a problem.
Fresno State … The Fresno State defense dominated Louisiana Tech, and with the way the offense played, it had to. Tom Brandstater took yet another step back with an awful performance, and while he was under pressure, he needed to do far more. Tyler Clutts and the Fresno defensive line saved the day time and again, shutting down the Tech offense. Now it'll have to be even better against a rested Nevada.
Hawaii … While Colt Brennan's five interceptions against Idaho will generate the most national news out of the game, this was still an important win for Hawaii; it showed it had a defense. With six takeaways, two pick-sixes, and a great job done against the Vandal running game, the Warriors overcame the offense's mistakes, while Brennan and the boys took advantage of every opportunity. Considering this is the end of the road portion of the program for a while, Hawaii has to be happy to just survive and move on.
Idaho … Idaho forced the Hawaii mistakes it needed to get to have a shot to pull off the upset, but it made more errors and got its doors blown off. The Vandals need to run effectively to have a chance at winning, but that went out the window early on this week, and Nathan Enderle struggled to get the passing game to respond. Not only couldn't the Vandals bomb away, but they also couldn't move the chains, converting just two of 15 third down chances.
Louisiana Tech … Tech outplayed Fresno State, except on the offensive line. There wasn't any hope of stopping the Fresno pass rush, and it meant a nightmare of a day for the passing game. There weren't any big mistakes, but the offense simply couldn't get the ball moving after dealing with sack after sack. Now the Bulldogs have to find some semblance of an offense against Ole Miss, New Mexico State and Boise State.
Nevada … Could the win over UNLV have been Nick Graziano's coming out party? He had to take the offense on his shoulders, and he came through with a big day, helped by one monstrous 90-yard pass play to Mike McCoy. He limited his mistakes, kept the offense moving, and made some nice plays on third downs. Now, Nevada might believe it can bomb away with the other good teams in the WAC, and with Fresno State and Boise State up next, that's important.
New Mexico State … Things aren't clicking yet, and this was supposed to be the week for it to happen. At this point in the year, the Aggies should be starting to find their groove. Instead, QB Chase Holbrook is banged up, the offense is sputtering, the passing game isn't doing what it's supposed to, and there have to be some major worries with a trip to Boise State ahead. If NMSU plays in Boise like it did against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, it'll be a mega-blowout the other way.
San Jose State … It's amazing what playing at home can do. The last D-I team to play at home, San Jose State came up with its best game so far, rolling over UC Davis with a huge passing day from Adam Tafralis. Unfortunately, the running game was stunningly bad, netting just 15 yards and averaging 0.6 yards per carry. LB Matt Castelo, with 15 tackles, led the way for a strong defensive effort, but to come up with a few WAC ins over the next month, the run defense has to be stronger.
Utah State… The defensive effort has been there, with Devon Hall and Paul Igobeli making several plays against Utah, and Leon Jackson had an accurate day throwing it, but as will be the problem all year long, and was an issue last year, was the lack of a true playmaker. There's no one who can take the ball and quickly change the outcome. Next week, that might change by force against Hawaii. Utah State will have to figure out, in a real hurry, how to put up 50 points
.

  Conference Overall Home Away
  W L PF PA W L PF PA STR W L W L
Hawaii 2 0 93 64 5 0 271 94 W5 2 0 3 0
Fresno State 1 0 17 6 2 2 107 108 W1 2 0 0 2
San Jose State 1 0 23 20 2 3 74 150 W2 1 0 1 3
Boise State 0 0 0 0 3 1 128 61 W2 3 0 0 1
New Mexico State 0 0 0 0 3 2 138 154 W1 3 0 0 2
Nevada 0 0 0 0 2 2 120 125 W2 2 0 0 2
Idaho 0 1 20 48 1 4 113 186 L3 1 2 0 2
Louisiana Tech 0 2 50 62 1 3 90 111 L3 1 1 0 2
Utah State 0 1 20 23 0 5 75 166 L5 0 2 0 3
Thursday, September 27
7:30 PM at Boise State 38 ... Southern Miss 16
CFN Prediction:
BSU 28-20   BSU -10
Saturday, September 29
3:00 PM at Utah 34 ... Utah State 18
CFN Prediction: Utah 37-14   Utah -20
4:00 PM at San Jose State 34 ... UC Davis 14
CFN Prediction: SJSU 28-13
4:05 PM at Nevada 27 ... UNLV 20
CFN Prediction: Nevada 23-17   Nev. -3.5
5:00 PM Hawaii 48 ... at Idaho 20
CFN Prediction: Hawaii 51-20   UH -26
8:00 PM at New Mexico St 20 ... Arkansas-Pine Bluff 17
CFN Prediction: NMSU 45-7
10:00 PM at Fresno State 17 ... Louisiana Tech 6
CFN Prediction: FSU 38-24   FSU -13

Past WAC Games of the Week
Sept. 1 -
UNLV 23 ... Utah State 16
Sept. 8 - Texas A&M 47 ... Fresno State 45 3OT
Sept. 15 - New Mexico State 29 ... UTEP 24
Sept. 22 - San Jose State 23 ... at Utah State 20
Sept. 29 - Nevada 27 ... UNLV 20

Past WAC Players of the Week
Sept. 1 - Hawaii QB Colt Brennan
Sept. 8 - Hawaii QB Colt Brennan
Sept. 15 - New Mexico State WR Chris Williams
Sept. 22 - San Jose State QB Adam Tafralis
Sept. 29 - Fresno State DE Tyler Clutts
 

  

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