WAC Conference Roundup - Week 6

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Oct 7, 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
Fresno State 49 ... Nevada 41
Fresno State got touchdown runs of three, 54 and 67 yards from Ryan Mathews, and got a 67-yard punt return for a score and a 15-yard touchdown run from Clifton Smith, and a blocked field goal for a score from A.J. Jefferson, on the way to a 42-20 lead, and then things appeared to be out of hand when Lonyae Miller tore off a 72-yard scoring run early in the third. But Nevada would come back, as Colin Kaepernick threw two touchdown passes and ran for a three-yard score, but his 34-yard strike to Adam Bishop came with only three seconds left, and Fresno held on. The Bulldogs outgained the Wolf Pack 307 rushing yards to 211.


WAC Player of the Week
Fresno State RB Ryan Mathews rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries in the win over Nevada.

Conference Roundup

Boise State … Even though most of the world was watching the Bears vs. the Packers, Boise State once against proved how unbelievable it is when at home with the national spotlight on. Everything worked on both sides of the ball against New Mexico State, with QB Taylor Tharp having his best game yet, and Ian Johnson cranking out yards in chunks with both his running and receiving. The team is starting to hum at just the right time.
Fresno State … It's nice to see the running game explode, but it would've been nicer had the Bulldogs been able to close Nevada out a little easier. There are now several weapons to work with, thanks to the emergence of Ryan Mathews and the explosiveness of Lonyae Miller. All the pressure is off QB Tom Brandstater for now, but he has to get hot again over the next two games against Idaho and San Jose State before dealing with Boise State.
Hawaii … While it wasn't a pretty win over Utah State, and the injury to Colt Brennan is hardly a plus, at least Tyler Graunke got to see meaningful time and run the offense when the team needed him. Now, Graunke needs to be even sharper against San Jose State next week, if Brennan is still hurting, to keep the dream season alive, but he's going to need more from the running backs. There was a ground game against Idaho two weeks ago, and this week, it was abandoned in the shootout.
Idaho … How did the Vandals stay alive against San Jose State with only 68 passing yards and three turnovers? The running game was effective, and the defense did a great job in the second half, but nothing seemed to work. The offense is going to have to sink or swim with Brian Nooy, and accept that all 11 defenders are going to key on stopping Deonte Jackson. Most of all, there can't be any more turnovers. The team isn't good enough to lose that battle.
Louisiana Tech … It's not like Louisiana Tech didn't have its chances against Ole Miss. With three interceptions, and more yards, 301 to 232, the Bulldogs did a decent job, but gave up two touchdown passes and screwed up on its late field goal attempt. The offense has taken a major step backwards over the last few weeks, and now it needs to find something it can do well. Can there be some sort of a running game? Can Zac Champion start throwing it down the field more? There can't be the penalties and the mistakes there were against the Rebels.
Nevada … Uh, the run defense?! The supposedly nasty Wolf Pack linebackers weren't even close against Fresno State, getting ripped apart for tough yards, hard yards, and way too many home runs. The offense finally found a groove late with Colin Kaepernick at the helm, but it was way too late. This appears to be Kaepernick's team at the moment, with Nick Graziano hurt. He'll have to shine next week if the Pack has any shot against Boise State, and if he can play like he did in the fourth quarter this week, it could be interesting.
New Mexico State … Chase Holbrook tried to go against Boise State, but it wasn't happening. The offense floundered with J.J. McDermott at the helm, while the defense did nothing to help the situation. At this point, the Hal Mumme offense should be getting 89 yards a drive, not a game, and there's no reason to only be cranking out 57 yards passing. Boise State is good, but it's not better than Auburn, and NMSU was able to drive on its D late in the game.
San Jose State … The Spartans have beaten who they were supposed to over the last three weeks, and now it's on to the real cheese ... Hawaii. The defense stopped Idaho's passing game cold, but things will be a little different next week, with or without Colt Brennan. The Spartan running game has to keep getting creative, and Adam Tafralis has to stay hot. He has three straight 300-plus yard games, and he'll need another to keep pace with the Warriors.
Utah State… The offense got a decent game against Hawaii, and threw it well, but once again, outside of a big play from Kevin Robinson, there weren't enough big throws down the field, and the line struggled in pass protection, allowing six sacks. No defense is going to struggle against Hawaii, and Utah State's wasn't even close. On the plus side, Derrvin Speight looks like a good running back to work around.

  Conference Overall Home Away
  W L PF PA W L PF PA STR W L W L
Hawaii 3 0 145 101 6 0 323 131 W6 3 0 3 0
Fresno State 2 0 66 47 3 2 156 149 W2 2 0 1 2
San Jose State 2 0 51 40 3 3 102 170 W3 2 0 1 3
Boise State 1 0 58 0 4 1 186 61 W3 4 0 0 1
New Mexico State 0 1 0 58 3 3 138 212 L1 3 0 0 3
Nevada 0 1 41 49 2 3 161 174 L1 2 1 0 2
Louisiana Tech 0 2 50 62 1 4 90 135 L4 1 1 0 3
Idaho 0 2 40 76 1 5 133 214 L4 1 2 0 3
Utah State 0 2 57 75 0 6 112 218 L6 0 2 0 4
Saturday, October 6
2:00 PM at Ole Miss 23 ... Louisiana Tech 0
CFN Prediction: Ole Miss 27-13   OM -13
4:00 PM at San Jose State 28 ... Idaho 20
CFN Prediction: SJSU 28-17   SJSU -6.5
4:05 PM Fresno State 49 ... at Nevada 41
CFN Prediction: Nevada 21-17  Nev. -3.5
12:05 AM at Hawaii 52 ... Utah State 37
CFN Prediction:
Hawaii 51-17   UH -39
Sunday, October 7
8:00 PM at Boise State 58 ... New Mexico State 0
CFN Prediction: BSU 44-17   BSU -22.5

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
Oct. 6 -
Fresno State 49 ... at Nevada 41

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
Oct. 6 - Fresno State RB Ryan Mathews
 

  

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